The First World War led to the collapse of four empires in which internal contradictions were brewing. A difficult situation has developed in Austria-Hungary: a huge territory with a motley ethnic, religious and linguistic composition, which was composed of partially conquered, partially inherited pieces of land, separated by mountain ranges, could not be a stable state.
Reasons for the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Habsburg empire, which occupied vast territories in Europe, had significantly weakened due to national conflicts in almost all regions. Relations between the Czechs and Germans were tense in Silesia, the confrontation of Ukrainians and Poles intensified in Galicia, Rusyns and Hungarians in Transcarpathia, Hungarians and Romanians in Transylvania, Croats, Bosnians and Serbs in the Balkans.
The working class, which was formed in connection with the development of capitalism, defended the interests of the people to which it belonged. So, on the outskirts of a vast empire, the danger of separatism was significantly felt. Self-determination attempts have been made by some peoples, so military action has unfolded in many parts of the country. After the failure of the revolution, the situation worsened, although the confrontation passed into the political arena. Armed clashes, which were successfully suppressed by government forces, occurred only occasionally.
The empire was greatly weakened in 1867, when it divided into Austria and Hungary under the new constitution. Both units were given the opportunity to have their own governments and armies, and a separate budget existed before. For a long time, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (in short, the process was irreversible) could be delayed because it was ruled by Franz Joseph I, who surrounded himself with internationalist supporters. But even then, disagreements were brewing between them. In short, the cause of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was significant national controversy.
Under such conditions, a powerful bureaucratic machine (the number of officials was three times the size of the army) began to usurp the local authorities. The ideas of separatism were saturated with almost all sections of society. Given that more than ten significant national minorities lived in the country, the situation was critical. The emperor was supported only by the big bourgeoisie. Franz Joseph himself already understood that the situation was hopeless.
General crisis in the rear and at the front
The collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 became apparent. Mass strikes began. The people demanded a truce with Russia on any conditions, improved food supply and democratic reforms. Unrest, food shortages and the spread of revolutionary sentiment negatively affected the army, finally demoralizing it.
The first armed uprising in the history of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (a brief listing of events below) was Korotskoye. Sailors belonging to national minorities demanded immediate peace with Russia on the basis of self-determination of the peoples of Austria-Hungary. The uprising was crushed immediately, all the leaders were shot, and about 800 people were imprisoned. An even more deplorable situation has developed in the east. Austro-Hungarian politicians have repeatedly stated that an attack on Ukraine is futile, but the army continued to move. Against the background of the signing of agreements with the UNR in Galicia, Ukrainians stepped up, who held a national congress in Lviv.
Mass demonstrations broke out across Austria. The uprising also broke out in the deep rear of the Austro-Hungarian empire (the year of the collapse of 1918): in the city of Rumburg, the local garrison opposed the power of the emperor, in Mogilev-Podolsky the soldiers refused to go to the Italian front, where the fighting intensified, a hunger riot took place in Vienna, and then a general strike began due to lack of food. In the last months of the empire, about 150 thousand soldiers fled from the army.
German Austria in the Habsburg Empire
The title state in the empire, around which other parts of the country united, did not proclaim independence, although there were local conflicts between the Austrians and Slovenes, as well as the Austrians and Italians. All problematic issues were successfully resolved peacefully. In 1918, Austria-Hungary (the collapse was already obvious then) signed a peace treaty with the Entente. Soon after, Charles I relinquished the authority of the emperor, although he did not formally abdicate. Austria was proclaimed a republic within Germany.
In the first months of the republic’s existence, hunger riots, worker strikes and peasant uprisings did not stop, because these events were caused by a general crisis in all parts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire. The reasons for the collapse did not resolve. The situation worsened when, with the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary in 1919, communist demonstrations began in Austria. The situation was only stabilized in 1920, when a new constitution was adopted. The Republic of Austria existed until 1938, when it passed to the Third Reich.
Hungary, Transylvania and Bukovina
Hungary and Austria existed as part of the empire as two separate states, sealed by personal agreement. The union was torn in 1918 when the Hungarian parliament recognized the independence of the country. But in fact, the territories remained part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so a rebellion broke out in Budapest against the Habsburgs. On the same day, Slovakia separated from Hungary and became part of Czechoslovakia, and soon a general strike took place in Transylvania. In Bukovina, the Communists intensified, who demanded a connection with the Ukrainian SSR.
