The PanGerman Plot Unmasked: Berlin's formidable peace-trap of "the drawn war"Chéradame, André
History
The PanGerman Plot Unmasked: Berlin's formidable peace-trap of "the drawn war"
Chéradame, André
Europe -- Politics and government -- 1871-1918; Pangermanism; World War, 1914-1918
In spite of the most ingenious and cynical obstacles raised by the
Germans and Magyars the culture of the Slavs and Latins kept growing;
their national organizations kept progressing; also they were much more
prolific than their political rivals. All these conditions together gave
Francis Joseph and his henchmen at Budapest increasing trouble in their
efforts to resist the enlarged demands of their Latin and Slav subjects.
Berlin had already become anxious on that score, when the mental
effervescence stirred up among the Slavs and Latins of Austria-Hungary
by the result of the Bukarest treaty suddenly changed for the worse the
outlook of the Pangerman scheme.
As a matter of fact, almost the whole of the 28 million Slav and Latin
subjects of the Hapsburgs had been roused to enthusiasm by the victories
of the Slavs in the Balkans in 1912, and by the success of Roumania
in 1913; for they saw, above all, in these events, the triumph of the
principle of nationality, that is, their very own cause. Hence they
became more than ever determined in their endeavours to obtain from
Vienna and Budapest those political rights, proportionate to their
number, which the Germano-Magyars persisted in refusing, although of late
years that refusal had lost much of its energy.
If peace had been maintained, the effect of the Bukarest treaty on
Austria-Hungary would have lent irresistible force to the claims of the
Slav and Latin subjects of Francis Joseph. On the other hand, Roumania,
exulting in her annexation of the Bulgarian Dobrudja, cast longing eyes
on Transylvania, and hoped to secure it at the expense of Hungary. The
moment appeared opportune when a thorough transformation of the Hapsburg
Monarchy might be effected, and that transformation seemed relatively so
near that Roumania already looked upon Transylvania as a ripe fruit which
merely needed gathering.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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