Maria Theresias dunkle Seite – Die Vertreibung der Juden aus Prag. | Filmscreening mit Monika Czernin, Rotraud Ries und Olga Mannheimer

Vienna, December 18, 1744: shortly before the birth of her seventh child, Maria Theresa issues an order that strikes like lightning in the Habsburg Empire and has repercussions throughout Europe: The queen orders the expulsion of Jews from Prague, thus going against the spirit of the Enlightenment. A countdown begins, a battle in which half of Europe stands up for the Jewish population of Prague. But the Habsburgs remain merciless. What drives the supposedly enlightened monarch to commit this medieval act against the largest and most important Jewish community in Europe?

The TV documentary Maria Theresa's Dark Side - The Expulsion of the Jews from Prague by director Monika Czernin, which was presented with great success shortly after October 7, 2023 at the Jewish Museum in Vienna and subsequently shown on ORF, is highly topical in view of the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe.

About our guests

As an internationally renowned filmmaker and author, Monika Czernin focuses on central figures and turning points in European history. She has been a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2023.

Rotraud Ries is a historian and expert on German-Jewish history; she headed the Johanna Stahl Center for Jewish History and Culture in Lower Franconia until 2022. One of her main areas of research concerns the Jewish early modern period from around 1500 to around 1800.

Participation free of charge. No registration necessary.