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CEES 1BCollege 1: Habsburg Empire. Fatherland, Patchwork or prison of nations?
Habsburg empire, central Europe, jews terugkomend thema
Structure :
- Habsburg empire : Origin and structure
- Hungary: ‘This nation has suffered for all sins of the past and of the future’
- Poland: ’Poland has not yet perished’
- A central European biography- Sándor Márai
Habsburg Empire
Reasons for fascination for the Habsburg empire:
- Return of history: After communism, central European countries returned on the map again,
and they were searching for their identity, and of their history Habsburg empire
- Multi-nationstate: Unity within diversity, how were they governing these different nations,
large territory, blueprint for EU today
- Tragedy: tragic aspects of frans jozef, habsburg empire. End of habsburg empire symbol for
disintegration of Europe
Two visions on the Habsburg empire:
- Positive: Supports supranational/cosmopolitan culture. People tend to say that the EU should
follow this example
- Negative: Supports national tendencies, lack of democratic aspects of the empire
- Both have a point
- Positions from people influenced by personal preferences, those who support integration
and multiculturalism support the positive vision
- Milan Kundera: Tragedy of Central Europe. He is referring to the downfall of the Habsburg
empire. Disappointed about the Habsburg Empire. Appreciates the cosmopolitan nature of
habsburg empire. Positive vision
Central question: How was a supranational dynastic state able to survive in times of growing
nationalism?
Dual monarchy:
- Habsburg empire originated as a personal union of countries among the Habsburg family.
Habsburg family very important.
- Enlargement of territory was mainly consequence of marrying rich foreign people, and
retreat of Turkish army
Grüsse von der Habsburg:
- First emperor, Rudolph von Habsburg. Came from Swiss family in obereim. This seems to be
the place where it all started for the empire. From 1452, the German emperors inherited by
Habsburg. Territory enlarged by marrying rich and wealthy
,Habsburg empire:
- Unifying aspects: Started with the emperor and his family. With this family tradition, rituals
and etiquette played a big role, catholic church, army, aesthetic culture instead of moral
questions.
- Disintegrating aspects: It fell apart. Growing nationalism within a supranational empire was a
disintegrating aspect, this was very confronting and destabilizing. The strive for democracy
and liberalism was also destabilizing because it was closely related to nationalism. A stronger
Prussia, meant a competitor. Also the unification of Italy because the north belonged to
Habsburg. Panslavism/pangermansim, was disintegrating for HE. The troubles at the Balkan.
The futile structure of the empire: The political power stayed in the hands of the nobility,
while during the modernisation of the empire, the middle class became economically more
important. But this did not give the middle class more political power
Structure:
- Political situation: Nationbuilding, how could the empire survive in an era of growing
nationalism? The futile structure, middle class did not get more political power, even though
it was expected but was not the case. There was no leading nation that COULD rule the state.
Even the German nation within the HE, was too small and divided within a large German
solution – the idea that Prussia or the German empire should unite with at least the Germans
living in the HE, and a small solution – just German empire without the Germans living in the
HE. This caused already a division for the German nation in HE. This construction of a mulit-
nation state, led to growing tensions and growing problems. Interesting: the idea of a nation
was different in central/eastern Europe than in Western Europe, two ideas/directions of
nationbuilding. Johann Gottfried Herder ‘volksgeist’. Ernest Renan ‘The nation is
constructed’. In western Europe there were over centuries borders, a national awareness
was created. In central/eastern Europe, nations formed a state where borders were absent, a
more ethnical meaning > Herder, linguistic and ethnic aspects of a nation, objective criteria.
Renan – western idea- had an idea that a nation was a community on the basis of group
awareness and it is a construction > no clear objective criteria, nations were man made and
based on shared myths. So how could they survive? Highly debated question in the HE in
19th century, especially when the Germans and Italians were striving for unification.
