Ilya Berkovich

• This article aims to demonstrate the exceptional potential of Habsburg military records for the study of Jewish history during Europe’s Age of Revolution. We begin with the random discovery of six Jewish veterans of Freikorps Grün Loudon – a unit of mercenary freebooters – which fought for the Habsburgs during the first war against the French Republic (1792 – 97). A careful re-reading of the available archival evidence reveals that these men were the survivors of a much larger group numbering at least two dozen Jewish soldiers. While Jewish conscripts had been drafted into the Habsburg army since 1788, the fact that Jews could also serve – even volunteer – as professional soldiers in that period is completely new to us. When considered together, the personal circumstances and service experiences of the Jewish soldiers of Freikorps Grün Loudon enable us to make several observations about their motivation as well as their position vis-à-vis their non-Jewish comrades.