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‘… surely this war must end some time?!’

The longing for peace and the October Revolution in Russia

By the end of 1916 an increasing longing for an early peace was being voiced by the population of Austria-Hungary. With no end to the conflict in sight, the countless casualties that the war had already claimed together with the continually deteriorating supply situation and food shortages, people were simply becoming ‘war-weary’.

One of the numerous monthly reports from the postal censorship office from 1917 summarized the mood as follows: ‘[…] a waning of any interest in political and military events – with the exception of all enterprises that aim at an early peace.’

Not only public opinion, however, but also Emperor Karl, who had ascended the throne on 22 November 1916, and the newly appointed foreign minister Count Czernin, wished as well ‘to end the inherited war as soon as possible’. Karl sent a peace note to the neutral powers of the United States, Switzerland and Spain which was to be forwarded to the Entente. Count Czernin gave an interview in March 1917 ‘supporting the idea of a peace conference with all the belligerent states’ and laying out the general conditions under which Austria-Hungary would be ready to negotiate. These included a guarantee for the continued existence of the Monarchy and the demand ‘for a peace with honour on both sides’.

Public debate about peace intensified with the revolutionary events in Russia at the end of 1917. Many people in Austria-Hungary hoped that the October Revolution might lead to an early peace. Mathilde Hanzel also followed the events in Russia with keen interest. On 8 November 1917 she wrote to her husband: ‘The evening paper has just reported the news of the revolution by the workers and soldiers’ council against Kerensky’s government. If this report is true, then we may be closer, much closer, to peace […].’

The Russian Revolution and the potential end to the war that it seemed to herald are a common theme in Mathilde Hanzel’s subsequent letters from that time. On 9 November 1917 she writes: ‘[…] the main thing is that we conclude peace with the Russians, and that finally seems to be happening. – Darling, how I long for the news that the first peace negotiations are beginning […].’

It was to be another month before a ten-day truce was signed by representatives of Austria-Hungary, the German Empire and Russia on 5 December 1917. The first round of official peace negotiations followed at the end of December 1917. Eventually, on 3 March 1918, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Turkey, Bulgaria and Soviet Russia ratified a peace treaty today known as the Peace of Brest-Litowsk.

Translation: Sophie Kidd

Bibliografie 

Ehrenpreis Petronilla. Kriegs- und Friedensziele im Diskurs. Regierung und deutschsprachige Öffentlichkeit Österreich-Ungarns während des Ersten Weltkriegs, Innsbruck/Wien/Bozen 2005

Kochanek, Hildegard: Friede von Brest-Litowsk, in: Hirschfeld, Gerhard/Krumeich, Gerd/Renz, Irina (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie des Ersten Weltkriegs, 3. Auflage, Paderborn/München/u.a. 2009, 506-508

Rebhan-Glück, Ines: „Wenn wir nur glücklich wieder beisammen wären …“ Der Krieg, der Frieden und die Liebe am Beispiel der Feldpostkorrespondenz von Mathilde und Ottokar Hanzel (1917/18), Unveröffentlichte Diplomarbeit, Wien 2010

Rauchensteiner, Manfried: Österreich-Ungarn, in: Hirschfeld, Gerhard/Krumeich, Gerd/Renz, Irina (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, 3. Auflage, München/Wien 2009, 64-86

Spann, Gustav: Zensur in Österreich während des Ersten Weltkriegs 1914-1918, Unveröffentlichte Dissertation, Universität Wien, Wien 1972

 

Quotes:

„surely this war must end ...“: Mathilde Hanzel to Ottokar Hanzel, 30.05.1918, Sammlung Frauennachlässe, Nachlass 1, Institut für Geschichte der Universität Wien (Translation: Sophie Kidd)

„[…] a waning of any interest  ...“: monthly report, quoted from: Spann, Gustav:  Zensur in Österreich während des Ersten Weltkriegs 1914-1918, Unveröffentlichte Dissertation, Universität Wien, Wien 1972, 333

„to end the inherited war ...“: quoted from: Ehrenpreis Petronilla. Kriegs- und Friedensziele im Diskurs. Regierung und deutschsprachige Öffentlichkeit Österreich-Ungarns während des Ersten Weltkriegs, Innsbruck/Wien/Bozen 2005, 189

„supporting the idea of a peace conference ...“: quoted from: Ehrenpreis Petronilla. Kriegs- und Friedensziele im Diskurs. Regierung und deutschsprachige Öffentlichkeit Österreich-Ungarns während des Ersten Weltkriegs, Innsbruck/Wien/Bozen 2005, 213

„for a peace ‘with honour’ on both sides’“: quoted from: Ehrenpreis Petronilla. Kriegs- und Friedensziele im Diskurs. Regierung und deutschsprachige Öffentlichkeit Österreich-Ungarns während des Ersten Weltkriegs, Innsbruck/Wien/Bozen 2005, 213

„The evening paper has just ...“: Mathilde Hanzel to Ottokar Hanzel, 8.11.1917, Sammlung Frauennachlässe, Nachlass 1, Institut für Geschichte der Universität Wien (Translation: Sophie Kidd)

 „[…]  the main thing is that we conclude …“: Mathilde Hanzel to Ottokar Hanzel, 9.11.1917, Sammlung Frauennachlässe, Nachlass 1, Institut für Geschichte der Universität Wien (Translation: Sophie Kidd)

Contents related to this chapter

Aspects

  • Aspect

    Discontent

    The longer the war lasted, the more disagreement was voiced by representatives of the Austrian peace and women’s movements and also by sections of the Austro‑Hungarian population. They became increasingly tired of the war, reflected in strikes and hunger riots and in mass desertions by front soldiers towards the end of the war.

Persons, Objects & Events

  • Person

    Ottokar Hanzel

    Ottokar Hanzel was a mathematics and descriptive geometry teacher from Vienna. During the First World War he was a Landsturm captain on the Italian front.

  • Person

    Mathilde Hanzel (geb. Hübner)

    Mathilde Hanzel, a teacher in Vienna, was a member of the AÖFV, an association that militated constantly during the First World War for peace.

  • Object

    For peace

    The face on the 1000-schilling note is Bertha von Suttner, probably the most famous representative of the Austrian peace movement. During the First World War there were lots of people and groups who followed her example and protested against the war and in favour of peace. Although they had little influence, their advocacy of peace was particularly courageous in view of the prevailing and controlling censorship.

  • Object

    Personal war testimonies

    For a long time, the First World War was narrated only from the point of view of prominent personalities or generals. The way in which the people of the Austro‑Hungarian Monarchy experienced and survived it remained unheard. Personal documents like this diary give us new and diverse insights into how individuals experienced, understood and felt about the war.

  • Person

    Karl I.

    The last Emperor acceded to the throne in 1916 and reigned until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in November 1918.

Developments

  • Development

    Daily life on the (home) front

    How was daily life at home and on the front between 1914 and 1918? Was the life of a middle-class woman similar to that of a worker? Did officers experience warfare in the same way as other ranks? Or were the experiences of the population at home and the soldiers at the front too individual and diverse for generalisations?

Memories