Habsburg Army Multilingualism and Military-Civil Relations

An amendment to the Austrian Constitution of 1867 enabled the k.u.k. Army to develop a regimental language system. Soldiers from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds were given the right to be trained in their native languages. There were eventually eleven languages recognized. After its implementation a monarchy-wide public discussion called attention to the system`s failings, but it remained almost unchanged until 1914. One of the possible reasons it endured was that the Emperor gave regional commanders the right to implement and govern the system without interference. Decentralization gave local army officials the right to interpret and adopt the law in accordance to local conditions. Changes were shaped by the nationalities of local citizens as well as by each commanders` diversity-management skills. Therefore, it is important to analyze the regimental language system at the local level to understand how imperial policy was enacted. Regionally based military institutions had to adapt the system on a daily basis when negotiating with soldiers, civilians and civil authorities. For this project I investigate five Corps Commands (Bratislava, Temesvar, Innsbruck, Lviv, and Zagreb). They cover both halves of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, allow a comparison of Austria, Hungary, and local autonomous regions such as Galicia and Croatia, and take into account all recognized Habsburg languages/nationalities. The military-civil relations will be investigated using four core moments which were chosen based on the findings of my previous study on the Bohemian case as well as Rok Stergar`s historical analysis of the Slovenes: First, conscription and military medical examination, when male civilians officially came into contact with the army for the first time. Second, festivities and leisure time activities of the local garrison which were often followed by a public discussion, e.g. languages used for public talks and church festivities. Third, the daily training and annual manoeuvres that enabled local residents to observe language use during training exercises. Local residents commented on language use and songs the soldiers sang. Finally, the army was often asked for armed support to counter strikes and uprisings. Co- nationals met on both sides, fighting against each other by addressing claims in the others languages. This archivally based study builds on current historical methodological and conceptual approaches. It examines the importance of the peripheries for the empire`s development as shown by Habsburg historian Pieter M. Judson and Ottoman historian Isa Blumi. It also examines the constructed nature of collective (national) behaviour, a line of inquiry inspired by the work of Rogers Brubaker. Finally, this study deals with several Habsburg regions by investigating a monarchy-wide institution that had a decisive impact on the endurance of the empire.

Multilingualism in the Austro-Hungarian Army and Civil Society by Tamara Scheer, Richter Program (V-555) An amendment to the Austrian constitution in 1867 obligated the Habsburg army authorities to develop a regimental language system. Soldiers with differ ent nationalities and languages were given the right to be trained in their native language. Eventually, eleven languages were recognized. After the system was introduced, there was a public discussion throughout the monarchy about the shortcomings of the system. However, the system remaiend almost unchanged until 1918. One of the reasons for retaining the system was that regional commanders were granted the right to adjust the system based on local conditions. These adaptions were influenced by the languages of the local citizens as well as the abilities of each army commander in dealing with diversity.Ultimately, during the Richter Project project, it ultimately turned out that, as emphasized in the project proposal, the focus on the region proved to be an appropriate tool to understand the system in its day-to-day interactions between soldiers, civilians, and civilian authorities. After consulting the various levels of military administration in the archives of the countries that formerly belonged to Austria-Hungary (from the ministries to the corps commands and regiments) as well as autobiographical sources and printed media in several languages the discussions therein revealed that deficits in the language rights of conscripts were not an outcome of nationalities involved, but were in many cases were strongly personal. It was depenendt if local commanders - and their civilian counterparts - were willing to adapt a general system to local needs. For this reason, many disputes never make it into the files of the Ministry in Vienna, into Parliament, or into the press. These then seem to be merely represent conflicts arising from the language system and often from the diversity per se, but not the everyday disputes that constituted everyday life everywhere in the of the Monarchy and were mostly resolved peacefully. The Richter project enabled the Principal Investigator, Tamara Scheer, to complete her habilitation thesis at the University of Vienna, receive a venio docendi in Modern and Contemporary European Hist ory, and publish a monograph on the research findings in November 2022: "Die Sprachenvielfalt in der österreichisch-ungarische Armee, 1867-1918" and - among other book chapters and articles - "Ethnic boxes: the unintended consequences of Habsburg bureaucratic classification," an article published open access in peer reviewed Nationalities Studies (Cambridge University Press). In April 2023, Tamara Scheer was awarded for her research on language diversity in Austria-Hungary the Austrian State Prize for the History of Social Sciences.