Ruqayyah Snyder
Life in Austria-Hungary was marked by the empire's diverse ethnic and linguistic makeup, with German, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Croat, Slovene, Ruthene, Romanian, Italian, Slovak, and Jewish populations coexisting under a single monarchy. The empire's history was shaped by the Ausgleich, a constitutional compromise in 1867 that granted Hungary internal autonomy while maintaining a unified state for war and foreign affairs. While the government and army operated in German, the Basic State Act of 1867 ensured equal rights and the preservation of language and culture for all ethnic groups. The economy was predominantly agricultural, with Budapest emerging as a hub for administration, politics, economics, trade, and culture. Despite lagging behind other European powers, Austria-Hungary experienced notable economic growth, particularly in the early 20th century, due to its strong agriculture and food industry, as well as the division of labour between its eastern and western regions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Official Name | Austria-Hungary |
| Type of State | "Common Monarchy" |
| Territories | Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Kraków, Lwów, Zagreb |
| Population | 5% Jews, 18% of reserve officer corps were Jewish |
| Languages | German, Hungarian, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Polish, Italian |
| Education | Pupils could express themselves fluently in Hungarian after fourth grade |
| Economy | Third-largest manufacturer and exporter of electric home appliances, electric industrial appliances, and power generation apparatus for power plants |
| GDP (1913) | 30,112.4 million krone |
| GDP (PPP, 1913) | 105,515 million 1990 Int$ |
| GDP Growth (1870-1913) | 1.76% |
| History | Habsburg Empire from 1867 until 1918 |
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What You'll Learn
- Jews in Austria-Hungary lived in small towns and rural areas, but also in large communities in cities like Vienna and Budapest
- The country was a global leader in manufacturing and exporting electric appliances and power generation apparatus for power plants
- Language disputes were most fiercely fought in Bohemia, where Czech speakers sought equal status for their language
- The Hungarian Democratic Republic was short-lived, and was temporarily replaced by the communist Hungarian Soviet Republic
- The Ausgleich, passed in 1867, was a compromise between the emperor and Hungary, not between Hungary and the rest of the empire
Jews in Austria-Hungary lived in small towns and rural areas, but also in large communities in cities like Vienna and Budapest
Jews in Austria-Hungary were spread across the empire, living in small towns and rural areas, but also in large communities in cities like Vienna and Budapest.
Vienna
The history of the Jews in Vienna, the capital of Austria, goes back over eight hundred years, with evidence of a Jewish presence from the 12th century onwards. At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, Vienna was one of the most prominent centres of Jewish culture in Europe. However, during the Nazi rule in Austria, Vienna's Jewish population was almost entirely deported and murdered in the Holocaust.
In the 1920s, Jewish cultural creators in Vienna flourished, with bestselling novels written by Jews and a revival of Yiddish theatre enjoyed by Jews and non-Jews alike. However, this period also saw an increase in violent attacks by German National and National Socialist students against Jewish classmates at the University of Vienna. In 1921, there was a significant antisemitic mob parade in the city. During this time, Vienna elected an antisemitic mayor, Karl Lueger, who removed Jews from positions in the city administration and forbade them from working in factories. Despite this, the Jewish population in Vienna contributed greatly to Austrian culture, with notable figures including journalists (Theodor Herzl), authors, playwrights, poets, doctors, bankers, businessmen, and artists.
Budapest
Before World War II, approximately 200,000 Jews lived in Budapest, making it the centre of Hungarian Jewish cultural life. In 1910, Jews made up 22.35% of the city's population. By 1926, there were 50,761 Jewish families living in Budapest, with 65% living in apartments with one or two rooms. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Budapest was a safe haven for Jewish refugees, with around 5,000 refugees arriving from Germany and Austria, and 8,000 from Slovakia.
Hungary was allied with Nazi Germany, and although the Jewish community of Budapest was relatively secure until the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, there was widespread antisemitism in the country. After the German occupation, the Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish council in Budapest and severely restricted Jewish life. Apartments occupied by Jews were confiscated, and hundreds of Jews were rounded up and interned in camps. In October 1944, Germany installed a new Hungarian government dominated by the fascist Arrow Cross party, which instituted a reign of terror in Budapest, drafting Jews for forced labour and shooting hundreds.
