Kari Polanyi Levitt's Formative Years: Red Vienna, Exile, and the Legacy of Karl Polanyi

This podcast episode features Kari Polanyi Levitt, Professor Emeritus of McGill University, reflecting on her formative years, beginning with her birth in Vienna in 1923, a year marked by hyperinflation. She recounts a happy childhood in 'Red Vienna,' a period characterized by a admired socialist administration known for its remarkable social housing. Her early life was deeply impacted by the short Civil War of 1934, which saw the defeat of trade unions and the socialist government, leading to arrests of teachers and a profound political awakening for her, solidifying her sense of belonging to 'our side.'

The narrative continues with her forced departure to England in 1934, following her father, Karl Polanyi, who had already moved due to the rise of Hitler and financial difficulties of the economic weekly he worked for. Her initial impressions of England were unfavorable, describing it as a 'horrible place' of chimney-pots, though she later grew to appreciate it. She received a first-class education at a prestigious boarding school and initially aspired to study physics or history at Cambridge or Oxford, but lack of scholarships led her to the London School of Economics, a path she initially considered an 'academic failure' and where economics was never her first choice.

During World War II, while at LSE (which was evacuated to Cambridge), she was called up for National Service. Unable to join the women's military units, she found a position in labour research for the Amalgamated Engineering Union, the largest union in the country at the time. This experience provided practical engagement with the labor movement, contrasting with her academic pursuits. Her reflections highlight the profound influence of political events, social movements, and family legacy on her personal and intellectual development.

Beyond her personal journey, the episode implicitly explores the broader context of interwar European history, the rise of fascism, and the intellectual migration it triggered. It touches upon the enduring legacy of her father, Karl Polanyi, whose literary works she continues to manage and promote, underscoring the intergenerational impact of intellectual and political engagement. The episode offers a unique perspective on a pivotal historical era through the lens of a deeply personal and politically conscious upbringing.

"my grandmother told me that the year I was born they would take money in and cuts to the grocery and they were just weighing the amount of it then count anything anymore inflation year"

"my parents both came to admire very much that Tonto socialist administration generally referred to as red Vienna best known for their remarkable social housing"

"I remember very vividly because my mother put me in charge of the house in charge of the grandmother in charge of everything gave me for the first time there's some people money to go and I went downstairs and bought a lot of potatoes and bread and me felt very important indeed for about three days"

"I knew that was bad news our side had lost and it was in effect a defeat the defeat of the trade unions and the socialist administration of Vienna"

"I kind of think I'd like to say it was a formative event of my life because I knew which side I was on"

"my first encounters with England were not favourable I thought it was a horrible place chimney-pots II come as the train came down through the suburbs of South London and it only could see his chimney pots and nothing green and oh my god what an awful place"

"I decided I was a total academic failure they would just settle for London School of Economics and that is how I economics was never my first choice"

"I saw myself position in labour research for the amalgamated engineering Union the largest union at that time in the country basically doing making more material"