It's not a video about Austria-Hungary in World War I if Conrad von Hötzendorf doesn't get mentioned at least once.

Finally, it´s Aronow time again.

I did not have Sam making a case for the reintroduction of duelling on my 2024 bingo card.

When I heard the name Karl Renner, my mind went, "wait, the Karl Renner from AFTER World War 2?" Turns out he lived that long - he lived long enough to see Austria be broken apart, annexed, broken apart temporarily, and died before it could be put back together again in 1955

The way you looked at me when you mentioned Von Hotzendorf felt personal.

@21:08 It wasn't that they thought Germany might win that the negotiations were broken off, but rather that France (and Austria's foreign minister, Count Czernin) exposed the secret negotiations that were taking place in a massive public scandal, which resulted in Karl having to break them off because Germany was threatening to invade them over it. Karl never believed that Germany would/could win the war, which is why he pursued the secret negotiations (he also had a number of moral objections to the war itself, and Germany's aims as he was more sympathetic to France). The whole scandal was known as the Sixtus Affair (after Karl's brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus Bourbon, who he was communicating with in the Belgian army).

Sam Aronow, can you please make videos on these following topics: - History of Iraqi Jews (that way you can talk about the Kadoorie, Sassoon and Saatchi families) - History of Jewish communities in Southeast Asia (in places such as Penang and Manado) - History of Yemeni Jews - History of Sephardic Jews in Suriname and the Caribbean - History of Jewish communities in Latin America (that way you can talk about Jewish gauchos) - History of South Africa's Jewish community (that way you can talk about Helen Suzman and Harry Schwarz) Thank you very much and please accept my requests.

Funnily enough I have been reading Joyce's Ulysses recently where much of the book makes many implicit comparisons of the Irish and Jewish circumstances. And having watched this it makes me realise that Leopold Bloom's sympathies for Arthur Griffith's pre-1916 Sinn Fein that explicitly proposed Irish Home Rule in the context of a Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, but for Britain, suggests to me that Bloom himself was probably more on the Bundist side of things. Because as you point out here the Bundists were quite explicitly anti-nationalist and anti-national state in a monolithic sense. Which in itself adds an interesting flavour to his skepticism about the adverts for Zionist colonies (the Agendath Netaim, explicitly connected to Moses Montefiore) as well, suggesting on both the Irish question and the Jewish question the character is seeking a post-nationalist solution, associating the more radical demands of both the Fenians and Zionists for separate nation states as forms of the same violent machismo that parallels what Joyce saw as the subjugating empires of the time such as Britain or Russia. It makes sense also that these ideas would have been rattling in Joyce's head given the time he had spent before WW2 in Trieste.

I think you really nailed it with the 'Mendelssohn Line', I'm sure my Yekkish grandparents would have put the divide about there too! (Although I think that most of the Silesian Jews were Ost) I can't say I know much about the various Ostjudisch communities (Litvak, Galitz, Poylish, Russian etc.), but you can divide the Westjuden further into our own communities: - Yekkes = Western(Rheinland)/Southern Germany, Alsace, Switzerland, Netherlands and German/Dutch-speaking/Jüdischdeutsch slang - Ostelbisch Jews = Germany East of the Elbe to the Mendelssohn line and German-speaking/Yiddish slang - Viennese Jews = Vienna area of Austria and German-speaking/Yiddish slang - Czech Jews (also sometimes included as Ostelbisch) = Bohemia and German-speaking/not sure what slang - Hungarian Jews = Hungary (especially Budapest) and Hungarian-speaking/Yiddish slang Broadly speaking all of these would be considered Westjuden. Sadly there was often a prejudice between east and west, but in the last 40/50 years that has basically completely vanished.

4:31 I am not sure if it's right because of Henri Rottembourg, who apparently became General of Brigade in 1811 and General of Division in 1813. He served from the first coalition war right until the hundred days war.

I knew banning dueling was a mistake!

A small correction. The Croats, alongside Slovens and Serbs first declared State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. It was only after the unification withKingdom of Serbia and Montenegro, about month and a half later,, that it was named Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Also you are missing the part of the territory of the State - Dalmatia, which in your maps remains orange as part of Cisleithanian Austria.

Hello Sam! I’m an Algerian that has been watching your videos and I love them. Keep going!

