Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria: A Biography by Joseph Redlich; Kaiser Franz Joseph vonÖesterreichReview by: R. W. Seton-WatsonThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 7, No. 21 (Mar., 1929), pp. 748-752Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4202348 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 12:55

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School of Slavonic and EastEuropean Studies are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Slavonic andEast European Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

REVIEWS. Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria: A Biography. By Joseph

Redlich. London (Macmillan), 1929. 2IS. net. 547 pages, IO illustrations.

Kaiser Franz Joseph von Oesterreich. Berlin (Verlag fur Kulturpolitik). Mk. I7.50. 24 illustrations and I3 facsimiles.

FRANCIS JOSEPH had for so long been a dominant figure in the political landscape of Central Europe, that in the end he came to be taken for granted both by his own subjects and by the outside world, to an extent that rendered any just estimate of his r0le well-nigh impossible. It was not until he was gone that it was realised how decisive, in a negative quite as much as in a positive sense, his influence had been, towards maintaining the old order on the Continent. His remark to President Roosevelt in I9I2-" YOU see in me the last European monarch of the old school "-showed that he was himself conscious of his role, though it may be doubted whether his philosophy of history went very deep. Meanwhile, by an irony of fate the very people who had been in the habit, during the two decades before the war, of glibly assuming that Austria-Hungary would collapse after his death, have often enough been those who after the catastrophe had occurred denounced the " unnatural " character of the Succession States. In reality the personality and conscious efforts of Francis Joseph himself were one of the decisive factors in the evolution of Austria-Hungary during the sixty-eight years of his reign, alike in averting or postponing disaster on certain occasions and rendering it all the more drastic when at last it came. It is one of the many merits of Professor Red- lich's book that he makes this abundantly clear, by linking up and contrasting the personal and political aspects of the reign.

Francis Joseph never wholly shook off the impressions of his first youth, when he owed his accession at the age of i8 to a cataclysm which shook Austria, and indeed all Europe, to its foundations: and the dominant note of his family and entourage was a hatred of revolu- tion. It was his high-spirited mother, Archduchess Sophie, who assured General Kempen in I849: " I could have borne the loss of one of my children more easily than I can the ignominy of submitting to a mess of students." As Mr. Redlich points out, the first public act of the young Emperor, proclaiming the new constitution, was an act of bad faith which overshadowed his whole reign: for neither he nor Schwarzenberg had the slightest intention of making it effective, and it was only too soon abrogated. In the first critical years it may be said that Schwarzenberg-perhaps the most masterful of all his ministers, not even excepting the Tiszas-set the tone, and that he was more responsible than Francis Joseph for the constitutional experiments and suspensions of 1849-5I. But Francis Joseph was at least an apt pupil, and from that time onwards retained his initiative

748

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

REVIEWS. 749

alike in constitutional questions and in problems of foreign policy. Hence the main responsibility for the oscillations of policy in the sixties, between federalism and centralism, and above all for the final plunge into the cul-de-sac of Dualism in I867, must beyond all doubt rest with Francis Joseph himself. In his attitude towards this issue we see at one and the same time his belief in his own autocratic mission, his occasional tendency to make decisions ex abrupto, and perhaps, above all, his love for half-measures and his readiness to play off conflicting interests inside the Monarchy. We see in his selection of the foreigner Beust as the instrument of his reconciliation with Hungary the extent to which he is swayed by personal motives: and again we see his intellectual poverty in his failure to insist upon any legal machinery for possible revision, or even running repairs, of the Dual System, or to realise the fatal consequences of this omission. Finally we see his incorrigibly autocratic outlook in the Hohenwart interlude of I87I-when Francis Joseph seriously contemplated the abrogation of the new Dual system, undertook definite pledges towards Bohemia, but speedily threw them to the winds when he judged the Magyars to be stronger than the Czechs. Henceforth he seems wedded to Dualism and in the course of time comes to regard any challenge to it as directed against his own person. The stubbornness with which he clings to the instrument of his own creation long after it was obviously breaking in his hand, is a proof that despite all his industry and genuine devotion to duty, he never showed the foresight and constructive capacity of a real statesman. It is above aUl his attitude towards a bankrupt Dualism in the decisive decade before the Great War which explains the friction between him and his nephew Francis Ferdinand, of whom Professor Redlich rightly affirms that "he acquired, as years went by, a much deeper understanding of the nature of the Habsburg Monarchy than Francis Joseph ever possessed " (p. 491). We may even go further and ask whether Francis Joseph himself was not very largely responsible for the breakdown of parlia- mentarism in Austria; for, though he adapted himself to the external forms of a new and ostensibly democratic regime, his root convictions had not changed, and he kept a firm hold upon the realities of govern- ment which lay behind the trappings. " He held to his view that Austria-Hungary could not be governed parliamentarily and let it go at that. That he could not govern it otherwise than by a sham parliamentary system, he had long ago demonstrated" (p. 5I6). Here we are very near the heart of the matter.