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The country was a global leader in manufacturing and exporting electric appliances and power generation apparatus for power plants
By the end of the 19th century, the Austria-Hungarian Empire had become a global leader in manufacturing and exporting electric appliances and power generation apparatus for power plants. The empire's heavy industry focused on machine building, particularly for the electric power, locomotive, and automotive industries. The manufacturing of steam turbo generators began in the Ganz Works in 1903, and the Láng Machine Factory started producing steam turbines for alternators in 1905. The empire was also home to the Tungsram company, which produced light bulbs, vacuum tubes, and the world's first tungsten filament lamp, patented in 1904.
The first Hungarian telephone factory, the Factory for Telephone Apparatuses, was founded in Budapest in 1879, producing telephones, microphones, telegraphs, and telephone exchanges. The Ericsson company also established a factory for telephones and switchboards in Budapest in 1911. The empire's automotive factories manufactured motorcycles, cars, taxicabs, trucks, and buses. The food and agriculture industries of the Kingdom of Hungary were also predominant within the empire, constituting a large proportion of exports to the rest of Europe.
The rapid economic growth in the eastern parts of the empire, particularly in the modern industries of the Second Industrial Revolution, contributed to its global leadership in manufacturing and exporting electric appliances and power generation apparatus. The division of labour between the east and west, with the western areas around Prague and Vienna excelling in various manufacturing industries, further enhanced the empire's economic growth. By the early 20th century, Austria-Hungary had become the fourth-largest machine-building industry in the world and the third-largest manufacturer and exporter of electric appliances and facilities for power plants.
The success of the empire's manufacturing and exporting sector was driven by innovation and technological advancements. For example, Hungarian engineers associated with the Ganz Works in Budapest developed closed-core transformers, making it feasible to provide electric power for lighting in various settings. Additionally, the introduction of 'voltage source, voltage intensive' (VSVI) systems through the invention of constant voltage generators in 1885 played a crucial role in power generation and distribution.
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Language disputes were most fiercely fought in Bohemia, where Czech speakers sought equal status for their language
Language was a highly contentious issue in the politics of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe that existed between 1867 and 1918. The question of which languages could be regarded as "customary" was not clear, and the decision to use a particular language in government and instruction was difficult and divisive.
The German nationalists, especially in the Sudetenland, which was part of Bohemia, considered Berlin in the new German Empire as their cultural capital. They demanded that their language be recognised as a customary language in every part of the empire. The Hungarian Minority Act of 1868 gave minorities (Slovaks, Romanians, Serbs, etc.) the right to use their language in offices, schools, courts, and municipalities, but only if 20% of the deputies demanded it. However, subsequent education acts passed by the Hungarian state reduced the use of non-Magyar languages, in strong violation of the 1868 Nationalities Law.
In 1897, the Austrian Prime Minister Count Kasimir Felix Badeni gave Czech equal status with German in the internal government of Bohemia. This decision led to a crisis due to nationalist German agitation throughout the empire. German intellectuals regarded Italian as an old "culture language" and accepted it as an official language of the Empire, but they struggled to accept Slavic languages as equal to their own.
Bohemia, also known as the Kingdom of Bohemia, was among the first countries in Europe to industrialise. It was established by the Přemyslid dynasty in the 12th century and had a long history of being influenced by various ruling houses and neighbouring kingdoms. The German hospes played a significant role in the industrial development of the Czech Kingdom. The German language was instituted as the language of instruction in grammar schools and the university during the Habsburg rule. However, after the Czechs of Bohemia and Moravia revolted against Habsburg rule in 1848, serfdom was abolished, and economic power shifted from the local aristocracy to the middle classes. The Czechs continued to advocate for autonomy within an Austro-Hungarian Empire with a federal structure.
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The Hungarian Democratic Republic was short-lived, and was temporarily replaced by the communist Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Democratic Republic was short-lived, lasting only from fall 1918 to March 21, 1919, when it was replaced by the communist Hungarian Soviet Republic.