Another great video! The discussion on the Austromarxists' relationship with Jews reminds me of their relationship with Slavic 'Völkerabfälle', a topic that I wrote my Bachelor thesis on, and one that touches on that discussion on the idea of dividing Europe between East and West. Beyond the educational aspect, all this affirms in my eyes, just as it had for Bauer, my attitude towards the Austromarxists. For anyone reading that's interested in seeing arguments which argue against such a divide being a relic of the Cold War, and in fact predating it significantly, I highly recommend checking out Larry Wolff's Inventing Eastern Europe and Maria Todorova's Imagining the Balkans

My favorite Shabbos treat. Thank you for making these videos

I so love your work, Sam ! I’m sending this video ASAP to my dear Czech-American friend who was raised (and carries his last name) by his grandfather, a Jewish Austro Hungarian army officer who survived being wounded in action in WWI AND Theresienstadt concentration camp in the Holocaust! Then he lived under communism and was not compensated at all. I think he must have been a great guy.

Need to point out that at Vittorio Veneto there was also the largest part of the Czekoslovac Legion.

What is the territory labeled 'K' at 3:48? Southern Poland is where the shtetl is located that my mom's dad's side is from, so I have a general interest in the area. They weren't there anymore during the time period this video covers. They escaped to the US in the 1880s.

It was interesting as an young Jewish kid to read a chabad-published children's novel (written from the prospective of a Jewish boy in Galicia during ww1) where the German soldiers were the GOOD GUYS.

Yess!! new video!!

Thank you for another great video! Though I am sorry that you didn't mention the Hilsner Affair and the role of future Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in it

as usual a great video, thank you sam! what a way to start the week!

anyone else wish Hungary was able to keep the borders of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ? it just looks so much more aesthetically pleasing

Thank you very much for this great video! Where I've moved to, I live opposite to the Karl-Renner-Platz, so this one hits especially close to home.

Best youtube channel

I spoted an elusive general John Monash appearing at 21:36.

Thank you for a brilliant video! Such high production values take a lot of skill and dedication. Bravo!

I love listening to these videos while walking. You can enjoy them by just listening.

Thanks for noting Uncle Eduard 😊 Despite having family from many of the places you mentioned and who lived through much of this history, all I heard from them as a child were confused stories from limited perspectives. You’ve put a lot of it into context and suddenly the stories make more sense…!

Another grand slam. At 11:00 by the way the division remains real. Eastern and western Germany are dissimilar now, and people have forgotten that that dissimilarity is not a postwar event but long predates World War 2.

Great video! Will there be another video on Hungarian Jewry? I've always been interested about the schism (Neologs, Traditionalists, etc.) and would love to have it covered here!

The ethnically German part of my family came from Austria-Hungary, specifically one of those little blobs of German-speakers all the way over in what is now Romania. It's interesting hearing this bit of Austria-Hungary's history.

I suppose it's impossible to do otherwise in the context of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but I'm happy you used the terms "nation" and "nation state" in their actual meanings, rather than simply as a poetic stand in for "state" as is often done nowadays.

Thank you.

Thanks for this video. Three of my grandparents left the Austrian province of Galicia when they immigrated to America about 1900.

Blessed Karl mentioned. I’m happy.

Sam Aronow, I wanted to ask, would you do a video about Khmelnytsky uprising and cossacks topic? Because I often hear that he (Bohdan Khmelnytsky) is depicted as near absolute evil in jewish communities, and that cossack state was highly Antisemitic (despite jews becoming colonels, highest rank in administration of Hetmanate).

On a similar subject, you should read Joseph Roth's "The Radetzky March," which is by a Jewish author about the end of the Habsburg Empire. A review of it from your prospective would be fascinating.

I feel like I learn more about general world history on a channel specifically focused on Jewish history than on other channels..

Wtf, I love dueling now?

Who's the person that flashes onscreen at 21:36?

Is that an instrumental cover of “Hope for the best, Expect the worst” from Mel Brook’s The Twelve Chairs at the beginning?

This is very weird and specific and has nothing to do with the content of the video or jewish history but at 20:20 did anyone else notice the cigarette burn in the top right corner? (for those who don't know a cigarette burn is a small oval in the top of the screen for old films to tell the projectionist it was time to change reels/ projectors) Idk if I'm seeing things but as a film nerd I found it interesting.

Thanks .

