Persons, Objects & Events

Tisza was the “strong man” in the political scene of the Hungarian half of the Empire. He was assassinated during the revolts of 1918.

Thanks to his long reign of 68 years, Franz Joseph was a determining figure of the Habsburg Empire in the last decades of its existence. In 1914, he signed the declaration of war on Serbia that triggered the First World War – a war that he would not live to see the end of.

The French journalist and politician determined France's policy during the First World War. In November 1917, he assumed the office of French Prime Minister

Bertha von Suttner, the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1905), remains the most well-known figure in the Austrian peace movement. She published the successful novel Lay Down Your Arms and was president of the Austrian Peace Society until her death.

The Prague professor of philosophy was the leading figure of the Czech independence movement. He became the first President of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

Aleksei Alexeevich Brusilov was a general of the Russian Army and in 1916 assumed supreme command over the South West Front. He gave his name to the Brusilov offensive, which he led and which marked Russia's greatest military success in the First World War.

The Habsburg was the Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Empire upon outbreak of the war, although his function was merely nominal.

Wilson was the President of the USA during the First World War. His “Fourteen points” of 1918 were decisive for the restructuring of Europe after the end of the war.

Kaiser of the German Empire since 1888, Wilhelm as its ruler emphasised the new role of Germany as a great power.

As French Prime Minister during the First World War, Raymond Poincaré advocated the continuation of the war until the Entente was victorious. He moulded the policy of the “Union sacrée”, the suspension of internal political disputes, in order to strengthen France's position in the First World War.

Claude Debussy's attitude to the First World War was characterised by an extreme nationalism, which was also reflected in his musical works. Debussy died of cancer shortly before the end of the war.