About the mobilisation for the outbreak of the First World War in Radebeul in August 1914
On 1 August 1914, it was emblazoned in large black letters on the front page of the Kötzschenbrodaer Generalanzeiger: "His Majesty the Emperor has declared the territory of the Reich to be in a state of war." The mobilisation in the Elbland region at the beginning of the First World War comprised a wide range of measures and decrees that focused on armament, organisation and the 'mobilisation' of all the local armed forces and affected the population, infrastructure and economy in equal measure. A large number of these orders and secret correspondence are vividly recorded in a file which, under the simple title "Mobilisation 1914", conceals the upheaval of a hitherto unknown world.
As early as 31 July 1914, the commanding general made it clear: "The executive power is hereby transferred to me. [] the following crimes, which are punishable by life imprisonment, will from now on be punishable by death: high treason, treason, arson [], wilful destruction or damage to railway installations [] I will immediately bring about an intensified state of war and use all means at my disposal without delay."
Kaiser Wilhelm II communicates the following view of the situation: "A difficult hour has fallen upon Germany. Enviers everywhere are forcing us to make a just defence. The sword is pressed into our hands."
Hubris pervaded the German people, as did the exaltation of the Kaiser and the military. For weeks and months, concrete measures for mobilisation had been waiting in the drawers of the local municipal offices, just in case. One of the first steps was to organise general logistics, which meant, for example, restrictions on rail traffic. The borders were sealed off and petrol could only be filled up by the military until further notice. Railway lines and telegraph systems were guarded by firing orders.
2 August 1914 marked the first day on which artillery and cavalry were called up. The municipality also had to present horses and carriages, complete with harness and equipment, at the riding centre of the Dresden-Albertstadt military riding school for a draft. In a non-public letter dated March 1914, an order was issued to determine the persons who had to fulfil this duty, to list them and to write to them. Those obliged to pay the levy could receive compensation after submitting an application and being sealed. Gradually, more and more horses were required for the supply. As these were now lacking in the fields, people tried to make do with cows as taming animals. At the same time, the quantities of surplus goods that had to be surrendered to the army administration had to be specified.
A letter from an industrial company in Radebeul to the municipality revealed its difficult situation: Loss of export revenue, cancellation of raw material deliveries, invoices due, etc.
At the same time, caterers and establishments that sold alcohol were banned from serving "spirituous beverages" at certain times of the day in order to prevent drunken behaviour from influencing the mobilisation.
Special attention was paid to the local press. A secret letter informs that all daily newspapers are instructed verbally and confidentially not to publish any "press attacks against England" that could be interpreted negatively and thus cause resentment towards Germany. By 4 August 1914, Great Britain had not yet positioned itself and it was hoped that it could still side with Germany. In addition, the printing of all military information and coded adverts was banned. However, the latter had a strong negative impact on traders, so a compromise was reached between numbers and letters in the ciphers.
A whole series of laws came into force on an ad hoc basis, for example concerning health insurance, credit and accounting, the disabled, war pensions for families left behind and maximum prices. Dresden decided against setting maximum prices, as these could quickly naturalise into normal prices and, moreover, the first emergency hamster purchases were declining. If prices had been fixed, inferior goods could have been sold at overpriced prices and this was precisely what the population was to be protected from. For this reason, Radebeul also refrained from setting maximum prices.
Finally, all sorts of appeals were made to the inhabitants with posters and leaflets; to the men: call to the front; to the women: call to the home front: Call to the home front; war veterans had to volunteer to take over the training of young, inexperienced front-line fighters and to the rest: call to join the Landwehr or Landsturm.
The sad result at the end of the war in 1918: around 9 million soldiers and almost 6 million civilians had lost their lives worldwide, around 19 ½ million were wounded and around 6 ½ million were taken prisoner of war.
Maren Gündel, City Archive
Published in: Official Gazette August 2014