Since you covering WW1 I’m curious if your gonna cover John Monash the Australian General

Germany are the ones who declared war on France and Russia, not Austria-Hungary. Germany in every technical sense began the war, unless your idea of a “Great War” is Austria vs Serbia.

Great vidéo ! Will you make another vidéo on judaism in France ? :)

It sounds weird, but these videos are so relaxing.

What about Jews against Jews in rival armies Serbian ,Italian to Austria-Hungary army. Do you know story of David Albala?

3:24 it's off topic but where did you find this flag of Milan? Out of curiosity since mostly during the spanish empire and today it was the crucifix of saint george

Around 11:45 you talk about the west-east divide among European Jews and coin the term Mendelssohn Line. My very cursory knowledge about the Haskalah gave me the impression that it was a phenomenon in Eastern Europe, but you suggest that this line indicates where the Jewish Enlightenment spread beyond small intellectual circles into the broader culture and I got the impression that you meant that it was a Western thing. Do you have any more info about this? Not meant as a critique, I love your videos and am just curious to learn more!

I guess I understand a bit more why my grandfather sometimes say he is from Austro-Hungary (he's Galician jew) dispite being born in 48'. He never said he was Hungarian or Ukranian, but always either Galician or from Austro Hungary

Are we going to get videos of this length and depth covering the history of Jews in middle eastern and north African countries?

21:36

Very timely as I am reading Radetzky March; it's pretty compelling once you get into it. The Jewish doctor is killed in a duel in Chapter 7. Ow. Please do a video on the hundredth anniversary of the assassination of Jacob Israel deHaan.

Will you do a video on the Hungarian soviet republic and the following white terror in 1919?

I like the argument that A-H was like a proto-EU. Crazy how the actual EU was formed out of France's obsession to get resources from the Rheinland

Is that Gen. Monash at 21:36? 🙂

6:27 based response to antisemitism

What's with the black hole at 20:19 in the top right?

‘Hope for the best, expect the worst’ perfectly encompasses this

I am from the usa & not jewish. (love these videos) I was taught this history in school w/ the jewish history holistically absent. If the jewish aspect of the historical narrative was mentioned it was really in passing. Except for the holocaust obv. Do you have any theories as to why this might be?

Monash, Jewish, won WW1. Did you flash his image for

Without Germany's "blank check", the Austro-Hungarians do not deliver an ultimatum to the Serbians the Serbians could not accept. Austria-Hungary has to tone down her ultimatum, the Serbians find a way to make them happy and Russia doesn't intervene.

“Hey, what’s this big blob in the middle of Europe?”

Last time I was this early the sandwich was still in the making

It’s interesting, because in my family, one side comes from the east (Ostjuden) in the Russian Empire and the other from the west (Westjuden) in Austria-Hungary, but the eastern half of my family was far wealthier than the western half.

5:35 Lithuanian was definately not among recognised languages in Austria-Hungary, this is most probably some sot of mistake by the quoted author.

Could you make a video about the immigration of Marrano Jews to the northeast of Brazil during Portuguese America? Although it is little discussed, most of the Portuguese settlers in this region had Jewish origins, with some patriarchs being Jews, and many maintained crypto-Jewish practices that ended up becoming part of interior traditions.

wait why was Lithuanian official in AH?

What causes WWI? Austria was Hungry for Turkey (Well, old turkish territory in the balkans)

Great video as always. But talking of a 'partition' of Austria and Hungary in 1867 is very misleading. Hungary was always a separate political entity in the Empire. There were attempts (including one between 1849 and 1867) to change that, but they always failed. So, in 1867, it is not partition that took place. The Imperial Government accepted that Hungary would need to become a constitutional monarchy on the basis of the April 1848 constitutional acts of the 1848 revolution. And the deal was to transform Austria into a constitutional monarchy, too. Which they never managed. (The Austrian Parliament was suspended for most of its history in the decades before WWI.) In political terms, the Empire was fatally undermined by two main factors: (1) the Austrian government's inability to implement the principles of constitutionalism and (2) the Hungarian Government's self-defeating embrace of ethno-nationalism and Hungarian exceptionalism (that prevented the much-needed further federalisation of the Empire for fear of the autonomism of other ethnic groups). The tipping point was that the Czechs (in the industrial heartland of the Empire) turned against the very idea of the Empire in droves. They did not get constitutional government from Vienna, and they were prevented by Budapest from gaining appropriate territorial autonomy.

