OK. I have several questions. Do we still have a duel Monarchy here with two different systems or have we created one overarching Federal structure? If it is the former, are we simply talking about reforming the Kingdom of Hungary such that the minority parties hold some sort of majority/veto in the elected chamber, or some kind of unalterable written Constitution?Yet the greatest prize eluded him. Having alienated the Hungarian ruling class by insisting on an abbreviated coronation ceremony, he left the magnates in no doubt as to his ultimate intent for their country: Hungary would become a federal nation among nations, no longer able to negotiate special treatment by hiding behind ancient privileges and invented tradition. The endeavour was assured of support from all minor nationalities since most Slavic speakers found Magyar supremacy in the eastern half of the Empire more galling than German arrogance. What it lacked, nonetheless, was the critical mass of votes needed. The Ausgleich of 1917, still negotiated in the afterglow of victory, gave the emperor considerable leeway which a more diplomatic individual might have been able to turn into lasting compromise solutions. Franz II Ferdinand ended up all but threatening the Hungarian government with invasion in the event of civil disturbance, making them hostage to the whims of their national minorities and alienating them enough to ensure that overturning the minority rights ultimately enshrined in law became a rallying cry for Hungarian nationalists. Yet failing to secure equal recognition for the Slavic peoples in a triple monarchy – something he had never promised, but frequently hinted at – ensured that the gratitude of those who owed him most would be lukewarm at best. Memories of Pan-Slavic collaborationism died hard in the Habsburg domain.
Nonetheless, buoyed by victory and held together by a military whose stature was greatly enhanced by its conduct during the war (a matter much redacted for home consumption) the state had a good two decades that not even persistent economic trouble could put much of a dent in. The more rural economy of the Balkans was less affected than the industrial centres of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary which meant that the worst disaffected peoples had least to complain about. Yet the reckoning would come.
OK. I have several questions. Do we still have a duel Monarchy here with two different systems or have we created one overarching Federal structure? If it is the former, are we simply talking about reforming the Kingdom of Hungary such that the minority parties hold some sort of majority/veto in the elected chamber, or some kind of unalterable written Constitution?
Either way, what is happening to the Magyarisation policy pursued by the Kingdom of Hungary? If we believe the statistics of the time the Kingdom would be just over 50% ethnically Hungarian and depending on the electoral system (for example FTPT) would probably have a majority within any representative body, especially when considering the distribution of the Hungarians. Presumably the domination of the German language after the war in Central Europe will probably help the Germans of Hungary to retain their language/cultural identity somewhat better, unless the choose to leave to Austria proper of Germany for economic reasons. Will urban areas which were rapidly Magyarising see a reversal as German becomes vital, or will the process continue? I'm thinking of not only in cities like Budapest where German was obviously on the decline but places like Szombathely/Steinamanger which will be economically deeply connected German Austria as these areas begin to prosper economically. I'm imagining inter-State trade barriers being significantly lower. Will we see bilingualism spread in these urban areas as German becomes ever more dominant?
Thinking about what happens after the "two good decades" that you quote, presumably we should be seeing Germany tying its neighbours increasingly into a cohesive sphere and presumable Austria-Hungary (if it's still called that) will be no exception. Will we be seeing some internal troubles before Russia-Germany round two? It seems plausible if Hungarian Nationalism is forcing politicians to play towards an extreme base which is prevented by the Constitution whose legitimacy is only placed in the hands of a somewhat unpopular Hapsburg Monarch? Especially if German is seen as imposing itself culturally. We are still a little bit too far away from the effects of mass radio or television or even comics for that kind of soft power cultural erosion. But I imagine there is still a strong pull towards German, are tensions boiling or merely approaching a simmer?
Or am I reading this totally wrong? Is Magyarisation going to actually continue as presumably free movement and a strongly economically growing Germany attracts native speakers into Germany proper and local administrative organisations crack down on minority rights in all but the most isolated communities, be damned what the official line is with Vienna/Budapest/Emperor?
If Austria-Hungary is actually in some kind of crisis you could presumably remove them from the second war but I doubt that would fulfil the criteria of this being a German-wank. But this update has left me with more questions than answers. Any details into what the Ausgleich of 1917 actually entailed would be hugely welcome.