There is yet another trait in Francis Joseph's character, which Professor Redlich states very fairly but which could probably be stressed considerably more without risk of exaggeration-namely, his dislike of criticism, not merely of himself and the institutions of state, but even of his ministers and officials. Any such criticism was apt to be treated as an indirect criticism of the sovereign who had appointed the person criticised. After I867 this attitude took the further form

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

750 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

of not allowing any minister even to discuss with him any matters lying outside his immediate competence. This was fatal to co-ordina- tion or broad political conceptions, and served to discourage frankness or plain speaking. Thus, as he grew older, he was more and more isolated from popular currents and surrounded by a small clique who followed the convenient policy of " sparing the Emperor any sort of political excitement." This was accentuated by the fact that he was utterly unintellectual, cared nothing for literature, art or music, read little, and in all conversation with the general public adhered strictly to the most platitudinous of platitudes, so that although he was the real ruler of the Monarchy for sixty-eight years there are practically no political sayings of his on record. " Sire, I am a German Prince " -this famous retort to Napoleon III.'s overture in I863-stands almost alone, and is certainly not a test of political acumen. Finally his ingratitude was positively inhuman. His disloyal treatment of General Benedek was the worst case, but there were others also: and when a minister fell-even Andrassy-he virtually ceased to exist so far as the Emperor was concerned. Moreover, one of his most fatal qualities was a preference for men of mediocre attainments as the instruments of his policy : it is the natural corollary of his dislike of candour and of unpalatable facts. His first cabinet contained a group of men of quite exceptional force and ability-Schwarzenberg, Bach, Bruck, Schmerling, Stadion, Thun: but throughout the reign there is a steady decline in the talent of his ministers, until we end with Stiirgkh, " this sterile and sceptical statesman." (This of course applies more to Austria than to Hungary, where Parliament was more of a reality and its nominees could not be kept out of office.) Even in foreign policy mediocrity is the rule. Save for Schwarzenberg, who died in I852, and of course Andrassy, who held office from I87I to I879, Francis Joseph's Foreign Ministers were not men of anything approaching the front rank: and this is true not only of Buol or Berchtold, but also of the much over-estimated Aehrenthal, whose false and suspicious nature was accentuated by pedantry and lack of humour. Throughout life, Francis Joseph regarded foreign policy as his own preserve, and his attitude toward his nephew's confidant and Chief of Staff, Baron Conrad, in I9II is typical of his whole outlook. " I forbid you these continual attacks against Aehrenthal. These attacks because of Balkan policy or of Italy, they are directed against me, for I make this policy, it is my policy." Here he is still the Francis Joseph of the Crimean War, on whom Professor Redlich passes this trenchant but irrefutable verdict : " The uncertain course of Francis Joseph's diplomacy proves that he did not see deep enough into the extraordinarily difficult circumstances with which he had to cope. He did not possess the necessary force of intellect to conceive his domestic and foreign policy as an organic whole, and accept the conditions laid down by the one as governing the other'" (p. I76). And so at the end of his reign such vital and long-neglected problems as that of

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

REVIEWS. 751

the non-Magyar nationalities of Hungary, take their revenge upon, him, and " acute problems of foreign policy " come to react with "'unremitting and cumulative pressure " upon an internal situation that has become well-nigh insoluble.

The book is full of good things: its picture of the Court, of the Empress and her brilliant but unbalanced son Rudolf, though not detailed, is vivid and sympathetic. Not the least interesting point that is made is that Francis Joseph's military leanings were an entire novelty among Habsburg rulers, and that even he, with all his devotion to the army, was fundamentally unwarlike in temperament. The book is the first attempt at an estimate of Francis Joseph by a trained historian: for Baron Margutti's admirable essay is really the work of a military subordinate, while the biography of Mr. Eugene Bagger, though based on a conscientious study of documents and atmosphere, is still the work of a journalistic impressionist. No one is better- qualified for the task than Professor Redlich, who adds to an unrivalled knowledge of political and constitutional history in Central Europe -(to say nothing of England and America) a long practical experience of parliamentary and administrative methods in the old Austria. The present volume, brilliant as it is, is a mere excursus from his epoch-- making post-war history, Das osterreichische Staats- und Reichs- problem, of which the first volume deals with the period from I848. to i86o and the second with the constitutional experiments leading up to the Ausgleich of I867-both on the basis of hitherto unpublished material. It is to be hoped that the later volumes, treating of the gradual crumbling of the Dual System, will not be long delayed.

