Jews in the Habsburg armed forces
A supplement (in German and English) to an exhibition of the same name held at the Austrian Jewish Museum in Eisenstadt, marking the 200th anniversary of the conscription of Jews, which was regarded as a preliminary move toward Jewish emancipation. The first Jewish officers were commissioned around 1810. From 1868 on, Jews were included in full compulsory conscription. They were generally treated fairly by military authorities, who were more liberal than civilian society, despite occasional cases of discrimination. An anonymous pamphlet published in 1891 by Pan-German nationalists criticized Austrian acceptance of Jewish officers in contrast to the Prussian refusal to accept them. From the beginning of the 20th century the number of Jewish officers decreased, partly as a result of rising Catholic influence. Among reserve officers, coming mainly from secondary schools and universities, antisemitism was more widespread. After the First World War, the rising antisemitism was also felt in the army.