Page - 605 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Count Karl Stürgkh (1859–1916) 605 practically all political groups, who knew that the Army High Command, the upper house of the Reichsrat, individuals of the greatest rank and influence, and also the German Empire demanded and pursued his demise, who in principle recognised the necessity of parliament reconvening but also knew how reluctant the Emperor was to take this step, could not bring himself to make a clear decision. He ultimately delegated responsibility to someone else in a matter that was, in itself, not particularly important. Three Viennese university professors, the Professor for Constitutional Law Edmund Bernatzik, the historian Ludo Moritz Hartmann and the expert in international law Heinrich Lammasch, had sent out invitations to a gathering in the concert hall on Sunday, 22 October 1916.1395 The subject of the function was to be ‘The Parliament’. Bernatzik, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Julius Sylvester, and the So- cial Democratic deputy Engelbert Pernerstorfer, among others, were to take the floor. Stürgkh left the decision as to whether the function should be permitted or not to the Viennese Police Commissioner Baron Gorup. He wanted it prohibited, since remarks might be made that would then be exaggerated abroad. The head of the State Police, Johannes Schober, contradicted his boss : the function could be used as an outlet and the newspaper coverage of the event could be controlled. But Gorup insisted on the ban. On 20 October, after the function had been announced on a large scale, the ban was imposed. The next day, Stürgkh was shot to death by Friedrich Adler whilst having lunch in the hotel ‘Meissl und Schadn’ on Vienna’s Neuer Markt square. The son of the party leader of the Austrian Social Democrats Viktor Adler had known that Stürgkh would eat at ‘Meissl und Schadn’. He did so practically every day. Adler had enter- tained the idea of carrying out the assassination for one-and-a-half years. The jolt of a political murder appeared to him to be the only way to point to the drastic restrictions on human liberties brought about by the war, the million-fold death on the fronts and also his own dilemma. The cancellation of the function in the concert hall had merely been the final trigger. Adler had initially had in mind the Imperial and Royal Minster of Justice Baron Hochenburger, and then the Hungarian Prime Minister Count Tisza. Adler considered Hochenburger to be too insignificant, whilst in the case of Tisza he feared that his murder could perhaps be interpreted as an act of nationalism. He, therefore, struck him from his deliberations, too. Finally, Adler thought of the Public Prosecutor Dr Mager and also the Foreign Minister Count Burián, before he deter- mined on Stürgkh.1396 Adler had planned the murder for three months. Stürgkh was at lunch with the Governor of Tyrol, Count Toggenburg, and Captain of Cavalry Baron Lexa von Aehrenthal. After almost two hours, during which Adler had observed the Prime Minister, he approached him. Stürgkh was extremely short-sighted and did not even see who was standing in front of him. He was fatally shot three times. During the scuffle that ensued, Adler shot again and injured Baron Aehrenthal.1397 He then allowed himself be arrested.