Citizenship in Croatia Slavonia During the First World War Ivan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
58 Journal on European History of Law Citizenship in Croatia -Slavonia during the First World War Ivan Kosnica* Abstract The paper deals with the concept of national citizenship in Croatia-Slavonia, a land within the Austro -Hungarian Monarchy, during the First World War. Citizenship is analysed as multidimensional concept that includes status, rights and identity. The research question concerns influence of war on each dimension of citizenship. Therefore, in the status dimension, analysed are practices of acquisition of citizenship by naturalizations, and practices of loss of citizenship by dismissals and absence. In the dimension of rights analysed are passports and changes in migration regime. In the dimension of identity analysed is the issue of loyalty of citizens. The paper shows that the war significantly influenced all three dimensions of citizenship. The research bases on relevant literature, legislation and in great part on archival sources available in the Croatian State Archive. Keywords: citizenship; Croatia -Slavonia; Austro -Hungarian Monarchy; First World War; naturalization; dismissal; absence; passport; migration; loyalty. 1. Introduction example, the war influenced policy of naturalisations although War has always influenced citizenship, although these not always in the same direction . In France, this policy was re- influences could vary and could have different effects .2 The strictive4 while in Germany it was more generous since German influence of war on citizenship one can see in each dimen- authorities tried to attract Jews, Russians of German origin and sion of citizenship, namely status, rights and identity .3 For German‑Americans .5 Another important influence of war was instance, the war can influence citizenship status in the is- restriction of freedom of movement . As part of this scheme, sue of naturalizations, specifically in the matters of regula- many countries introduced obligatory photographs on identi- tion of naturalisations and in practice of naturalisations, in ty documents, namely on passports and identification cards .6 regulations and possible restrictions of loss of citizenship etc . During the war, the authorities of many European states influ- The war could also influence citizenship as rights in restric- enced citizenship as identity in a way that introduced ethnic tions of citizen’s rights etc . Influence of war on citizenship as criteria in administrative practice and in this way destabilized identity one can see in intensified efforts of state authorities civil concept of citizenship 7. One can especially see that in mul- to build common identity, in issues of loyalty/disloyalty of tinational empires where authorities extended measures against citizens etc . aliens on internal ethnic and religious minorities .8 An example Closer look at specific experience of First World War indica- is the Russian Empire where authorities interned Russian citi- tes that the war significantly influenced citizenship in European zens, dominantly Germans and Jews, because of their ethnicity, states . The war influenced all dimensions of citizenship . For religion or former citizenship .9 * Ivan Kosnica, PhD, Chair of Croatian History of Law and State, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia . 1 FEVERT, Ute, „Citizens at war: Traitors and internal enemies“, in: PELED, Yoav, LEWIN‑EPSTEIN, Noah, MUNDLAK, Guy (et . al .), Democratic Citizenship and War, Routledge, London and New York, 2011, p . 100 . 2 About status, rights and identity as dimensions of citizenship see: JOPPKE, Christian, „Transformation of Citizenship: Status, Rights, Identity“, Citizenship Studies, 11(2007)/ 1, p . 38; Similar division of the concept see in: JENSON, Jane, „Place–Sensitive Citizenship: The Canadian Citizenship Regime until 1945“, in: HOERDER, Dirk, HARZIG, Christiane, SHUBERT, Adrian, The Historical Practice of Diversity: Transcultural Interactions from the Early Modern Mediterranean to the Postcolonial World, Berghahn Books, New York, Oxford, 2003, p . 225-226 . 3 WEIL, Patrick, How to Be French: Nationality in the Making since 1789, Duke University Press, Durham and London, 2008, p . 60-63 . 4 FAHRMEIR, Andreas, Citizenship: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Concept, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2007, p . 121 . 5 Ibid., p . 120 . 6 FAHRMEIR, op. cit., p .121; CAGLIOTI, Daniela L, “Why and How Italy Invented an Enemy Aliens Problem in the First World War”, War in History, 21(2014), p . 151 . 7 CAGLIOTI, op. cit., p . 143 . 8 LOHR, Eric, Nationalizing the Russian Empire: The Campaign against Enemy Aliens during World War I, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachu- setts, and London, England, 2003, p . 