Germany was one nation, A-H was many, and the essential contradiction was that once you gave one nationality (Hungarians) their own country, everyone wanted one. And why not? Why Hungary and not, say, Slovakia? Probably there was no maintaining A-H in the age of the nation-state, but once the Hungarians started down the chauvinist path, A-H was on borrowed time.

More about history of central and eastern Europe, than about jewish history, but intersting and less known topic.

5:33 Lithuanian??

According to the official findings of the Paris Peace conference, principally controlled and administered by the US, UK, and French representatives, Germany was solely declared as being individually responsible for starting World War 1, which in any ones language and according to this video, this was not true. So, the question arises who was guilty for starting World War 1? In terms of the level of punishment accorded against the Kingdom of Hungary, it would appear that Hungary was solely responsible for starting the War. The Kingdom lost 2/3 of its territory, and for this reason alone she qualifies of being guilty of everything, including the responsibility for starting the War, by consenting in the final phase of Austria - Hungary's declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia, due to the murder of the Archduke, by Serb nationalists. In essence, nothing has changed, as Hungary remains under severe criticism from the same powers.

23:50 "That one didn´t age well"

Why did jews joined the cause for independence in Hungary, if this country did not recognized their civil rights as the empire did?

One of the most interesting nation states.

Is Luxemburg next?

I can't find information on the Brody girls massacre.

17:07 every video on Austria Hungary has to mention Big FCvH at least once😂

17:27 KKKKKAAAAAAARRRRRRRRLLLLLLL..... That doesn't kill people!

20:48, It should be "PSL-P" and "PSL-L"

Poland would become a power in central Europe although certainly eclipsed by Germany. My paternal grandfather was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army . Despite being a Revisionist Zionist, he would stay in Galicia and fight for Poland during its war against Ukraine and later against the Bolshevik invasion. He was not alone in this. My grandfather was also a good shot with a pistol as was my father when he was an officer and the Israeli Navy. I think I should brush up on my target practice. We live in increasingly unsettled times.

I already knew about Franz Joseph's care for the Jewish population thanks to indy neidell's videos, and had a knowledge of the antisemitism present thanks to your videos mentioning the Dual monarchy before, but I'm somehow glad that yes, overall the Empire's good reputation regarding jews seem to be deserved (though again, there were flaws and cynical reasons for some such as undermining Russia). And honestly, I've seen people talk of how Franz Joseph's death was key to the dissolution, and I think it was even more prevalent for the Jewish population, because with the loss of the monarch, who if I guess was kinda like Elizabeth II in regard of being seen positively by the public, all while in a time of war, the devotion to the crown and thus the existence of this empire who's sole unifying factor was the Habsburg monarchy would have been weaker. Honestly, Franz Joseph's relationship with the Jewish population of his domains throughout his life is an interesting topic I would really want to know more about. Thanks for the video!

BRING! BACK! THE! MOTHERFLIPPING! DUEL! In the German-Language Netflix series FREUD, you can actually see a pistol duel between two former military officers in pre-WWI Vienna. The series is more like alternative history but it is still interesting. It also touches antisemitism and ethnic tensions in the Austrian Empire.

I won’t do anything for every like this comment gets.

In a way the precursor of the EU; hopefully the latter will not share the same destiny .

12:18 not every german is yiddish

Gavrilo Princip was a subject of Austria!!!!!!!!!!

You put the demarcation line at the eastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary. I disagree. I would argue that the Jews of east Hungary (including Transylvania) are Ostjuden. Or, at the very least, closer to Ostjuden than they were to the prototypical Westjuden.

He's still alive, boys!

where is Croatia? bad learnt lesson

I was confused by this video. Is this the right channel? How is this Jewish history?

🇦🇹🇭🇺

Can you decide on an accent? Everything except the long a sound sometimes is pronounced American. Just a little bit irritating.

45 minutes and nine comments, bro feel off.

This isn't strictly video related but I noticed that you tend to use /ɐː/ instead of /æ/ (which is what I'm used to hearing in a Californian accent) in words like "Vast". (2:01) This exists in other English accents ( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap-bath_split ) but was wondering if this is common in a certain part of California or if the origin is elsewhere. Thanks!