Local Newspapers 1914

The first part of this section contains photographs and transcriptions/translations of Ettlingen's newspapers the "Mittelbadischer Courier", the "Badischer Landsmann" and the "Amtliches Verkündigungsblatt" at the outbreak of war, between July 28 and August 3, 1914.

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Badischer Landsmann, August 1, 1914:
"Germany in a State of War"
Alliance Between Japan and Austria

Transcription and translation below











Transcription and translation of the article in English:
Germany in a State of War
Alliance Between Japan and Austria
Vienna, August 1 (by telephone at 3 pm)
According to the "Deutsche Tageszeitung" a conversation was held yesterday between the Japanese ambassador and Count Berchthold, in which an alliance was concluded between Austria and Japan, and under which Japan will support Austria if the latter is attacked by Russia.

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Mittelbadischer Courier, July 28, 1914:
"The War Between Austria and Serbia"

Transcription and translation below















Transcription and translation of the article in English:
The War Between Austria and Serbia
Austria on the Offensive
Vienna, July 28

The hostilities have begun. Austrian troops crossed the Serbian border at the Hungarian town of Mitrowic and have penetrated Serbian territory up to the planned point. The Serbian armed forces, which offered little resistance, were repelled everywhere.

The news of the border crossing and the victorious advance led to indescribale jubilation in Vienna.

This official announcement of the start of the Austrian operations indicates that the advance is not directed against Belgrade but will be deployed on the left Serbian flank, around 70 kilometers from the capital and along the Drina. (This might be due to reasons of a diplomatic and military nature).

Vienna, July 28

On the Dona at Rocewo, the Serbian troop transportation steamships "Wardar" and "Zar Nikolaus" have been captured by the Austria boats of the Danube flotilla and Serbians have been taken prisoner. The detonation of the railroad bridge at Semlin appears to be confirmed, but this has been declared to be insignificant for the Austrian troops.

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Mittelbadischer Courier, July 28, 1914:
"The Unsatisfactory Serbian Response"
to the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum presented on July 23, 1914 at 6 pm following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife Sophie, by a Serbian national. A response was demanded within two days by July 25 at 6 pm.
The Serbian response conceded most of the demands made by the Austrian government. However, Austria-Hungary declared war the next day, as it considered the response to be unsatisfactory.

This article presents Austria-Hungary's opinion of the Serbian response.
Transcription and translation below






Transcription and translation of the article in English:
The Unsatisfactory Serbian Response
Vienna, July 27

The Austrian-Imperial envoy Freiherr von Giesl submitted the Serbian response to the Austro-Hungarian demands made on the 26^th of this month to the Ministry upon his arrival in Vienna.

This response is intended to convey the false impression that the Serbian government is prepared to comprehensively fulfill the demands made by Austria-Hungary. In actual fact, however, the response is pervaded by a spirit of insincerity which makes it clear that the Serbian government does not seriously intend to put an end to the sufferance that it has to date bestowed on the criminal activities against the monarchy.

Both with regard to the general principle of the Austro-Hungarian prior agreement as well as to the individual demands made by Austria-Hungary, the Serbian response contains such extensive reservations and restrictions that the concessions actually made are rendered meaningless.

In particular, Austro-Hungary’s demand that Austrian-Imperial institutions participate in the investigative proceedings to find the parties who were involved in the plot of June 28, on Serbian soil, was completely rejected on a trivial pretext. Likewise, the promise made to Austria-Hungary to combat the press hostile to the monarchy is tantamount to a rejection.

Austro-Hungary’s demand that the royal Serbian government take the necessary measures to ensure that the operating associations hostile to the monarchy do not continue their activities, under another name and in another form, was completely disregarded. As the demands contained in the Austrian-Imperial government’s letter of the 23rd of this month with regard to the Serbian behavior observed constitutes the minimum of that which is necessary to establish permanent peace in the south-west of the monarchy, the Serbian response must be considered to be unsatisfactory. That, in addition, the Serbian government itself was aware that its response was unacceptable for us, is underscored by the fact that, at the end of the response, it makes proposals to seek a regulation of the controversy through arbitrary proceedings, an invitation that brings to a halt proper examination by the fact that in the same hour as the response was submitted – a few minutes before the deadline expired – the Serbian army was mobilized.

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Mittelbadischer Courier, July 31, 1914:
"State of War Declared for Germany"

Transcription and translation of the article in English:
State of War Declared for Germany
As Russia has not issued a declaration of neutrality to Austria, the latter is commencing complete mobilization. As a result, the mobilization of Germany has become necessary.

The Russian Threat
Due to the fact of the Russian mobilization, which can no longer be referred to as moderate, and which is apparent from the Tsar's ukase, the decision regarding war and peace is balanced on a knife-edge. From the private messages shown below, which are being returned from reliable sources in Berlin and Cologne, it can be seen that diplomatic relations have not yet been severed between Russia on the one hand and Austria and Germany on the other. However, it must be noted that these private messages were written earlier than the announcement of the Tsar's ukase, which instructs mobilization and which was first published this evening at the seventh hour by the official news agency Wolff as a special edition. However, one can conclude from these messages, as well as from the entire situation, that Germany and Austria did not underestimate the previously announced Russian partial mobilization, but specifically addressed questions in this regard to the Russian government in Petersburg.

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Amtliches Verkündigungsblatt, 1914: Dead or Fallen

On October 12, 1914 Ettlingen's newspaper the "Amtliches Verkündigungsblatt" issues one of the first extracts from the German Verlustliste (List of Losses). The extract lists the local soldiers who are wounded, missing or dead.
Here, the soldiers who have died in battle are referred to as "dead" ("tot" - marked by red circle in the photo).

By December 12, 1914 the German List of Losses has changed "dead" to "fallen" ("gefallen" - marked by red circle in the photo).

The use of the word "fallen" here indicates "fallen for the Fatherland", in other words, a hero's death.
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Returning POWs

Shown below are the papers returning prisoners of war received when they were discharged and sent home. The prisoners of war were discharged after the Great War, primarily in 1919 and 1920.

The documents in this section of this page have been reproduced with the permission of the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe and are the copyright and property of the Landesarchiv Karlsruhe http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de
The documents may not be published, forwarded or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe.
Source: Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, ID number: 456 G1 No. 4184.

This is the "Entlassungsschein", (Certificate of Discharge), showing the soldier's name and details, and where he was taken prisoner, as well as the details of when and where he was discharged.

The clothes that the soldier was in possession of at the time of capture are returned with a form stipulating exactly what has been returned to him.

The letter from the "Military Pass Department" to the Versorgungsamt in Heidelberg from 1920, stating that the soldier's military pass has already been sent on.

Letter from the "Durchgangslager" (transit camp) in 1919, stating that the soldier has been released.

Letter from the "Heimkehr-Abteilung" (homecoming department) in Heidelberg, stating the release of the soldier.









Returning

Bruchhausen: So far, we have collected the names of those POWs who returned to Ettlingen's district of Bruchhausen in 1919:
Ludwig Reuter
Otto Kiefer
Theodor Büchel
Johannes Kühn
Florian Speck
Wilhelm Speck
August Maier
Karl Bach
Josef Heinzler
Adolf Speck
Gustav Streit
Karl Leible