Rediscovered at the flea market: The silent film The City Without Jews has become one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar years. The film, which was made in Vienna in 1924, is based on a novel by the Jewish writer and journalist Hugo Bettauer. It shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of the city after the expulsion of the Jewish population with an oppressive foresight. After fragments were rediscovered at a Paris flea market in 2016, the Filmarchiv Austria was able to restore the film thanks to a crowdfunding initiative. More than 90 years after its first performance, an almost complete and authentic version of The City Without Jews can be presented for the first time. Amongst cooperations with the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Barbican London and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Sinfonieorchester Basel has commissioned Olga Neuwirth to recompose the accompanying music.

Followed by a discussion with Prof. Dr. Erik Petry, Centre for Jewish Studies.