The World of
the Habsburgs

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1914
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Medium

Official announcement by the Mayor of Neusatz (in Hungarian Ujvidék and in Serbian Novi Sad, today in Serbia) of 6 October 1915

In three languages (Hungarian, German and Serbian), reference is made to incidents of “desertion” of prisoners of war and the support given to them by the population in the form of food and directions, and crimes against army supplies. Measures by the police are announced. Offenders must expect “merciless punishment”.

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Austrian National Library
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ÖNB Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung

Verwendet bei

  • Object

    Desertion

    Desertion was a phenomenon that all of the armies – including the multinational Habsburg army – had to deal with throughout the four years of the war. This official proclamation from 1915 in three languages (Hungarian, German and Serbian) relates cases of desertion by prisoners of war and their ‘deliberate’ support by the local civilian population. It is described as a ‘crime against military supply’, which is subject to ‘merciless’ punishment.

  • Chapter

    The war after the war – reflection, homecoming and review

    The topics writers dealt with were many and varied. They ranged from enthusiasm for the war and wartime propaganda to descriptions of battles with individual experiences and feelings. The types of text that were used were just as varied – including diary entries, essays, poems, dramas and novels.

  • Chapter

    Apathy and resistance – The mood of the people

    The parliaments of the Central Powers were still manned by the old elites, who were unable to throw off the chains of war and continued to cling to the illusion of a victorious peace. Amongst the general population, by contrast, the long lists of the fallen, the ubiquitous presence of war invalids and the shortage of basic necessities made many question the sense of the war that they had initially welcomed so heartily.