Als Österreich-Ungarn eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand es sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Bundesstaat verwandelt.The fundamental shift everyone expected and many hoped for:
The thing is, I don't know enough about Austria-Hungary to detail this without spending a lot of time I don't have doing research, but I do know enough about Austria-Hungary to know that whatever I find is going to be rabbit-hole complex and difficult. My assumptions as the basis for 'winging it' were:
1) Franz Ferdinand is far more interested in strengthening central power than in accommodating minorities. The Hungarian elites are not interested in that at all, but their ability to resist after that victory (and the poor reputation they got during the war) is limited. A compromise is going to happen, but they can represent any 'loss' to their constituency as the result of imperial bullying.
2) The Slavic minorities will have a hard time making their case in public because of the war. That is not fair (any more than the anti-Hungarian resentment felt by many in Cisleithania), but it is a political fact. They will support the monarch in getting them what they can get, but compared to their hopes prior to the war, it will be a disappointment. .
3) The actual settlement of 1917 is going to be incremental - somewhat more central power, especially in civil service matters, somewhat better (and more effectual) minority rights, a fairer suffrage law and stricter parliamentary rules, but not the fundamental shift everyone expected and many hoped for.
4) Nobody is going to be content with this because in the 1910s and 1920s, ethnic nationalism is what everyone wants and believes in. Nobody will accept that their oppressed nation cannot have their own state. In the Austrian domain, this is going to be mainly a mtter of electoral politics. THe Poles and Ruthenians got their states, and the Czechs and Solvaks don't feel too inclined to reprise their experience of actual war in order to pursue some grand Slavic project. The Southern Slavs are the biggest problem in that they are a big group and Serbia, though militarily emasculated, still feels aggrieved. But in Hungary, it's going to become violent. With an expanded franchise, we'll see more populist politics, and just as the Bohemians and Galicians feel they defended the ungrateful Hungarians, Hungary feels it's paying too much of its money for eternally malcontent Slavs who overstate the war damage to their homes. Everybody talks big about the virtues of their nation and the purification of their soil, but the Hungarian conservative parties mean it. That'll be a powderkeg waiting to go very wrong once the central state slips in its watchfulness because they long to go back to the old days when non-Magyars knew their place, but the minorities are now organised and often armed. And unlike the people along the northern frontier, they don't have first-hand experience of Slavic brotherhood to dissuade them.
Gah! Realized that had to be a mangled quote, but forgot what 'verhandeln' was and totally missed the Kafka reference. Somehow.Als Österreich-Ungarn eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand es sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Bundesstaat verwandelt.
OTOH, she went to France way before the German-Russian war in OTL. I think the POD wouldn't have affected her life much by then. And as soon as she is a Curie (I suppose this would require a butterfly net), staying in France makes sense.Where's Curie? Historically she disliked the Germans because she was a staunch Polish nationalist, and the Poles saw the Germans as occupiers and French as the last ally of Poland and potential future liberator. Now the German empire has liberated Poland, (if lacking the westernmost provinces), while France stood by and watched.
Also, the Parisian public never liked her much, to the point of spontaneously forming riots/lynch mobs that forced her to hide whenever bad news came out about her. I wonder if she would be adverse to a position in a German university, especially if offered at a good time. (Say, after her affair with Langevin came out and she had to run and her home got trashed.)
It is Schwarzschild, 'Black Shield' and it is also pronounced that way, the same for the Red variant.Schwarzchild on the other hand isn't likely to die of a disease contacted on active service TTL
Thanks. I am away this weekend and nearly out of mobile data so didn't spellchecker or fact check either. However the basic point is that the very specific circumstances leading to his death OTL are unlikely to be repeated TTL where he will either do peacetime military training in a barracks in Germany or be excused military training due to either his valuable contribution to scientific research or to him failing his medical or not being needed in circumstances where the German Army is in a peacetime position to be more selective.It is Schwarzschild, 'Black Shield' and it is also pronounced that way, the same for the Red variant.
The disease you allude to seemingly can be triggered by virus, but I am not certain whether it is contacted (?). Actually I was trying to eat, so on research I was distressed to see that one can suffer symptoms of Mustard Gas w/o exposure.
Early August 1957. Interesting.The Economist, 32/2007 ("Fifty Years in the Shadow of the Bomb")