Page - 813 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Strangers in the Homeland 813 and Klagenfurt were rented at the expense of the state and made available to 8,000 Polish refugees of a higher social standing, as well as 500 Jews.1905 Within a very short space of time, the provision of foodstuffs gave rise to rivalries and envy. Russian prisoners of war were to receive meat three times a week. Galician refugees, provided they were accommodated in camps, received meat  – if possible  – twice a week. Otherwise, the customary ‘specialities’ dominated ; in Styria these were, for example, beans, barley, potatoes and, above all, polenta. But the ‘bread envy’ showed no mercy. Refugees were unnecessary eaters. When the time came to return, many were quite rightly sceptical that they would find a secure existence. Strangely enough, life in an Austrian camp appeared more desirable. Many, however, had a very different dream and wanted to follow the stream of emigrants who had poured into the USA in the second half of the 19th century.1906 And the route still appeared open, since there was as yet no war against the United States. Until summer 1916, the number of refugees from the east would sink further. Then, however, it shot up again for half a year. Around 200,000 inhabitants of Galicia and Bukovina once more had to leave everything behind and again abandon to destruction what they had just built. This time, Hungary also committed itself to taking in 25,000 refugees for a short time.1907 In any case, other refugees long since had priority for Aus- tria, namely those from the south-west. In the territories of Tyrol, Carinthia, Slovenia, Istria and the Austrian Littoral bor- dering Italy, the mass migration only began later. In May 1915, however, the images of the region of Trento (Trient) and the territory of the upper and mid-Isonzo began to mirror the well-known images from the east of the Dual Monarchy : the population in the localities and farmsteads close to the border were asked to leave their houses. The first notices had arrived as early as the end of February 1915. At that point, it had been said that in case of emergency the ‘politically unreliable elements’ would be evacuated. It then appeared almost Kafkaesque, however, that there were to be court proceedings against those inhabitants of the frontier region who spoke about a possible Italian entry into the war, since they were in this way guilty of the offence of spreading false rumours. The District Commissioner in Bolzano (Bozen), who was responsible for compiling the list of unreliable people, then claimed that two-thirds of the population would have to be imprisoned for such offences.1908 From 17 May, the evacuation of the Italian-speak- ing population of Istria began.1909 The non-Italians followed. On 19 May, the evacua- tion orders reached the Austrian Littoral on the Adriatic. Finally, it was the turn of the Trento region and the localities on the plateau of Folgaria and Lavarone. Whoever did not go willingly was evacuated by force. ‘The population is asked to leave the area. […] Everyone [must] take a suitcase with the most necessary items  – a woollen blanket and provisions for five days.’1910 Such and similar announcements were published by mayors