The consequences of the First World War reached unprecedented proportions. The war penetrated the lives of civilians, and the home(land) itself was turned into a theatre of war. Women and children, too, were called upon to play an active role in the war effort through war welfare and assistance societies, and to do their bit for the Fatherland.
With the outbreak of war and male conscription, many women suddenly had to fend for themselves. Now they were responsible for the survival of the family, which, given dwindling food supplies, was becoming a more difficult task with each passing day.
The outbreak of the First World War saw a change in accepted gender roles. Where there had previously been an opposition of masculine/public and feminine/private, a new form of differentiation emerged, defining the front as masculine and the home(land) as feminine.
On 12 November 1918 the Provisional National Assembly of German-Austria proclaimed the Republic and declared its union with Germany. Article 2 of the provisional constitution stated that ‘German-Austria is an integral part of the German Republic.’
When the Provisional National Assembly of German-Austria proclaimed the republic on 12 November 1918, the frontiers of the newly founded state were not yet certain.
One of the most important concerns which the German-Austrian delegation had when they set off for the peace conference in Paris was the inclusion in the newly founded republic of German-Austria of the areas of German settlement in the Sudeten lands.
With the proclamation of German-Austria on 12 November 1918 the former Duchy of Styria became a disputed frontier area in the new republic.
The former Habsburg Crown Land of Carinthia was particularly affected by conflicts over the future boundaries of the German-Austrian successor state.
The collapse of the Habsburg monarchy meant that the question of future nationality also became acute for the German-speaking population of western Hungary.
Tyrol should remain undivided and all in Austria – that was one of the most important concerns of the Austrian delegation at the peace conferences in the spring of 1919.