129-45 . 9 MILNER, Emanuel, Die österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft und der Gesetzartikel L:1879 über den Erwerb und Verlust der ungarischen Staatsbürgerschaft, Verlag und Druck von Franz Fues, Tübingen, 1880, p . 1-4 . 1/2017 59 The First World War also influenced citizenships in the bigger city, i.e. Zagreb, Varaždin, Osijek, and Zemun, recorded Austro‑Hungarian Monarchy . Here the complex structure of naturalizations and dismissals individually . Additional prob- the Monarchy, which included Austrian and Hungarian part, lem are improper‑sorted materials nowadays so it is hard to and Croatian‑Slavonian limited autonomy within Hungarian collect data for each year . However, despite mentioned prob- part, had reflection in the matters of citizenship . Namely, there lems, we collected data for the city of Zagreb, the capital of were two national citizenships, Austrian and Hungarian .10 In Croatia ‑Slavonia, and for the Požega County. The reason Hungarian part, this citizenship was the same for all the lands why we decided to analyse naturalizations and dismissals in of the Hungarian Crown, but Croatia‑Slavonia had executive these two jurisdictions is relevant number of naturalizations autonomy in the matters of citizenship, including autonomy in and dismissals in pre‑war period but also during the war .14 naturalizations 11. In Croatia‑Slavonia, the name of this citizen- In the research, we will compare naturalizations and dismiss- ship was Hungarian‑Croatian citizenship .12 als in war years 1915, 1916 and 1917 with naturalizations Previous notions give us starting point for research of the and dismissals for available pre‑war years . For simplicity, we concept of Hungarian‑Croatian citizenship in Croatia‑Slavonia will analyse the number of naturalization and dismissal proce- in the period of the First World War (1914–1918) . Here it is dures and not number of naturalized or dismissed persons .15 necessary to note that in the research we deal only with the Additionally, in cases of naturalizations we will analyse share Hungarian‑Croatian citizenship, and not with other forms of of Austrian citizens in total number of naturalizations and public belonging that were also relevant for someone’s legal the number of women as applicants . In case of dismissals, we position in Croatia‑Slavonia, such as local citizenship (zavièaj- will analyse only the number of women as applicants . This nost) and Croatian‑Slavonian membership (hrvatsko‑slavonska because records do not give us always information about new pripadnost).13 citizenship of dismissed person 16. The research focuses on all three dimensions of Hungarian- Croatian citizenship in Croatia‑Slavonia . In the dimension of 2. Naturalization citizenship as status, we research the issue of naturalizations, The naturalization in Croatia‑Slavonia regulated the com- specifically the matter of regular naturalizations as the most mon Hungarian‑Croatian citizenship law of 1879 .17 The law common type of naturalizations in which the autonomous enacted Croatian‑Hungarian Diet in which Hungarians had Croatian‑Slavonian institutions were fully competent . Further, dominant position 18. Nevertheless, the law recognized autono- we analyse the issue of loss of citizenship by dismissal and loss mous competences to the Ban of Croatia‑Slavonia in the mat- of citizenship by absence as two most important possibilities ters of naturalization and this was completely in accordance of loss of citizenship . In the dimension of citizenship as rights, with the Croatian‑Hungarian Compromise of 1868 and with we research the issue of passports and possibilities of migration the legal practice established in the period before the citizen- during the war . At the end, we research the issue of citizenship ship law of 1879 entered into force in 1880 19. and loyalty . According to the citizenship law of 1879, foreign citizens co- Finally, we should give some methodological remarks about uld acquire Hungarian‑Croatian citizenship in Croatia‑Slavonia the research conducted in the Croatian State Archive . The in the process of regular naturalization by the act of the main problem we met in the research concerns the study Croatian‑Slavonian Ban . By this kind of naturalisation citizen- of naturalizations and loss of citizenship by dismissal . The ship could acquire foreigner if proved legal capacity, if proved problem is that centralized records of naturalizations and dis- that he will be accepted in a municipality in Croatia‑Slavonia, missals do not exist . In other words, each county and each if continuously lived in the country for five years, if he was of 10 VARGA, Norbert, „The Framing of the First Hungarian Citizenship Law (Act 50 of 1879) and the Acquisition of Citizenship“, Hungarian Studies, 18(2004)/2, p . 136-137; MILNER, op. cit., p . 27 . 11 KOSNICA,