This inquiry is concerned with some of the cultural influences which contributed to the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy. Before an attempt could be made in this direction, a brief historical survey had to precede the detailed analysis, to show the evolution of the Dual Monarchy of the Danube basin from an unpretentious principality to the "universal" realm it ultimately became. Highly important was the mission of the Hapsburgs, in their sincere endeavours as defenders of the Christian faith against the Turk. In this they believed themselves to be the champions of Western civilisation - to them the process of empire building was legitimate and fitted in with the German drive to the East and the rulers thus were able to absorb numerous non-German peoples. Already by 1620 the state had nearly reached its greatest degree of expansion. The Hapsburgs during the ensuing centuries achieved much to make the disparate "ramshackle" state into some sort of a whole: such was the state-idea, their substitute for the naturally evolved nation. This was exemplified by the dynasty with its experienced time tested paternalism, in which the last Hapsburg emperor, Franz Joseph, was a past master. Their system depended heavily on a conservative bureaucracy nurtured through generations. The Roman Catholic Church served as a handmaiden in helping the Hapsburgs achieve conformity among the many peoples of the realm in a way comparable to the process of educational proselytism as practised in the Army. Abstract concepts such as tradition, firmly embedded in all subjects of the Empire, helped in the process of Gleichschaltung so that all the citizens instinctively knew their fixed place in the state. During the whole nineteenth century convulsive outside influences beset the empire; these forces were the harbingers of what was to come. The French Revolution led on to modern nationalism, first only felt on an intellectual plane in Central Europe. Eventually there were open revolts in 18I4. Although the risings came to nought, their repercussion was great. After 1850 the nationalities within the empire were an ever present explosive element and much of the thesis shows the part they played in the break-up of the old regime. Nationalism was centrifugal, affecting those nations partially within the empire, who wished to rejoin the remainder of their brethren outside. Even the Austro-Germans were in that position. It also affected the other two nations completely within the empire; the Czechs, who were asserting themselves strongly and were ripe for the winning of independence; the Hungarians enjoyed special rights thanks to the Ausgleich of 1867. The French and Industrial revolutions helped also to loosen other ties of the empire: the rise of industry and of cities led to a change in the social fabric. New communications made enlightenment easy, even to the common man. New industry and growth of education shaped the modern secular man, a thinking sceptical, mundane person, who was as disruptive a factor as any; a force stimulating social disintegration, already sapping the old traditional order. The influence of archaic feudalism and power of the church was waning. Even the "patriotic" cohesion achieved by the army was to be challenged, and a special appendix devoted to švejk will show that the feeling of localism, also fostered by nationalism, would prevail over state and universalism. This was true for all monarchical institutions - the state could not keep abreast of the new times, its subjects were changing and were ready for radical reform - instead of obedient children the state was faced with doubting adults. Some prescient diagnosticians foresaw that a catastrophe was inevitable. Two novelists are discussed, Kafka and Musil, who in their writing demonstrated that the individual was utterly frustrated by the unhealthy and antiquated environment around him. The musician, Mahler, was chosen to illustrate how artists were already conscious of the impending collapse and transmitted this through his innate pessimism and spiritual uprootedness, of which his works are the vehicle. Finally Masaryk is the prime example of the frustrated statesman whose outstanding talents were rejected because the State did not desire forthright individuals in power. The conflict of Masaryk with the surviving old order is the pivot of the whole argument. He exemplified the new forces which could not be contained in the old system, and the inability of the regime to adjust itself to the new trends is what made for its eventual downfall. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis is to examine several important aspects of social democracy in the Cisleithanian half of the Habsburg Monarchy in the years between 1867 and 1901. By exploring the environment in which the socialist movement developed, the socialist ideology, the development of the party and its organization, and the socialist leadership, it presents a profile of the Cisleithanian socialist movement. In spite of the fact that the socialist movement in Cisleithania was one of the largest in Europe by 1901, historians have tended to ignore both its development and its peculiarities. The Cisleithanian socialist movement, and particularly its German-speaking component, has been seen as merely a junior partner of the Reich-German socialist movement. To a certain extent this was true, for Cisleithanian socialists did import their ideology and their original conceptions of party and trade union organization from Germany. Yet the models imported from Germany all had to be adapted to the multi-national character of the socialist movement in Cisleithania. Marxism was adopted, but Cisleithanian socialists were forced to take a position on the complex nationality question in Cisleithania, a question for which there was no acceptable Marxist "answer." The German idea of a centralized party organization was also taken over, but it had to be abandoned in face of demands for autonomy on the part of Czech socialists. An entirely new and unique form of party organization was evolved. In the trade union movement, the concept of centralism was also adopted, and once more proved unsuitable in a multinational environment, in spite of convincing arguments in its favour. In these respects, and others, Cisleithanian socialists made an important contribution to the development of the European socialist movement, a contribution which deserves more attention from historians than it has received. The major problem the Cisleithanian social movement faced was the nationality question. The multi-national nature of the state and the socialist movement, in a context in which nationalist feeling was very strong, helped to determine both the development and the fate of the socialist movement of all nationalities in the western half of the Monarchy. In fact, the nationality conflict which developed in the Cisleithanian socialist movement mirrored the conflict in Cisleithania as a whole. Indeed, the contradiction between the theory of socialist internationalism and the practical reality of nationalism in the working class was apparent in the Cisleithanian socialist movement long before the outbreak of the First World War made it clear to non-socialists and socialists alike. In this sense, the study of the Cisleithanian socialist movement is also a study in nationalism. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

It has been sixty years since the Anschluss and yet, the question why the Austrian army did not provide some form of resistance is still pondered. This thesis examines the developments of the Austrian Army during the interwar period and focuses on the defence plans compiled by the Austrian Chief of the General Staff, Field Marshall Alfred Jansa. From the moment he assumed his position in the Federal Ministry of Defence, Jansa set out to create an Army capable of defending its borders against Nazi Germany. As long as he was Chief of the General Staff, he promised that any German attack would meet with Austrian military resistance. / This thesis considers an aspect of Austrian History, which English-language scholarship has largely neglected. This thesis provides a critical evaluation of the preparedness of the Austrian Army and the feasibility of resistance in March 1938.

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The right of national independence, which came to be called the principle of self-determination, is, in general terms, the belief that each nation has a right to constitute an independent state and determine its own government. It will be the thesis of this paper to show that the Nazi regime under the rule of Adolph Hitler took this principle as its own insofar as its relations with other nations were concerned, but while they paid lip service to the principle, it was in fact being prostituted to the fullest degree in the case of Austria and the Anschluss of 1938.

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This thesis examines the debate over Austrian national identity in the interwar period (1918-1938), and deconstructs key components of national identity. These components include economic, historical, linguistic and certain cultural factors, the concept of a nation's mission, and the "national individual". The final area examined is tourism. It is postulated that tourism permits exploration of the bonds between humans and the environment which they inhabit, and has significant implications for national cohesion. Sources include contemporary and historical texts on the concept of nationhood and related areas; political, social and cultural histories pertaining to the First Republic; and primary source materials including parliamentary and cabinet minutes; the League of Nations' economic reports on Austria; newspapers, particularly those of pressure groups; individual monographs (of economists, teachers, politicians, theorists); as well as cultural output (literature, poetry, cinema, art, and satire). The two sides of the debate can be grouped into arguments pertaining to Austria's relationship to Germany, and arguments placing Austria into a wider European context. The roles of internal cohesion and the influence of the outside world on national identity are addressed. It is shown that the contribution of this period to the development of Austrian national identity has been underestimated: that the foundations for an independent Austria were laid in these years. The concept of national identity is explored and elucidated.

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