Unfortunately the English translation dissipates much of the, flavour of the original: it is obviously the work of someone quite unfamiliar with Austrian conditions, and can hardly have been revised by the author. A few of the worst examples deserve to be noticed. " The legalistic state " for " Rechtsstaat " (p. 93) is of course entirely inadequate; " Empire under notice" (p. 342) for " Monarchie auf Kiindigung" is simply incomprehensible; and " idea of the realm "- (p. 3I3) is a definitely misleading version of " Staatsidee," still more of " Gesammtstaatsidee" which the context shows to be meant. "Free from Rome " is unusual for " Los von Rom." "Romaic " is sometimes used where " Latin" (in the sense " Latin " and " Teutonic ") is obviously intended. On p. 388 " Rajahs " is used for " rayah " (the Christians of the Balkans); and on p. 238 " Vicegespan " (Alispan) is translated " Viscount." Transylvania is always given under its German name of " Siebenbiirgen." The famous old " Bastei " of Vienna, where the Ringstrasse now is, masquerades as " escarp- ment" (p. I95). Poor Bismarck is credited on p. II4 with a " demoniac nature " and on p. 3I9 with " demonic force ": presumably- in both cases " daemonisch " is the word employed. " Iryly " (p. 426) is doubtless a misprint for " airily." " By and large " (305, 426), " forthright " (457, 5I9), " posited " (502) are presumably Ameri--

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

752 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

canisms. Other minor errata are " Scescen " for " Szecsen " (290), " Count" for " Baron " Jelaci6 (25), " King " for " Prince " Milan on his accession (390). The phrase " To speak Magyar and understand Hungarian" (p. 405) makes nonsense.

An even graver blemish from the point of view of any serious student, and incidentally a proof that the matter was taken out of the author's hands, is the elimination of all notes and references and the absence of any bibliography. The reader is thus deprived of any cllue -to Professor Redlich's new sources, except thanks to some accidental passing allusion to Baron Kempen's diaries, to the confidential reports of Baron Augus or to the diplomatic correspondence of Kalnoky and others. Until this omission is repaired, scholars will do well to use -the German, not the English, edition.

R. W. SETON-WATSON.

THE POLES IN SIBERIA.

Dzieje Polakow na Syberji. By Michat Janik. Pp. viii + 472. Cracow, I928.

IF the student of history is tempted to linger upon the heroes and the battlefields that have won a nation her liberty or her fame, we may well study the story of Poland's struggle for her freedom in the penal settle- ments of Siberia. For Poland's battlefield was no less there than in the forests where the insurgents of I863 found a soldier's grave, or on the bloodstained ramparts of Warsaw that saw the closing scenes of the conffict of I830. Siberia was used by Russia as a penal colony as early as the 17th century. It was there that she sent her Polish prisoners of war during the years of Poland's independence; and in proportion as the course of history brought about the tragedy of Poland, Siberia became the almost certain destination of the Polish patriot martyrs. More especially between the Rising of I830 and the years immediately following that of I863 the stream of exiles banished to Siberia reached an enormous figure. Men, women, and even children, numbered among the scum of Russia's outcasts, went thither as felons in the company of Russian murderers and thieves. So large a part did this exile to Siberia come to play in Polish nationalism that Siberia has been ,called a second Poland, and the word Sybirak has become a term of honour in the Polish language.

It is therefore fitting that in the tenth year of Poland's recovered -independence a record of the Polish martyrology of Siberia should have been published in the shape of a monograph by Dr. Michal Janik, entitled History of the Poles in Siberia. The book opens with a brief -general description of Siberia. The author subsequently follows the footsteps of his compatriots in Siberia, beginning with the rare journeys of Polish travellers in the 13th century and ending with the outbreak of the Great War. When we state that Dr. Janik includes in his story ;records of Polish exiles in certain other districts of Asiatic and European

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.22 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:55:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions