Philipp Moritz holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Leipzig. He then completed a Master's degree in Contemporary History and Media at the University of Vienna. During this time, he worked as a research assistant at the Association for the Study of Repressive Measures of the Austrian Regime 1933-1938, the Institute for Historical Social Research of the Arbeiterkammer of Vienna, and the Archive of Yad Vashem. His master's thesis focused on the interest of the state police in the interrogation of Austrian re-migrants from the USSR between 1934 and 1938. Philipp Moritz is a PhD candidate in the doc.funds project  “The Dynamics of Change and Logics of Transformation: State, Society, and Economy at Critical Junctures”.

Research interests:

• Migration History
• History of the Labour Movement
• Inter-war Period
• Police History

Current research project:

The Austrian Wanderungsamt 1919-1939. The control of emigration of Austrian workers in the context of international labour markets in the inter-war period

The Austrian Wanderungsamt was tasked with facilitating the export of labour. In doing so, it encountered resistance at a time when the majority of nation states sought to shield their markets against foreign labour. The Wanderungsamt supported potential emigrants to overcome the obstacles posed by visa regulations, border controls, and quotas. While the importance of the Wanderungsamt has been acknowledged in scholarly works, its specific role has not been thoroughly examined. In studying the Wanderungsamt, the tension between political and administrative history can be deepened by focusing on the emigrant population.