Vom Habsburger zum Polen:: Josef Pomiankowski (1866–1929) und die Konstruktion des Nationalen

Abstract

Josef Pomiankowski’s book “The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire“ („Der Zusammenbruch des Ottomanischen Reiches“) is one of the most valuable sources for the late history of the Ottoman Empire. However little is known about the author. Yet Josef Pomiankowski is an archetypal example of a member of the Austro-Hungarian military elite who had to adapt to the new realities of post-war Europe. First of all the paper examines the making of a high ranking Austro-Hungarian officer of Polish decent. Moreover it attempts to show how this transnational identity was forced to yield during the formation of the Polish Republic, when Pomiankowski once more served as a high ranking officer. Pomiankowski’s example demonstrates that the nationalization of the continent was by no means seen as an act of liberation by all members of the elites in the new national states, but that there was also much sorrow for the destruction of the multinational Austro-Hungarian Monarchy among these elites.