Anti-Socialist Laws
Karl Kautsky was born in Prague of an artistic and middle class Czech family – his parents were Johann Kautsky (a scenic designer) and Minna, née Jaich (an actress and writer). The family moved to Vienna when Kautsky was the age of seven. He studied history, philosophy and economics at the University of Vienna from 1874, and became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in 1875. In 1880 he joined a group of German socialists in Zürich who were supported financially by Karl Höchberg, and who smuggled socialist material into Germany at the time of the Anti-Socialist Laws (1878–1890).