Page - 811 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Strangers in the Homeland 811 camps as an example, the first Polish refugee transports arrived at the end of Novem- ber 1914. One month later, the camp already boasted a population of around 14,500 refugees.1898 This camp especially clearly reflected all problems arising from such emer- gency shelters : they had been set up in great haste. At the beginning, adequate sanitary, disinfection and washing facilities were lacking. There was no talk yet of schools and workplaces. It was vital only to find shelter for people. In December, typhus broke out. In January, there was already a typhus epidemic. There was a lack of doctors, since they had frequently been drafted, and the doctors who had fled with their compatriots from Galicia were not regarded as destitute and therefore avoided being accommodated in a camp. Consequently, emergency measures also had to be taken here. Only after half a year was the typhus epidemic brought under control. 49 people had died ; ten times as many had been taken sick. The Ministry of the Interior certainly did its utmost to avert a catastrophe. For the Austrian Interior Minister, Baron Heinold, and likewise his successor, Count Toggen- burg, two aspects were to the fore here : the humanitarian and the security factors. In any case, the Ministry of the Interior did everything to make sure the avalanche of refugees did not result in chaos and violence.1899 In the case of many of the measures decreed for the reasons cited above, the officials repeatedly met with bitter opposition on the part of district and national authorities, but also from the municipal council in Vienna. Appeals to comprehend the suffering of the refugees and to alleviate their presence as strangers in the homeland were often not understood. Only initially were the refugees willingly accepted. Thereafter, however, the argu- ment was soon heard that ‘the boat is full’, or words to that effect. Wherever camps were set up, the tradespeople and suppliers of building materials derived some benefit from them, since materials and workmen were naturally required for their construc- tion. Then, however, tensions also increased in the rural reception areas, people became suspicious that the refugees were better off than the locals, and envy in particular was aroused that the refugees were equipped with a fixed sum of money and, above all, with food (without having to wait in line), whilst the local residents could not expect nour- ishment, free clothes, footwear, underwear, straw mattresses, blankets and medicines.1900 In December 1914, 291,459 refugees already had to be supported in the Austrian half of the Empire ; in January 1915 it was 321,478. For a brief time at the end of Sep- tember and the beginning of October 1914, there had been cause for hope. Przemyśl had been relieved and the evacuation of Kraków had been stopped. Those willing to return prepared themselves. Then, however, Przemyśl had to be evacuated a second time and remained occupied by the Russians until its re-conquest in June 1915. Only the victory in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive brought the turnaround, at least for west- ern and central Galicia. By then, the masses of refugees had grown to around 400,000 people. At this point, Vienna and Lower Austria hosted around 186,000 refugees in