„GODZINA MARSA” W ALZACJI. AFERA ZABERN 1913/1914
ʻAN HOUR OF MARS᾿ IN ALSACE: THE ZABERN AFFAIR 1913/1914

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the last serious internal crisis in Germany before the outbreak of the First World War. It was triggered in November, 1913, by the arrogant behavior of a young lieutenant who offended local recruits in the Alsatian town of Zabern (Savern). Informed by the press, outraged inhabitants of Zabern protested on the streets, demanding appropriate punishment for the offender. His superiors decided to interfere in the competences of the civil authorities by introducing (illegally) a state of emergency in Zabern, rather than to back down under public pressure. The German parliament, not satisfied with the answer given by the chancellor to the MPs’ questions on the affair, voted non-confidence for him. In the conflict between the civil and military authorities, Emperor William II completely took the side of the military, turning a deaf ear to the arguments of the civil servants. The affair of Zabern was widely regarded as tangible proof of the privileged status of the army within the German society and the Prussian militarism.

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