Page - 289 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

On the War’s Objectives 289 eration of the Empire. The nature of the mood in neutral countries such as the USA is illuminated by the experience of the famous violinist Fritz Kreisler, who was accused of engaging in propaganda when he played the Austrian national anthem at the end of a concert, whilst at the same time the intoning of La Marseillaise in the USA triggered storms of enthusiasm on all sides.692 The kind of impressions that could be gained precisely in the USA could certainly have served to allow for a better and more realistic assessment of the international reputation of Austria-Hungary, yet the reports of the Austrian ambassador, Constan- tin von Dumba, from Washington merely led the Ballhausplatz (Austro-Hungarian Imperial Chancellery) in Vienna to attack the USA because of their deliveries of am- munition to the Entente and their support for Great Britain. There was no mention of the fact that the USA looked after the interests of the Dual Monarchy in a series of states with which Austria-Hungary no longer had diplomatic relations, or that it had been neglected to actually carry out a propaganda mission such as that of Redlich and Apponyi. Instead, Baron Dumba explored the possibility of crippling the American armaments industry by means of strikes, and involved himself in all kinds of intrigue. Evidently, neither Count Berchtold nor his emissary in the American capital had any better ideas.693 Several months of war, the collapse of euphoria and ambitious hopes led, however, to more comprehensive and, above all, realistic thought being given to the war aims of the Danube Monarchy. First of all, the relationship with Germany was addressed and pre-war deliberations were drawn on.694 The Chairman of the German National League, Gustav Groß for example, had the following objectives in mind in August 1914 : the alliance with the German Empire should be anchored in the constitution, German should be made the official language, an economic league should be created and a standardisation of customs duties should be aspired to. Perhaps Groß would also not have objected to ceding a small part of Bohemia to Saxony, as was being considered in Dresden,695 since in this way non-German territories could be disposed of. However, speculations of this kind shunned the glare of publicity. The debate had doubtlessly been opened, however, and it led to ambitious discussions of war aims but also to all those thoughts that revolved around a reorganisation of Central Europe. Anyone who thought highly of himself aspired to discuss his ideas and considerations in small or large circles, whether it was the member of the Upper House of the Austrian Reichs- rat (Imperial Assembly), Josef Baernreither, politicians or senior civil servants, who in some cases sought to resume their discussions of the murdered heir to the throne, the so-called “archival circle”, which  – with a particularly prominent cast  – gathered in the rooms of the Austrian State Archives (Haus- und Hofarchiv) behind the Foreign Ministry, the group surrounding the former Minister of Education Gustav Marcher, and many others.