The total estimated Jewish population of Austria-Hungary is about
2,250,000, of which nearly one million were, at the beginning of the
war, in the border province of Galicia, in the immediate area of
hostilities.
Here, as elsewhere, the Jews manifested their keen loyalty by trooping
to the colors even when they were normally exempt, as in the case
of the students of the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary, many of whom
volunteered, although not required to do so. The Government recognized
this loyalty in many ways, particularly in the granting of special
privileges with respect to the observances required by the Jewish
religious ritual. Thus the Emperor, in his own name, sent 20,000
Tallithim (prayer shawls) for the soldiers in the field during the
holidays. When, at Passover, it was discovered that the matzoths for
the Jewish troops had been improperly prepared, the Government, at
the instance of the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, authorized the wholesale
distribution of potatoes to Orthodox Jews.
Hundreds of Jewish soldiers have been decorated on the field of battle,
and many were given officers’ commissions.