The Frat Boys of Old Wien

 
It's a caricature of a man and his dog, seemingly floating in the air, but more likely out for a stroll since that's what you do with a dog. This quick sketch of a pudgy man bearing a strong resemblance to his bulldog makes a lighthearted, if not charming, postcard. But there is actually more humor and cultural references in the picture than we might recognize now, a century later. 

The artist was Fritz Schönpflug (1873–1951), one of my favorite postcard illustrators that I've featured many times on my blog. Fritz was born in Wien (Vienna), Austria where during the last decades of the Hapsburg Empire he used his talent for seeing the whimsical side of life to create hundreds of caricatures like this that gently poke fun at Viennese society. His postcards were produced in Wien by the three Kohn brothers at their printing company, "Postkartenverlag Brüder Kohn" (B.K.W.I). Schönpflug's drawings were almost always put together on a theme (not unlike the Sepia Saturday idea that I participate in every weekend) and published in a series of six or eight different postcards. 

This postcard of a man and his dog was number 1 in series 842. It has a Swiss postmark from Biel/Bienne, a town located north of Bern, the capital of Switzerland, with a date of 23 May 1904. The split name is because the town is on the bilingual border of northwestern Switzerland where Biel is the German name for the town and Bienne its French counterpart. 

What makes the pudgy fellow with his dog peculiar is his little pink hat, almost a boy's cap really. It's not a style usually associated with a gentleman, which his cane, striped trousers, and spats implies that he is. Of course in 1904 most Viennese would have recognized what he was, but it took me a bit longer to figure it out. The second postcard in the series, B.K.W.I. 842–2, offered a better clue.

This illustration of two men in uniform might be mistaken for military cavalrymen with their tight dark-blue tunics, thigh-high boots, spurs, and long swords. But they are have red-gold-green sashes across their chests and instead of cavalry helmets or shakos they wear little colored beanies. Like the little pudgy man, their expressions  are arrogant and haughty, even a bit menacing. 

This card was sent from Berlin to an Apothekure, a pharmacist in Stockholm, Sweden on 26 December 1905. 

These men were not army officers or soldiers, which Schönpflug frequently sketched for several series on Wien's military characters. What connects them to the first image is that they are all members of a university fraternity. This kind of German student society or club is was called a Burschenschaft. They were first organized in Medieval times as a kind of guild to protect student members and provide mutual benefits, mainly wine and beer. Later in the early 19th century these  university student associations scattered around the Germanic parts of central Europe added a quasi-military component that linked them to the resistance sparked by Napoleon's domination of Europe. In the 1840s the Burschenschaft students became an important part of the democratic and anti-monarchist movements that advocated for revolution and were rigorously suppressed by authorities in the Germanic states and the Austrian Empire. 

Caps and colors of fraternity clubs
at University of Göttingen in 1827
Source: Wikipedia (German)

By the era of the emperors of Germany and Austria, Wilhelm II and Franz Joseph I, the student associations had evolved into organizations that favored more nationalism, religion, and regional qualities and involved more alumni. Each university had many student clubs, restricted only to men, and each had its own colors, coat of arms, mottos, and secret ceremonies. There were so many that guidebooks were needed, like this page on the clubs' hats at the University of Göttingen in 1827. It helps explain that the pudgy man's pink cap and the two men in military uniforms were making fashion statements that indicated their allegiance to a university's fraternity. 

Berlin fraternity students at a festive event  in 1912
Source: Wikipedia (German)

The element of militarism in these student clubs was also a historic part of German and Austria/Hungarian culture and referred to traditions of chivalry and loyalty to a monarch. The student clubs were sometimes called "Corps" like an army regiment. Their elaborate costumes were not unusual in this era and many American fraternal societies of the time borrowed Germanic uniform styles including the swords. However the colorful beanie caps, as seen in this 1912 picture of Berlin students, seem to have been strictly a Germanic thing. 

But for all members of student fraternities, ever since the beginning of higher academic institutions, the true college comradery has been infused with lots of beer, and the Burschenschaften 

were no different. In this next postcard of Schönpflug's series, two older fraternity brothers, alumni at an outdoor cafe, raise a toast to the good old days. Notice the waitress in the background with a tight grip on eight tall steins of beer. 

This postcard was sent from someplace in Germany, the postmark is unclear, on 18 September 1904. Schönpflug's signature also includes the year 1904, following the convention of leaving off the thousand numeral. 

