 |
| Rosa the Wounded Heroine |
James Patton
Children’s heroes from 1914 to 1918 reflected the historicization of the war. German child war heroes, particularly Rosa Zenoch, who was severely wounded in 1914, were seen as successors of the maiden heroines of the Napoleonic Wars, such as Johanna Stegen (1793-1842), who carried ammunition to soldiers at the Battle of Lüneburg in 1813. In France, the tradition of child war heroes reached back to the French Revolution, for example child martyrs Bara (1779-1793) and Viala (1780-1793), who fought in the French Revolutionary Army. Propaganda organs declared thirteen-year-old Emile Desprès (1901-1914), who was sentenced to death, a victim of the “hereditary enemy” Germany.
Berenice Zunino in the
International Encyclopedia of the First World War
The aforementioned Rosa Zenoch, sometimes spelled Zennoch or Hennoch, was a young Austro-Hungarian, known as the "heroic girl of Rawaruska" ("das Heldenmädchen von Rawaruska"). At the time, she was well known in her native land for her actions during the Battle of Rawa (3–11 September 1914). Contemporary accounts say that Rosa was 12 years old, making her birth year likely 1902, although some have said that she was older, probably 14. She was said to be from a family who were farming at a place called Byala near Rawa Ruska, north of Lemberg (today’s Lviv, Ukraine).
In Wigbert Reith’s poetic tribute, Rosa is called a “Polish Peasant Girl” although it is more likely that she was ethnically German and not a peasant. Apparently her given name was Rebekka, and if that is correct, it’s not clear how she came to be called Rosa. This may have been a local diminutive, a family nickname or just considered to be more “Austrian” by the Viennese press. She had at least three siblings, one of whom was one of the about 138,000 soldiers stationed at the Przemyśl Fortress.
 |
| Rosa Paired with Germany's Child Hero Fritz Lehman |
In the heat of the fighting at Rawa, Rosa voluntarily carried water to the wounded Austro-Hungarian soldiers who were hunkering down in rudimentary trenches against a Russian onslaught. While so engaged in this mission of mercy, she was herself hit in the foot by a piece of shrapnel. Medics plucked her from the battlefield, and, along with her mother, she was evacuated by rail to the Vienna General Hospital.
Unfortunately, her foot became infected and her left leg had to be amputated. Contemporary sources said that Emperor Franz Joseph and other members of the Habsburg family visited Rosa in the hospital and the Emperor is said to have given her a gem-studded gold pendant bearing his royal cipher. Later it was reported that he personally paid for her prosthesis, and her mother was paid an honorarium of 1000 kronen (the annual per capita income in the empire at the time was about 1700 kronen).
In the iconic newspaper photograph at the top, Rosa can be seen wearing her Decoration for Services to the Red Cross (First Class), with the war service laurel wreath affixed. This honor had been instituted in four classes by the Dual Monarchy only about three weeks prior to the Battle of Rawa, making Rosa among the first recipients. The Austrian Red Cross also issued the stamp-like “Charity Label” shown. These were a popular source of public support for the society. In the U.S. they were often called “Christmas Seals.”
Click on Image to Enlarge
 |
| Rosa Immortalized |
The Battle of Rawa Ruska occurred in the daring Austro-Hungarian offensive called the Battle of Galicia. This turned out to be the high-water mark of the Austro-Hungarian army on the Eastern Front. An article next Thursday will explain what happened there.
What happened to Rosa after the war is unknown. Although Reith’s poem was widely published, I’ve not been able to find an English translation. Rosa’s death was reported in 1964 in Oleśnica, Poland, a Silesian city that was called Oels until 1945.
Sources include: the International Encyclopedia of the First World War, World War One Today, History Maps and The Vienna Review
No comments:
Post a Comment