Abstract

A commitment to social justice and the promise of social equality have been a permanent feature of both democratic and dictatorial regimes in 20th-century Europe. Scholars have discussed the nonviolent dimensions of governance in state-socialist dictatorships, including the social welfare and social policy practices of National Socialist rule in German and non-German territories. Similarly, research on Western democracies has moved beyond traditional welfare state history to examine welfare institutions and welfare rights and entitlements as crucial means of constructing a democratic consensus. This talk goes further and explores the notion of social justice among workers in Austria and Czechoslovakia from 1930s to 1980s. It takes a perspective from below and focuses on workers’ quest for social justice in the workplace. The presentation will be based on ongoing research project titled ‘Workers’ Agency and Social Justice in the Age of Authoritarianism: Austria and Czechoslovakia, 1938–1989’.