Editor’s note: The follow essay is reprinted from The Fatima Files. It is a continuation of “From monarchy to modernism: Blessed Karl of Austria and the martyrdom of Christendom” and has been lightly edited for stylistic and editorial standards.

The war emperor

Karl von Habsburg (1887-1922) played no part in the critical decisions that led up to the most fateful one of all, the sending of an ultimatum to Serbia. According to Niall Ferguson, it was principally the German decision to support, and indeed to “egg on,” an Austrian military strike against Serbia, which encouraged Franz Josef to attempt to “eliminate … Serbia as a political factor in the Balkans.” There is no one who can say that Karl was against the moves taken by Austria to defend her position in Europe against the terrorist state that Serbia had become. He was not, however, motivated by a German chauvinism, which was the guiding inspiration to Pan-Germans of the time; those who saw in a possible war an opening to assert German dominance over Europe.

Originally published in Integrity Magazine. Read original article

Original Tags: Church History, Austria, Blessed Karl, Christendom, Habsburgs, Woodrow Wilson, World War I