Timeline

This timeline provides an overview of the institutional history of educational film in Austria. It is linked to database entries on the organizations, individuals and events concerned.¹ For a collection of essential entries, see also the case study "Educational Film Organizations in Austria".
 

• 1880s to 1890s Popular Education Center Viennese Urania: slide lectures (1885 magic lantern, 1890 episcope)
   
• 1891 Verein Skioptikon
   
• 1890s establishment of the Slide Rental Service of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, establishment of the Teaching Material Headquarters for Technical-Industrial Education. 
   
• 1910 Wiener Kosmos – Association for Scientific and Artistic Cinematography  (Alto Arche; activities already in 1907)
   
• 1912 Kastalia – Austrian Society for Scientific and Instructional Cinematography (1912–1915, Josef Kopetzky², proposal already in 1907)
   
• 1914–1918 State War Press Headquarters (KPQ) including film department)
   
• 1919–1924/25 State Film Head Office (FHS)
   
• May 15–18, 1924 Urania Cinema Reform Conference 1924
   
• October 1924 Course on film in schools and popular education³ (Felix Lampe, Walther Günther)

• 1924–1938 Uraniafilm/Department for Films and Foreign Affairs – until 1934 headed by Adolf Hübl
   
• 1925 Austrian Motion Picture Association
   
• October 1926 School Cinema Association (formerly since at least 1924 Film und Image Working Group of Vienna's Teachers).⁴
   
• November 1926 Course and examination regulations for school cinema projectionists, Technisches Gewerbemuseum, course primarily for teachers⁵
   
• 1926–1934/38 International Educational Film Chamber (ILK, name until 1928: European Educational Film Chamber)
   
• April 7–12, 1927 European Educational Film Conference Basel
   
• May 2-5, 1928 International Educational Film Conference The Hague
   
• July 1928 Austrian Archive of Classroom Film (School Cinema Association and Viennese Urania)
   
• 1928 educational film center of the Bundesheer, Catholic Center for Educational Film, educational films of the Chamber of Sports
   
• From 1928 institutional debates on technological developments such as small-gauge and sound film
   
• 1928–1938 International Institute for Educational Film – at the League of Nations (L’Istituto internazionale per la cinematografia educativa, ICE)
   
• 1929–1938 Austrian Slide and Film Service (OeLFD) (subordinate to the Zentralstelle für Volksbildung in the Ministry of Education)
   
• 1930 first public training seminar for "school cinema projectionists"
   
• May 26–31, 1931 International Educational Film Conference Vienna⁶
   
• June 26, 1934 Germany: Reichsstelle für den Unterrichtsfilm (RfDU) founded, 1940 renamed Reichsanstalt für Film und Bild in Wissenschaft und Unterricht (RWU), 1934–1945
   
• April 19–25, 1934 International Educational Film Conference Rome (last international meeting of the ICE)
   
• December 1, 1934 Small-Gauge Conference Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria
   
• 20.3.1935  National Film Evaluation Commission of the Ministry of Education, headed by G.A. Witt (co-initiated by Johann Haustein)⁷
   
• May, 23, 1935 Small-Gauge Conference St. Pölten, Lower Austria (organized by Austrian Motion Picture Association, with the participation of the Austrian School Cinema Association and the OeLFD)
   
• 1936 Educational film campaign: Federal and provincial schools as well as district school authorities are asked by the Ministry of Education to report on their equipment with film projectors and educational films; support for the acquisition is promised⁸
   
• 1937 Educational film campaign for secondary schools (OeLFD)
   
• November 1938 Takeover of the holdings of the OeLFD by the RfdU in the context of the 'Anschluss' of Austria to the National Socialist 'Third Reich', as well as enforcement of the NS-German regulations on the educational film system for the former Austrian territory⁹
   
• February 1939: Establishment of provincial film offices of the 'Third Reich' in Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck – these remain in existence in Austria after 1945
   
• 1945 at first Film Department of the Ministry of Education (successor of the OeLFD)
   
• June 30, 1945 State Center for Slides and Educational Films (SHB) is founded as the national film office of the Ministry of Education - based on the structures established by RfdU and RWU,
  later contains the Department of Scientific Film as well as the Community Archive of Behavioral Research Films
   
• 1945 Foundation of the Catholic Film Commission (initiated by Johann Haustein)
   
• After 1945 transformation of the RWU and establishment of the Institute for Film and Image in Science and Education (FWU) in Munich¹⁰
   
• October 1947 International Scientific Film Association, founded in Paris (as successor institution of the Institut de Cinématographie Scientifique ICS, co-founded by Jean Painlevé in 1930, and the Scientific Film Association SFA, founded in London in 1943 by the Scientific Cine Clubs and Trade Union of Scientific Workers (today: International Association for Media and Science IAMS)¹¹
   
• 1950 foundation of the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM) / Conseil International du Film d'Enseignement (CIME) / International Council for Educational Film, later Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Unterrichtsmedien (first Hübl then Hubalek were Austrian representatives, Hubalek 1967–1969 vice president and 1969–1971 president of ICEM)¹²
   
• 1952–1992 Encyclopaedia Cinematographica (EC) Gotthard Wolf, resulting in an , Austrian distribution archive managed/integrated into SHB¹³
   
• 1956 Institute for Scientific Film (IWF), Göttingen, Germany becomes independent institution (today: IWF Wissen und Medien)¹⁴
   
• 1962 Department of Scientific Film, from 1972 independent institute Federal Head Office for Scientific Cinematography (BHWK), director: Dankward Burkert
   
