After the Sarajevo assassination on June 28, 1914, in which Gavrilo Princip killed the Austrian heir Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy delivered an ultimatum to Serbia in Belgrade on July 23, 1914. This ultimatum led to a partial mobilization two days later (July 25), followed by general mobilization on July 31. The onset of war initiated mechanisms that inherently followed, starting from farewells and goodbyes to soldiers, through training and involvement in military actions, to the rear support of the wounded.
The war events fundamentally altered the daily life of the population in the Torontal County. Day by day, people had to confront the idea of separation and going to war, as well as the consequences of destruction and collapse, along with a difficult, meager everyday life. It was necessary to organize the lives of those who remained at home and take care of them, but it was also crucial to address the reception and care of the wounded arriving from the front. The Red Cross Society organized multi-week courses for the care of patients in Banat's cities and established auxiliary hospitals wherever conditions allowed. In this context, in Turski Bečej, the local Red Cross Society thrived, establishing a field hospital and overseeing its operations. André Karolj, a diligent chronicler from Novi Bečej, on the occasion of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, documented the extensive activities of the Red Cross in caring for patients and its humanitarian activities in local areas during the war years. In a hospital with 240 beds, staffed by 30 volunteer nurses, two doctors, one assistant doctor, four attendants, and one economist, more than 1000 wounded were treated, and 300 patients were cared for. In the final years of the war, the organization also looked after the orphans, invalids, widows, and homeless in Turski Bečej. André Karolj's commendable work, among other things, documents numerous data, names, and places, important contributions that testify not only to the early years of the First World War in Turski Bečej but also in Banat.
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