Monday, February 23, 2015

Was the Habsburg Monarchy Doomed Anyway?

A few years ago, as part of the preparations for my interview with Archduke Otto, I read The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire, 1815–1918 by Professor Alan Sked. Dr. Sked in his book questioned – or debunked if you will – the thesis that World War I just finished off an empire that would fall apart shortly in any case.

Here's a lecture by another Habsburg historian, Dr. John Deak, Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame in the State of Indiana, taking on the “consensus”:


1 comment:

Principe said...

A bit ponderous (at first) and earnest as American academics tend to be but an overall good presentation. We learn of many new insights to help us understand the end of the Empire. One can only hope that the lessons of history are learned by the current masters of the European Union. The army and the venal nationalist minority politicians were the prime factors leading to the dissolution of the Empire, it seems.Not much changes.