Provisional answer came in 1867. So a growing degree of autonomy without changing the
political structure, which was a compromise: HE changed in a dual monarchy of Austria-
Hungary. Seemed a good solution for the time being, but: Czechs, poles felt abandoned. HE
had 50 million citizens, only Russian empire was bigger in size
- Liberalization/democratization: The process turned out to be less favourable for the
Habsburg empire. Stimulated populism, anti-semitism, pangermanism/panslavism. While
nationalism strengthened other nations, it weakened the Habsburg Empire. And from the last
quarter of 19th century, the political culture of the Habsburg empire radicalised. Karl Lueger,
Von schönerer, Adolf Hitler. Vienna turned out to be the place where Hitler learned his
political lessons. Hitler was not very enthusiastic about Vienna at all, and had no appreciation
for the HE and described the continuation of the HE as a crime. Hitler was fascinated by
Luegers’ speeches, ‘speak the language of the people’.
- Downfall Habsburg dynasty: Franz Joseph, emperor at the age of 18 Tragic life. Did he
stimulate the downfall or did he delay the downfall? He started in a year of revolutions and
uprisings, married to Elisabeth ‘sisi’ his niece, from the start of their marriage there were
difficulties, she had a hard time with the strict etiquettes, was always away, busy travelling
, etc. Their only son Rudolph committed suicide and after that, Elisabeth gave all her jewellery
away and dressed black for the rest of her life, killed by an anarchist at the lake of Geneva.
Franz Joseph had a brother: Maximilian von Habsburg was emperor of Mexico and got also
killed. Because his parents had such different ideas about life in general and upbringing, he
had a very complicated upbringing, father wanted him to be a soldier, mother liberal. In the
first few years, his father got his way and he attended parades etc to ‘solve’ his sensitive
character. After a few years, Elizabeth took over the upbringing and became a birdwatchers.
Rudolph had a strong interest in science and liberal, anti-church and pro-Jewish. Became
addicted to morphine, alcohol etc. and got a disease. He had a daughter named Elizabeth. He
had a catholic funeral which made him ‘mentally disabled’ no successor, Franz Ferdinand.
Was killed in Sarajevo, led to outbreak of WW one. Assassinated by Gavrillo Princip. The
outcome of WW one and peace negotiations meant disappearance of the HE. The idea was
that with the disappearance of the empire, the problem of nationalism would disappear with
it. Which wasn’t true. It became stronger. Interbellum gave space for nationalism, fascism.
Peace treaties meant for the HE, that the Austrian republic was not allowed to join Germany.
Hungary:
Hungarian identity/history. Depressed mood, melancholy, victimhood, self-pity expressed in the
national anthem. Some facts seem to underline this depressed mood: High number of divorces,
alcoholics and suicides not the most cheerful/optimistic people. In Hungarian history, there are
existential roots that underline this. In 1526 they lost the battle of Mohacs, meant Turkish rule, was
followed by Habsburg rule. After WW one treaty of Trianon they lost two third of their territory, very
sad for the Hungarians. ‘This will we never accept’. Partly explanation for Hungary joining Nazi-
Germany, they hoped to get territory back . In year thousand, they were Christianised. Hungary got
its independence in 1867 with the dual monarchy. In the Hungarian empire, everyone had to behave
to the Hungarian culture and language. After ww One, other nations were very eager to establish
their own culture and nations. Hungary was always in the middle: While hungary could have been a
bridge between the east and the west, it was a ferry, paddling from the east to the west and from
the west to the east
Poland
National anthem: Army, soldiers, Polish resistance. Witold Gombrowicz ‘never forget that only in
opposing history as such can we resist the history of our own day’. Very essential. By continuously
resisting History, the poles did not disappear in history.
Characteristics Polish History/identity:
- Resistance: Poland as a fortress between the east and the west
- Anarchy: cooperation only works out when the country is threatened from the outside, if
not, then cooperation is lacking
- Insecurity: There are no natural borders, no clear geographical borders, ‘land on wheels’
depends on the time where you will find Poland on the EU map
- Faced to Europe: always stressed it western roots. ‘we are part of a European culture’
- Catholicism: Church and fatherland, Polish messianism
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