Another uniformed duo is featured on Schönpflug's fourth postcard. Both wear tunics in a softer hue of Austrian blue with gold-red-gold sashes and look like they are in a parade as one man is mounted on a handsome bay horse. I don't know if all fraternities used cavalry attire like this, but equestrian skill was still an important part of education for young men from upper-class families and the aristocracy.

This card was sent on 27 September 1904 from Charlottenberg, Germany to someone named cryptically R. H. 31 in Dahme/Mark, a town in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, Germany. Perhaps the address was to a post office box. 

This next drawing shows a group of five frat boys standing around having a very good time, though they may have regrets the next morning. They all wear the same pink cap as the little man in the first card and he may be the same fellow, second from left. 

This card has a Swiss postmark of 4 January 1905 from Zürich. The writer's message and address are in French.

Besides drinking beer, one unusual sport has always been part of Germanic university student clubs, and that is fencing. In this drawing Schönpflug depicts a swordfight between rival clubs, the gold-reds versus the red-white-blues. The men wear protective aprons, goggles, and eye shields. An umpire follows the action and keeps score. It's an activity that looks viciously more competitive than darts or bowling. And as mothers and fathers around the world know too well, anytime you give boys sharp sticks, someone is bound to get hurt. 

This card was sent on 22 September 1904 from Polná, a town now in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic, but then part of the Austrian Empire in Bohemia.

Fencing match of the Burschenschaft Silesia in 1869
at in the “Hirsch” restaurant in Dornbach near Wien.
Source: Wikimedia

The swordsmanship of Burschenschaften became an integral part of Germanic university life, and students in these clubs bore their scars proudly as a badge of courage and measure of their dedication to the their club. Looking closely at Schönpflug's characters we see that they all exhibit fearful scratches on their faces. These fencing matches used heavier weapons than the French/Italian epees and foils. Eye protection was allowed but not full face masks.

I haven't yet acquired Nos. 6 & 8 of Schönpflug's series 842, but at another time he drew another cartoon with a similar pair of university brothers which fits the same theme. 

Here a small pudgy man wearing a blue fraternity cap, and with a bulldog at his feet, confronts a much taller fellow wearing the same cap and thrusts a piece of paper at him. The caption reads Die Kontrahage which is a word meaning an official challenge to a duel. The faces of both men bear fencing scars. The dog looks a bit intimidated by the tall man. The short cane they both hold is another accessory which may be a mark of a fraternity fellow, perhaps a less threatening substitute for a sword. 

This card came from series 762, presumably published before the 1904 series 842,  but this is marked "printed in Austria", a notice denoting a new post-war identity for a Viennese company that heretofore was operating in a imperial monarchy. The postmark confirms this with a date of 22 February 1922 on an uninspiring green postage stamp devoid of any royal visage. 

Burschenschaft in Wien, Austria 2013
Source: DiePress.com

The Burschenschaften changed after WW1 and increasingly promoted political ideas that further divided central Europe. In the 1930s many became tied to National Socialism while others were persecuted. However, after the German takeover of Austria in 1938, all fraternities were abolished under Hitler's dictatorship. 

After WW2 the university student associations returned but they remained very restrictive and pledging for members was secretive and harsh. Today, partly due to the greater diversity in universities, these student fraternities are less popular but still controversial as they are considered very right-wing political organizations with ties to antisemitism and fascism. 

Recently a few of the more militant Burschenschaften sparked large counter-protests when they attempted a mass march in Innsbruck in 2013 and a student ball in Wien in 2018. Yet it is interesting that the students and alumni of the clubs still continue to wear traditional uniforms as depicted in Schönpflug's postcards from 1904. 

Burschenschafteen march in Innsbruck, Austria 2013
Source: DiePress.com

It's hard to know exactly what Fritz Schönpflug thought of the university student clubs and their alumni. After all, these were only caricatures of people he noticed walking along Wien's city streets. But his drawings are not flattering to his subjects. Schönpflug's rendition of their fencing scars and their cocky demeanor gives them a distinctive hideous quality that I think is what Schönpflug wanted the public to see. These were men who wore their school club's colors as  a mark of their devotion to bigotry, elitism, and special privilege. I wonder what would catch Fritz's attention seeing them in 21st century Wien. 

My last postcard from Fritz Schönpflug shows a street in Wien identified in the caption as Franzensring, Universität. One group of men doffs their gold student caps to greet another group doffing their pink caps. Notice that all of them have scars on their cheeks. 

To finish let's take a ride
along a tram line in old Wien.
This historic film from 1906 was remastered
by the Youtuber - guy jones. 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where cats and dogs are always welcome
as long as they behave themselves.