The influence of the First World War on the socio-economic situation of Vienna in 1914–1916

The influence of the First World War on the social and economic position of Vienna, the capital of the dualistic Austro-Hungarian Empire in the first two years of the war, is considered. It was during these two years that there was an increase in contradictions between various social groups, which would ultimately lead to the collapse of the Empire in 1918. One of the important sources when analyzing the situation in Vienna is the weekly police reports. It is by studying the materials of police reports that a picture of wartime Vienna appears in front of us. As the problems grew, the volume of reports constantly increased, new headings appeared, which made it possible to study not only the existence of problems in the capital of Austria-Hungary, but also to trace their dynamics and the measures taken by the government of Franz Joseph. A special role is given to the food problem, in particular, the dynamics of prices, the deterioration of the quality of bread, the growing shortage, the growth of speculation. In addition, the national relations and the attitude of the Viennese towards the arriving refugees were analyzed. Based on the material studied, it was concluded that the First World War greatly changed the life of the population of Vien na, showed the inability of the government and local authorities to quickly solve the emerging problems of the city.