The situation of Hungary worsened due to the annexation of Transylvania by the Romanian troops. The country has intensified social democrats and communists. Despite a series of arrests, sympathy for the Communists grew. Immediately after the forced legalization of the Communist Party by the government, an anti-government demonstration took place, calls were made for the establishment of Soviet power. Communists began to seize government organizations, the communist government proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
Revolutionary events in Czechoslovakia
The formation of independent Czechia and Slovakia was favored mainly by students and the intelligentsia. For some time after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, demonstrations were held back by imperial forces. At the same time, in Washington, leaders of the liberation movement published a declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia. Austria-Hungary in response reported the possibility of surrender, which was perceived as a victory of the revolution, but in fact the imperial government thus took over the bloodless power in the city. Upon learning of the transfer of power, people took to the streets and began to demand independence.
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
In the kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, which formed after the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, several peoples were mixed, the predominant of which were Ukrainians and Poles. The confrontation between them did not stop from the very moment of formation. The Poles managed to maintain leadership positions in the region with the support of imperial power, but with the beginning of World War I, local Ukrainians became more active. In short, the collapse of Austria-Hungary was in this case only an occasion. The hostilities began, and after the Polish-Ukrainian war, the Polish-Soviet war began.
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The Slavic population of the Balkan Peninsula stood for Serbia even before the outbreak of the First World War, and when hostilities unfolded, about 35 thousand people fled from Austria-Hungary. In Paris in 1915, the Yugoslav Committee was created, the purpose of which was to conduct an anti-Austrian company among the Slavic population of the Balkan Peninsula. The head of the committee proclaimed the unity of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He also hoped to create a single Slavic state in the future, but the idea failed.
Serious changes began after the October Revolution and the collapse of Austria-Hungary. The popular masses grew dissatisfaction with the Austrians over other nations. A large-scale crisis began, and soon their own governments were formed in the regions. They did not take up their duties for quite some time, waiting for the moment to declare independence. The state of Slovenes, Serbs and Croats was proclaimed on October 29, 1918.
The economy after the collapse of the empire
Throughout the empire, the Autro-Hungarian krone, which in 1918 sharply depreciated, went before the collapse. Back in 1914, the krone was provided with gold by 30%, and by the last months of the existence of the state, the provision was only 1%. The constant fall of the national currency had an extremely negative impact on the economy. Manufacturers no longer trusted the crown, refusing to sell the goods. Barter became a private occurrence, and the population began to withdraw their money from financial institutions.
The most important problem that the new states had to solve was the stabilization of the currency and the cessation of depreciation in the future. External debt was equally divided between the newly formed countries, bonds were replaced by others, national economies were formed and were already operating. After the World War I, they could only officially legalize them. Each state now went its own development path: some quickly restored the national economy, while others were faced with an economic crisis.
The process of forming new states
What states were formed after the collapse of Austria-Hungary? During the division of territories, thirteen new states appeared, but not all of them were preserved. The established boundaries changed during World War II, and after the end of hostilities were revised. To date, only Hungary and Austria have survived.
The consequences of the collapse of Austria-Hungary
The political map of the world has undergone significant changes. But there were other important consequences of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire:
- new system of international relations (Versailles);
- the destruction of the major rivals of France and Britain in Europe;
- the demobilization of the entire Austrian and Hungarian army, the ban on having their own fleet and aircraft, the nationalization of the only Austrian arms factory;
- the imposition of reparations on Austria;
- termination of the union of Austria and Germany;
- the strengthening of nationalism in the educated countries, the emergence of new ideological and cultural differences between the peoples of the former empire.
In addition, many peoples failed to achieve independence. For example, the state of Ukrainians was liquidated, the territories became part of Poland. Czechs, Ruthenians and Slovaks lived in one state. The situation of some peoples has actually only worsened. As part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, they had at least some self-government and the right to occupy seats in parliament, and their last bodies of power were liquidated in the newly formed states.
Some alternative suggestions
Prior to the final collapse of Auto-Hungary, some Slavic peoples living in the south repeatedly expressed the need to preserve a common federal state, consisting of three parts. This idea was never realized. Different opinions on the preservation of Austria-Hungary were expressed during the First World War by the warring states. It was planned to form a country in which all peoples were equal in rights. The idea failed due to separatism and hostilities.