The minutes of the Cisleithanian Council of Ministers 8/1

The Cisleithanian Council of Ministers was the central governing body of the Western part of the Habsburg Monarchy, Cisleithania (thereafter Austria). A large quantity of its minutes has been lost in the 1927 palace of justice fire. However, whatever could be preserved or restored is now being published as a scholarly edition together with a critical commentary and an instructive introduction, both online and in printed volumes. Volume VIII/1 treats the first two years of World War I, from the day Serbia was presented with the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum, until the death of Francis Joseph on November 21, 1916. The government was headed by Karl Stürgkh, until his assassination in October 1916, followed by the short-lived cabinet Ernest Koerber II. The parliament was closed during this time. Among the most important issues covered by the minutes were: The termination of Civil Society, i.e. the shut-down of all parliaments, the abolishment of civil liberties, interventions of the military into government and justice, as well as censorship, repression, and excesses against civilians. The road into economic martial-absolutism, beginning with the neglect of economic preparations, only to turn, after cabinet debates and a government reshuffle, to state-run food provisioning for the population. Further measures included the preservation of the workforce, public finance in the time of war, as well as interventions into social legislation, business, and external trade. Also, the predecessor of the Kriegswirtschaftliches Ermächtigungsgesetz originates from this period. The funding of the war through the proliferation of paper money, war bonds and tax increases. The humanitarian consequences of war, i. e. military mobilization and recruitment on one hand, but on the other hand care for the bereaved and the injured, and for the impoverished public employees. Two important civilian medals were created in this context, too. Wartime Dualism, i.e. the management of the Austrian-Hungarian relations under stress, notably including the new coat of arms and, in connection to this, the decision to officially adopt the state name Austria for Cisleithania in 1915; but also the economic relations between Austria and Hungary had to be addressed during the negotiations on the economic Ausgleich scheduled for 1917. Thanks to this document edition, many WWI topics are now up for more detailed exploration, if not for the first time. 29% of the 844 agenda items in the volume are now available in full or with small gaps. That this is possible despite the often severe fire damages, we owe to the preservation of 22 copies and 25 finance ministers presentations which were discovered during research a discovery that is particularly important, as central topics such as the Austrian war bonds scheme and the business profits war tax act of 1916 are also included.