1328: "The Year Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, and Freud Were Neighbors"
Interesting Things with JC #1328: "The Year Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, and Freud Were Neighbors" – Vienna, 1913: four men, two miles apart. Before the war. Before the world changed.
Curriculum - Episode Anchor
Episode Title
The Year Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, and Freud Were Neighbors
Episode Number
#1328
Host
JC
Audience
Grades 9–12, college intro, homeschool, lifelong learners
Subject Area
History, Political Science, Psychology, European Studies
Lesson Overview
Students will:
Define the historical significance of Vienna in 1913.
Compare the early lives and ideologies of Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, and Freud.
Analyze the convergence of four major 20th-century figures in one geographic location.
Explain how proximity in time and space can precede global historical impact.
Key Vocabulary
Vienna (VEE-en-uh) — Capital of Austria, a cultural and political hub in early 20th-century Europe.
Meldemannstrasse (MEL-duh-mahn-strass-uh) — A men's dormitory where Hitler lived in 1913.
Café Central (KA-fey SEN-trahl) — Iconic Viennese café frequented by intellectuals and revolutionaries like Trotsky.
Berggasse (BEAR-gahs-uh) — The street where Freud's home and office were located.
Pravda (PRAHV-duh) — Russian word for “truth,” and the name of a revolutionary newspaper edited by Trotsky.
Narrative Core
Open
The episode hooks listeners with the idea that four monumental figures once lived as ordinary people in the same city, unknown to each other or to history.
Info
Vienna in 1913 was a cultural capital of Europe. The episode sets up each individual's age, occupation, and location within the city at that time.
Details
Despite living within a few miles of one another, there's no confirmed interaction—just a potential sighting remembered by Trotsky.
Reflection
The episode reflects on how history is shaped not only by actions but also by shared environments and unrecognized potential.
Closing
These are interesting things, with JC.
Transcript
Interesting Things with JC #1328: "The Year Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, and Freud Were Neighbors"
Vienna, 1913.
One city. Four men. None of them yet known to history.
Adolf Hitler, 24, lived at a public dormitory on Meldemannstrasse (MEL-duh-mahn-strass-uh), painting postcards and nurturing grievance. Leon Trotsky, 33, edited Pravda from Café Central on Herrengasse (HAIR-en-gass-uh), his table covered in theory and tobacco ash. Sigmund Freud, 57, worked from Berggasse (BEAR-gahs-uh) 19, completing Totem and Taboo and reshaping how people saw the mind.
Joseph Stalin, 34, passed briefly through Vienna that winter. Café Central remembered him—quiet, calculating, unnoticed.
All four men. In one city. At the same time. Within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers).
The dictator. The revolutionary. The killer. The analyst.
There’s no photo. No confirmed meeting. Just one passing memory: Trotsky once noted a pale man with a mustache who said nothing.
That winter passed. And by summer, the war began.
But in that moment—before the trenches, before the purges, before the camps—these four men lived ordinary lives, bought bread, crossed streets, and went unrecognized.
The 20th century was waiting to happen. And it walked quietly through Vienna.
These are interesting things, with JC.
Student Worksheet
What significant work was Freud completing in 1913?
Describe the kind of work Hitler was doing at the time.
Why is Café Central historically significant in this episode?
What was Trotsky's role in Vienna during this time?
Reflect: Why does it matter that these four men were in Vienna simultaneously?
Teacher Guide
Estimated Time
45–60 minutes
Pre-Teaching Vocabulary Strategy
Use an interactive map of Vienna to locate Meldemannstrasse, Herrengasse, and Berggasse. Introduce historical photos of each location.
Anticipated Misconceptions
Students may assume the figures interacted significantly.
Confusion between time in Vienna and later historical impact.
Discussion Prompts
How does proximity shape historical development?
What might have changed if these men had interacted?
Differentiation Strategies
ESL: Provide vocabulary with images.
IEP: Use graphic organizers to map locations and individuals.
Gifted: Research another key figure who lived in Vienna around the same time.
Extension Activities
Write a fictional diary entry from one of the men, imagining a day in Vienna.
Create a timeline of events from 1913–1939 showing each figure’s rise to power or influence.
Cross-Curricular Connections
Psychology: Freudian theory and its long-term influence.
World History: World War I precursors.
Political Science: Roots of totalitarianism and revolution.
Quiz
Q1. Where did Adolf Hitler live in 1913?
A. Berggasse
B. Herrengasse
C. Meldemannstrasse
D. Café Central
Answer: C
Q2. Who edited Pravda while in Vienna?
A. Stalin
B. Trotsky
C. Freud
D. Hitler
Answer: B
Q3. What kind of work was Freud completing in 1913?
A. Das Kapital
B. Mein Kampf
C. Totem and Taboo
D. The Interpretation of Dreams
Answer: C
Q4. What café is noted for revolutionary gatherings in the episode?
A. Café Mozart
B. Café Sperl
C. Café Central
D. Café Sacher
Answer: C
Q5. What is notable about the men's presence in Vienna?
A. They led a protest together.
B. They fought in a duel.
C. They were all arrested together.
D. They lived near each other without known interaction.
Answer: D
Assessment
Why does the convergence of these four historical figures in Vienna matter to our understanding of the 20th century?
How does this episode challenge the way we think about how history unfolds?
3–2–1 Rubric
3 = Accurate, complete, thoughtful
2 = Partial or missing detail
1 = Inaccurate or vague
Standards Alignment
U.S. Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.3: Analyze how major individuals, events, and ideas develop over time.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9: Integrate information from diverse sources into a coherent understanding.
C3.D2.His.14.9-12: Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of historical events.
CTE.HSS.3.2: Evaluate the impact of ideology and political theory on modern societies.
ISTE 1.3.K: Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
International Equivalents
UK National Curriculum KS4 History: Understanding key historical concepts including continuity, change, cause, and consequence.
Cambridge IGCSE History (0470): Depth study: International Relations 1919–1939; historical context of ideologies and revolution.
IB MYP Individuals and Societies: Recognize and explore the connections between ideas, events, and people across time and place.
Show Notes
In 1913 Vienna, four yet-unknown men—Adolf Hitler, Leon Trotsky, Sigmund Freud, and Joseph Stalin—briefly shared the same urban space. Each would go on to redefine the 20th century through ideology, warfare, psychology, or repression. This episode offers a vivid glimpse into the proximity of future power, underscoring the unpredictable pathways of history. Perfect for classrooms exploring the roots of modern thought and conflict, the episode highlights how one city incubated seismic change without its citizens ever realizing it.
References
Brigitte Hamann, Hitler's Vienna: A Dictator's Apprenticeship
Robert Service, Trotsky: A Biography
Peter Gay, Freud: A Life for Our Time
Simon Sebag Montefiore, Young Stalin
Café Central Vienna Archives
Vienna City Historical Map Archives (1913)
