Sarajevo, June 28, 1914: The Serbian student Gavrilo Princip shoots the Austrian heir apparent Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination will serve as the reason for the Habsburg Monarchy to invade Serbia – and thus unleash the First World War. What drove the assassin of Sarajevo, what made his beliefs radical and turned him into an assassin? At the center of events we find phenomena that are uncannily topical: occupation, failed states, terrorism. Gregor Mayer draws parallels between the global political confusion prevalent at the time – with its dramatic upheavals and fear of modernization– and the politics of our day and age.

Right-wing parties and neo-fascist groups are becoming an ever-increasing problem in young democracies throughout East and Central Europe. Next to these parties’ successes in elections in Hungary and Slovakia, brutal attacks on minorities by paramilitary groups or Nazi skinheads in Serbia and the Czech Republic are making headlines. There is an urgent need for more thorough information on East Europe’s right-wing extremist scene in order to make an appropriate assessment of the threat these groups pose. News correspondents Gregor Mayer and Bernhard Odehnal have been watching the growing threat for years – sometimes even putting themselves in the line of fire. In their reports, comprised in this book, they analyze the right-wing extremist scene in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria. They gathered inside information on the subject in both on-site research and interviews. On the basis of these insights, they outline the historical and ideological background of these events in the respective countries. The authors demonstrate how animosity against Roma, Jews and homosexuals is fueled and point out connections to extremist groups in Germany and Austria, who are striving for the creation of a “North-South axis” of “National resistance”. Mayer and Odehnal clearly name the threat emanating from these ultra-nationalist agitations – a threat for the political stability of each of these countries as well as for democracy in the entire European community.

The war had come to an end, the monarchy was in ruins, the Kaiser abdicated. New states were hurriedly formed: one of them called itself the Republic of German-Austria. As yet, no borders had been defined for the new state, there was no constitution to govern the political structure. German-Austria wanted to attach itself to the German Reich, Vorarlberg to Switzerland and a few territories flirted with free-state ideas. At the same time, the founding years of the First Republic were also a great awakening towards modernity. They laid the basis for a social democracy, included women in the political process and brought a new zest for life. The authors provide a panoramic view of the experimental laboratory of a nation’s self-discovery – leading to the birth of the Austrian Republic.

1918 was a year of radical change and big emotions in Austria. How did the contemporary witnesses experience this time? The aristocracy, bourgeoisie and working classes have their say in authentic accounts. The book brings to light the extremely diverse assessments of that great upheaval. For some it signified the downfall of their homeland and their personal ruin, for others a hopeful new beginning: the mourning of Old Austria and the monarchy, hate for the aristocracy and the Habsburgs, the shock of having been defeated in war, embitterment and resignation, joy over the ending of the war and hope for better times. Gudula Walterskirchen has gathered previously unpublished letters, diaries and recollections which bring that year of great turmoil back to life.