Moritz Szeps

Moritz Szeps (5 November 1835, Busk - 9 August 1902, Vienna) was an Austrian journalist and newspaper publisher of Jewish ancestry.

Moritz Szeps; caricature by László von Frecskay from Die Bombe (1877)

Biography

His father was a doctor, and he initially studied medicine in Lemberg. After going to Vienna to continue his studies, he decided to change careers and became a journalist instead.

From 1855 to 1867, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Morgen-Post. In 1867, following the resignation of most of its employees, he took over the Neues Wiener Tagblatt, which became the leading liberal newspaper in Austria. As a friend of Crown Prince Rudolf, Szeps published his political writings anonymously. Szeps, however, was not shy about making direct attacks on his opponents and critics. By 1876, he was sufficiently successful to build his own home, the "Palais Szeps", which is now the residence of the Swedish Ambassador.[1]

Eventually, his financial backers wanted him to be more cautious and, in 1886, eased him out of the company. With the help of an Hungarian financier, he purchased the Morgen-Post and changed its name to the Wiener Tagblatt (after 1901, Wiener Morgenzeitung). The paper eventually failed to meet expectations, and was discontinued in 1905.

Like the Crown Prince, he felt that Austria should emulate France, rather than reactionary Prussia. Therefore, he had numerous contacts in Paris, including Georges Clemenceau, who was also a newspaper editor at that time. This was met with fierce opposition by the Pro-German nationalists, who were increasingly Anti-Semitic. When the Crown Prince died in 1889, the liberal cause suffered a serious setback and Szep's finances dwindled accordingly.

His daughter, Berta Zuckerkandl, became a well known writer, journalist and art critic.

References
The Palais Szeps in 2019
  1. Buildings in Alsergrund @ the Austria-Forum

Further reading
  • "Széps, Moritz (Moriz)". In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Vol. 14, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1957–2005, p. 148 f. (Direct links to "p. 148", "p. 149")
  • Nathalie Beer: Das Leben und Wirken des Journalisten Moriz Szeps (1834–1902). Masterarbeit Universität Wien – Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Wien 2013 (Online)
  • Kurt Paupié: Moritz Szeps. Persönlichkeit, Werk und Beziehungen zum Kaiserhaus. Dissertation, University of Vienna, 1949
  • Lucian O. Meysels: In meinem Salon ist Österreich. Berta Zuckerkandl und ihre Zeit. Herold, Wien/München 1984, Edition INW, Illustrierte Neue Welt, Vienna, 1997, ISBN 3-9500356-0-5


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