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The Fall of the Empire: Austria-Hungary
The Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph once remarked that his main goal as ruler was to keep his subjects safe from politicians. For more than six decades, the Austrian monarch so successfully implemented this principle that he was able to become a living symbol of peace and stability for three generations of Austrians. Franz Joseph’s familiar character traits — restraint, self-discipline, simplicity in dealing with his subjects, and finally “the very respectable old age, supported by state propaganda” — all contributed to the high prestige of the monarchy.
Nevertheless, the late Habsburg monarchy did not always conform to the ideal of peace and prosperity to which the founders of most European empires aspired. The failures of World War I, the aggravation of interethnic and social contradictions, and the collapse of the economy called into question the very existence of Austria-Hungary. Many were no longer satisfied with the system of Austro-Hungarian dualism, of which the penultimate Austrian emperor remained the living embodiment. His death in November 1916 and the accession to the throne of the 29-year-old Archduke Karl (Charles) meant for the Austrians the hope of a renewal of the country and the implementation of long-overdue reforms.
In the eyes of his contemporaries, Charles I (1916–1918) was supposed to be the ideal monarch. A zealous Catholic, an excellent family man, a graduate of Charles University in Prague, and a talented military commander who held the rank of Austrian field marshal, he possessed all the qualities necessary for a ruler. The only thing Charles lacked was that he was not a politician. The era of his grand-uncle, who had no patience for such a profession, affected his education and upbringing. Nevertheless, in his short time in power, Charles did much to preserve his empire, although many of his efforts were never appreciated by his contemporaries.
Like the emperors of Germany and Russia, Charles faced revolutionary upheavals that completely destroyed his world. Among the leaders of the three then collapsed empires, he was the only one who did not abdicate and was able to remain faithful to the monarchical principle even in exile. Charles’s wife, Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, supported his endeavors in everything, although her Italian origins caused a lot of trouble in the war…
