Page - 861 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Turn of the Year, 1918 861 ing Tisza’s fall, the grain rations in Hungary had even been increased, instead of being reduced, as would have been necessary in the interest of the state overall.2045 In January 1918 in Austria, however, there was a sense of desperation, and in order to make the re- serve supplies go further once more, it became necessary to reduce the per-head ration for flour from 200 grams per day to 165 grams. The meat ration was cut to 160 grams per week. This was to be supplemented by between one and one-and-a-half kilograms of potatoes per week, but in many places, potatoes were not, or not always, available.2046 This was a result of the railway calamity that had been created by the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo. Certainly, however, it was not only the overall shortages that were to blame for the spreading food supply crisis, but to an equal extent the incapacity of the state to take drastic measures and to secure the requisitioning and transportation of food. In Poland, Moravia and in the Alpine regions of the Austrian half of the Empire, not even 165 grams of flour per day could be provided. By contrast, in Croatia, which belonged to Hungary, there were not even bread cards in 1917, since bread did not have to be rationed.2047 Increasingly, it was attempted to make a connection between one’s own situation, the hunger and the hardships, and conditions in the other parts of the Empire and peoples of the Habsburg Monarchy. Accusations hailed down, and hatred spread to an ever greater degree. The hatred was directed at those who had it better, the wealthy and the war profiteers, but also at those in the towns or in the country, the refugees and internees, as well as the prisoners of war. Hatred towards Germany was also expressed with increasing openness, which with its merciless will to gain victory and its domi- nance prevented the conclusion of a peace agreement, and thus an end to the desperate situation. Hungary was frequently regarded as a type of vassal of Germany. The Czechs conformed to every possible prejudice, and their deputies did little, either in the House of Representatives or in the upper house of the Reichsrat, to win over the Germans. The same was true in reverse. The Poles were important for forming a majority, but did not lose sight of their own interests for a moment. And when it came to the southern Slavs, the May Declaration of 1917 had led to a gradual change of mood. Thus, a Yugo- slav perspective was presented alongside or even in opposition to the various position papers of the Germans and Czechs. However, aside from the fact that the formulations offered a great deal of room for interpretation, it could be ascertained that both halves of the Empire were affected by the declaration. In Hungary, therefore, greater atten- tion began to be paid to the Croats, while in Austria the Slovenes became a subject of interest. While the commitment to the ruling dynasty gave the declaration a minimum of legality, everything else could be regarded as nothing other than a type of balancing act, since the declaration also contained an unmistakeable commitment to Yugoslavism. The fact that an attempt was being made to find a solution to the southern Slav ques- tion within the Habsburg Monarchy was what made the May Declaration different