„Németnek születtem, de az vagyok-e még mindig?” Identitásválság-diskurzusok „német-Ausztriában”, 1866–1914
“I Was Born a German, but Am I One Still?” Discourses of Identity Crisis in “German Austria”, 1866–1914

Summary/Abstract: When the dualist system was established in the Habsburg Empire, it was evident for the contemporaries that the new arrangement implied German supremacy in Cisleithania and Hungarian supremacy in Hungary. However, what it meant to be “German” in Cisleithania after 1866 was anything but clear, one of the most famous observers of this situation, Robert Musil considered the Austrian identity impossible. The aim of this article is to analyze some aspects of the contemporary “identity talk” about the Germans of Austria. First, the article discusses the issue from the point of view of history of concepts, analyzing the use of key notions related to identity. In the second part of the paper, some attempts are discussed which aimed at creating or reinforcing a particular “Austrian identity” such as the Kronprinzenwerk or Der Rosenkavalier by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. The paper concludes that even the most basic notions related to identity and loyalty had divers meanings, whereas the considerable works which had the ambition of creating an Austrian identity had an impact on a rather limited number of people.

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