• September 23–30, 1962 Congress of the International Scientific Film Association, Warsaw, Austrian representative (scientific author) Werner Platzer – award¹⁵
   
• 1963 Abolition of educational film dues at Austrian schools
   
• September 25–30, 1967 17th Congress of the International Council for Educational Film/for Audio-Visual Media in Education (ICEF) at the University of Vienna (Audimax), Franz Hubalek ICEF executive member for Austria¹⁶
   
• 1984-1997 BHWK renamed Austrian Federal Institute for Scientific Film (ÖWF)¹⁷
   
• From ca. 2000 media service of the Ministry of Education as successor institution of SHB

(Katrin Pilz)

References:

¹ Unless otherwise cited, for the period before 1931: Gustav Adolf Witt: Lichtbild und Lehrfilm in Österreich: Bericht für die Europäische Lehrfilmkonferenz in Basel (8. - 12. April 1927), auf Grund von Einzelberichten und amtlichen Erhebungen, Vienna/Leipzig: Österreichisches Bundesverlag 1927; Gustav Adolf Witt: Fortschritte Österreichs im Lichtbild- und Lehrfilmwesen. Bericht für die III. Internationale Lehrfilmkonferenz in Wien (26. bis 31. Mai 1931) auf Grund von Einzelberichten und amtlichen Erhebungen. Vienna/Leipzig 1931.

² Vgl. Adolf Mahel, "Skioptikon und Kinematograph", Kastalia 2, no. 2 (1913), 5–7; Elisabeth Szalay, "Von der Hintertreppe in die Schulstube. Der Beginn der Schulfilmbewegung in Österreich am Beispiel des Vereins 'Kastalia'" (masters thesis University of Vienna, 2006). Founded by teachers like Josef Kopetzky, since 1907 representative of the Vienna City School Board.

³ OeStA AVA U allg. Volksbildung: Film 1924, Knt. 486 Sign. 2D2, Z. 20184/24: Transcript of the course plan for Vienna.

⁴ Since (at least 1924) "Film- und Bildarbeitsgemeinschaft der Lehrer Wiens": OeStA, AVA, U allg., Volksbildung: Film 1919-1928, K 486, Sign. 2D2, Z. 18563, then briefly "Schulkinoverband", for example on June 27, 1927. 1924 establishment of the publication Das Bild. Im Dienste der Schule und Volkserziehung.

⁵ OeStA, AVA, U allg., Volksbildung: Film 1919-1928, Knt 486, Sign. 2D2, 19.11.1926.

⁶ For the launch, see, among others, Radio Wien: 22.05.1931, 18h45: Die III. Internationale Lehrfilm-Konferenz in Wien, Dr. Adolf Hübl.

⁷ Oesta, BMU Z. 38.395/VB-II-10 b ex 1934. Examinations had already taken place since 1930, but not systematically and without systematically composed commission appointments, etc.

⁸ Decree of 26 February 1936, Zl. 3263-II-9. See also: Verordnungsblatt für das Schulwesen in der Steiermark, 2.4.1936, 52–56.

⁹ AT-OeStA/AdR ZNsZ RK Materie 2450 2475: Unterrichtsfilme an den österreichischen Schulen (mit Beilage), 1938-1940, Verordnungsblatt 15.12.1938.

¹⁰ Sattelmacher, Anja/Schulze, Mario/Waltenspül, Sarine: Focus Research Film, Introduction: Reusing Research Film and the Institute for Scientific Film, 291–298, 292, in: Isis, vol. 112, no. 2 (2021).

¹¹ https://www.asecic.org/2020/07/11/iams-history/; Hübl, Burkert und co. Österr. Vertreter: cf. Katrin Pilz, "Anatomie – Animation – Audiovision: Medizinische Lehrfilme und die staatlichen Wissenschaftsfilminstitute 1945–1970", in: Wolfgang Schütz, Felicitas Seebacher, Hans-Georg Hofer, Brigit Nemec (eds.): Medizin in Wien nach 1945. Strukturen, Aushandlungsprozesse, Reflexionen, Vienna: Vienna University Press/V & R unipress 2022, 213–235. LINK: https://doi.org/10.14220/9783737013932.213

¹² Lefranc, Robert: L’Autriche et le CIME, in: Schrodt, Johann (ed.): Audio-visuelle Medien in Unterricht und Bildung. Festschrift 1945-1974, Vienna: Bundesstaatliche Hauptstelle für Lichtbild und Bildungsfilm 1974, 9).

¹³ Konrad Lorenz and Adolf Hübl were involved in the founding; https://www.mediathek.at/wissenschaft-als-film/das-projekt-wissenschaft-als-film/institutsgeschichte-des-oewf/

¹⁴ https://www.mediathek.at/wissenschaft-als-film/das-projekt-wissenschaft-als-film/institutsgeschichte-des-oewf/; Gotthard Wolf, Der wissenschaftliche Film in Deutschland, Wuppertal–Elberfeld: Lucas 1957; idem., Der wissenschaftliche Dokumentationsfilm und die Encyclopaedia Cinematographica, Munich: Barth 1967. 

¹⁵ Sehen und Hören, no. 2, (1962), 18.

¹⁶ Sehen und Hören, no. 31 (1967), 1–3.

¹⁷ OeStA, AdR, Kunst, 2D2, Volksbildung: Film (Bildungsfilm, Lehr- und Kulturfilm), 1967-1970, Erhebungen über den Personalstand der BHfLuB zur "Verwaltungsreform", Z. 118.066-II/3, 67).