‘The German people will counter the worst possibilities with confidence’

The Austrian-Serbian War/Diplomatic Ties Cut

An Unsatisfactory Answer

Jubilation in Vienna

Departure of the Serbian ambassador

Prime minister [of Serbia Nikola] Pasic appeared a few minutes before 6 in the embassy in Belgrade and issued an unsatisfactory answer to the Austrian-Hungarian note. Baron Giesl notified him forthwith of the end of diplomatic relations and left Belgrade with his staff at 6.30...

The streets of [Vienna’s] inner city were enlivened by a crowd of thousands which, on news of Serbia’s rejection of the demands, moved singing and cheering via the Ringstraße to the Ministry of War. There the [imperial] anthem and the Prinz-Eugen-Lied were sung. Every time an officer left the building he was greeted with cheering acclamations. The officers showed their thanks with salutes and waving of their caps ... Then things moved to the embassy quarter ... where the Russian embassy was sealed off by police ... the Serbian embassy too. The Serbian ambassador left in the late evening via Budapest. The patriotic rallies continued the entire evening...

In a commentary, the Tageblatt's lead writer Paul Michaelis noted:

The Austria-Hungarian note to the Serbian government put Europe’s entire political circle in a state of high agitation ... This was no longer the tone of the usual diplomatic correspondence, it was a note in the imperative...

Who would want to appear foolhardy and predict what consequences will result from the situation created today? Only one thing is clear: not for decades has Europe’s future been so alarming nor so poised on a knife edge as at this moment...

In such a situation Germany could not remain inactive. Its alliance obligations are fixed: there is not the least doubt, that the German government will meet them in full ...

In the worst case ... precisely because one has to hope and wish that it won’t come to pass, an initially local conflict could become a European question of considerable scope...

But precisely because no European power can fool themselves as to the cost of a general European conflict, this is a reason why one can, for now, remain expectant that all of Europe will not be set alight because of a few Serbian agitators and duke murderers ...

And one can be convinced that, at least from the German government, everything will be undertaken so that, this time, the peace in Europe remains undisturbed ... But it remains clear that the German people, if it has no other choice, will counter the worst possibilities with calm and confidence.

Berliner Tageblatt

Sunday 26 July 1914