Assembly of the General Austrian Women's Association in July 1904, photograph

Mathilde Hanzel, whose letters reflect a critical attitude right from the start of the war, took an active role in various peace-promoting initiatives from 1916/1917.

The very much smaller Allgemeiner Österreichischer Frauenverein [General Austrian Women’s Association], described by Gisela Urban in 1930 as “radical”, was opposed to the First World War from the outset. Unlike the BÖFV, its members continued their pre-1914 commitment to pacifism.