The history of the First Austrian Republic is often understood in terms of its eventual failure, namely the civil war fought in the streets of Vienna in February 1934 and the crushing of the workers’ movement by Austrofascism. The fall of ‘Red Vienna’ is well known, but the ‘workers’ and soldiers’ council movement’ (1917–24) that preceded it seems to have been buried under the rubble of fascism. And yet a whole body of historiography has sought to deepen our understanding of this history. Among its leading representatives is Hans Hautmann. Here, we present his brilliant and too-little-known study to English-speaking readers for the first time.