Street Children in European Cities during the Late Nineteenth and the Early Twentieth Centuries: Looking into the Pages of the Late Imperial Austrian Press

At a time of increasing concern for poor children, the study of Austrian press records during the late imperial period shows the intensity of street children’s presence in Austrian and other European cities as well as particularly harsh aspects of child exploitation at an international level. It reveals the multiple ways in which street children in urban Austria as well as in other European countries were perceived: as victims in need of rescue; as a nuisance in everyday city life; as a threat to social and moral order; and as a threat to “civilized” Austria and Europe in general.