The Hungarian Democratic Republic was formed in the fall of 1918 after massive demonstrations and strikes protesting World War I turned revolutionary. The Hungarian military refused to follow orders to end the protests, and the Hungarian king was forced to appoint a liberal, reformist government, led by Mihály Károlyi, that sued for peace and declared Hungary an independent, democratic republic.
Hungary lost a significant amount of its territory due to its defeat in the war, including Transylvania to Romania, Croatia, Vojvodina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia. During the rule of Károlyi's pacifist cabinet, Hungary lost control of approximately 75% of its pre-World War I territories without armed resistance and was subject to foreign occupation.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed on March 21, 1919, and lasted 133 days until August 1, when the White Romanian army entered Budapest. The de jure leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic was president Sándor Garbai, but the power was de facto in the hands of foreign minister Béla Kun, who maintained direct contact with Vladimir Lenin. The Soviet Republic had military conflicts with the Kingdom of Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and the evolving Czechoslovakia.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic prioritized class struggle and loyalty to international communism, dismissing Hungarian patriotism as a bourgeois sentiment and an obstacle to world revolutionary unity. They rejected Hungarian territorial integrity, national pride, and identity in their rhetoric, aiming for a borderless global proletarian state united under international communism. However, their attempt to profoundly change the lifestyle and system of values of the population proved to be a failure, and they were unable to regain popular support. The republic lost the support of the majority of the population, and together with military defeats and political and economic isolation, it led to its downfall.
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The Ausgleich, passed in 1867, was a compromise between the emperor and Hungary, not between Hungary and the rest of the empire
The Ausgleich, or Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, was an agreement between the Austrian government in Vienna, led by Beust, and two moderate Hungarian politicians, Deák and Andrassy. This agreement established a dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, a diplomatic and military alliance of two sovereign states, with a single monarch. The compromise restored the Kingdom of Hungary's territorial integrity and its old historic constitution, which had been lost after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It is important to note that the compromise did not include other nationalities within the empire, such as the Czechs, who resented the privileged position given to the Hungarians.
The compromise ended an 18-year-long period of military dictatorship and absolutist rule over Hungary, which had been instituted by Emperor Franz Joseph after the revolution. Under the Ausgleich, Hungary gained full internal autonomy and a responsible ministry, while the Austrian emperor ensured that the empire remained a single great state for purposes of war and foreign affairs, maintaining its dynastic prestige abroad. The two countries conducted unified diplomatic and defence policies, with common ministries of foreign affairs, defence, and finance under the monarch's direct authority.
The Ausgleich established a real union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, with each state having its own parliament and prime minister. This was a compromise between the emperor and Hungary, as it allowed for independent governance while maintaining a unified diplomatic and military front. The two parliaments, each with sixty members, met annually in Vienna or Budapest to discuss matters relating to their respective states. This arrangement provided some relief in European political circles, as it prevented any power-hungry monarch from easily raising funds for warfare.
The compromise was unpopular among ethnic Hungarian voters, who considered it a betrayal of their vital interests and the achievements of the 1848 reforms. However, it was maintained due to the popularity of the pro-compromise ruling Liberal Party among ethnic minority voters in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Ausgleich also created strained relations between Austrians and Hungarians, especially as the Hungarians sought greater independence in terms of arms and manpower within the Imperial and Royal Army.
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Frequently asked questions
The official name of the state was Austria-Hungary, which came into force when passed as a constitutional law by the Hungarian parliament in March 1867.
The Austro-Hungarian economy was predominantly agricultural and food-based, with a small industrial base. The western areas, concentrated mainly around Prague and Vienna, excelled in various manufacturing industries. The kingdom of Hungary, with its centre in Budapest, was the predominant exporter of food to the rest of Europe. The Austro-Hungarian economy grew roughly 1.76% per year from 1870 to 1913, which compared favourably to other European nations.
The government operated in German, and German speakers benefited socially from their access to the Imperial German-speaking elite. The army's language of command was also German. The empire was split between eleven significant ethnic groups, including German, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, and Slovak.
Jews made up a significant proportion of professionals in Hungary, accounting for 48.5% of physicians and 49.4% of lawyers/jurists. There were also several famous Jewish members in Hungarian political life, including Minister of Justice Vilmos Vázsonyi and Minister of War Samu Hazai.
