Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 33. (1980)

LIANG, Hsi-Huey: International Cooperation of Political Police in Europe, 1815–1914. An Essay Based on Some Austrian Archival Sources

International Cooperation of Political Police

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mats and consular officials during the month of July, 1914. The Austrian consul in Üsküb (Skoplje) volunteered to discover the name of a Serbian officer whose brother he thought could have been involved in the training of the Sarajevo killers64). Dr. Storck received a request not from the Ballhausplatz but directly from the Austrian police post in Sémiin to verify the identity of a Russian resident in Belgrade65). Storck also hired a confidential agent to collect data on the “Narodna Odbrana” secret society for Austrian intelligence66). Baron Giesl himself, the Austrian head of mission in Belgrade, was instructed on 15 July, 1914, to discover — “insoweit Feststellungen bei vollkommener Zuverlässigkeit unauffällig möglich sind” - the name of an army officer in Sabac and his whereabouts in June, the name of a captain of the frontier guard in Loznica, information about a fiscal officer in Ljesnica, whether a shooting range existed in Topéider, information about a certain forest, and finally the existence of two cafés in Belgrade plus their exact location67).

As is well known, the Government of Austria-Hungary presented a number of demands to Serbia in a note on 23 July, 1914, which amounted to an attempt to extend Austrian police power across the frontier. Proposals for a joint Austro-Serbian police campaign against anarchism and terrorism had been submitted to the Serbian Minister Jovanovic in Vienna as early as 2 July673). Paragraph five of the ultimatum of 23 July demanded that the Serbian Government accept

“la collaboration en Serbie des Organes du Gouvernement I. et R. dans la suppression du mouvement subversif dirigé contre l’integrité de la Monarchie ...” 68).

As to Prime Minister Tisza of Hungary, whose endorsement was needed if the Monarchy was to go to war, he had agreed on 22 July that Austria’s demands were

„zwar sehr stark, aber vollkommen berechtigt und notwendig ...; ein Verhandeln über dieselben sei ausgeschlossen. Dies schließe aber die Hoffnung auf Erhaltung Friedens umsoweniger aus, da wir ja nur die Erfüllung der elementaren Nachbarspflichten von Serbien fordern“ 69).

Many other European countries apparently shared Tisza’s view about the elementary duty of states to lend one another police support against terroris64) Consul Jehlitschka to Austrian Foreign Ministry, Üsküb, 1 July 1914: ibid, fol. 84 r. Pencilled note: „Polizeidirektion Wien mitgeteilt.“

65) Storck to Berchtold, Belgrade, 4 July 1914: ibid. fol. 157 v.

66) Report by Storck to Austrian Foreign Ministry, Belgrade, 6 July 1914: ibid. fol. 212r—214r.

67) Austrian Foreign Ministry to Giesl, Vienna, 15 July 1914: ibid. fol. 467r—468r. 67a) Tagesbericht, 2 July 1914: ibid. fol. 90v-91r, 92r-v.

68) French text of Austrian ultimatum to Serbia which was sent to Giesl, Vienna 20 July 1914: ibid. fol. 574v-575r. Above the title (fol. 572r) note: „Die am 23. 7. 14 in Belgrad überreichte Note.“

69) Tisza [to Berchtold?], Budapest, 22 July 1914: ibid. fol. 618r.