The Sarajevo murder or murder in Sarajevo is one of the most notorious murders of the 20th century, standing almost alongside the assassination of US President J. Kennedy. The murder took place on June 28, 1914 in the city of Sarajevo (now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina). The victim of the murder was the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Countess Sophia of Hohenberg was killed along with him.
The murder was carried out by a group of six terrorists, but only one person fired the shots - Gavrilo Princip.
Reasons for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Many historians still debate the purpose of killing the heir to the Austrian throne, but most agree that the political purpose of the murder was the liberation of the South Slavic lands from the rule of the Austro-Ugric Empire.Franz Ferdinand, according to historians, wanted to forever annex the Slavic lands to the empire through a series of reforms. As the killer, Gavrilo Princip, would later say, one of the reasons for the murder was precisely the prevention of these reforms.
Planning a murder
A certain Serbian nationalist organization called the “Black Hand” developed the murder plan. Members of the organization were looking for ways to revive the revolutionary spirit of the Serbs; they also spent a long time looking for who among the Austro-Ugric elite should become a victim and a way to achieve this goal. The list of targets included Franz Ferdinand, as well as the governor of Bosnia, Oskar Potiorek, the great commander of the Austro-Ugric Empire.At first it was planned that a certain Muhammad Mehmedbašić should carry out this murder. The assassination attempt on Potiorek ended in failure and he was ordered to kill another man, Franz Ferdinand.
Almost everything was ready to kill the Archduke, except weapons, which the terrorists had been waiting for a whole month. To ensure that the young group of students did everything right, they were given a pistol to practice with. At the end of May, the terrorists received several pistols, six grenades, maps with escape routes, gendarme movements, and even poison pills.
The weapons were distributed to the terrorist group on June 27. The very next morning, terrorists were placed along the route of Franz Ferdinand's motorcade. The head of the Black Hand, Ilic, told his people before the murder to be brave and do what they must do for the sake of the country.
Murder
Franz Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo by train in the morning and was met at the station by Oskar Pitiorek. Franz Ferdinand, his wife and Pitiorek got into the third car (the motorcade consisted of six cars), and it was completely open. First, the Archduke inspected the barracks, and then headed along the embankment, where the murder took place.The first of the terrorists was Muhammad Mehmedbašić, and he was armed with a grenade, but his attack on Franz Ferdinand failed. The second was the terrorist Churbilovich, he was already armed with a grenade and a pistol, but he was unsuccessful. The third terrorist was Čabrinović, armed with a grenade.
At 10:10 Čabrinović threw a grenade at the Archduke's car, but it bounced off and exploded on the road. The explosion injured about 20 people. Immediately after this, Chabrinovic swallowed a capsule of poison and threw it into the river. But he started vomiting and the poison did not work, and the river itself turned out to be too shallow, and the police caught him without difficulty, beat him and then arrested him.
The Sarajevo assassination seemed to have failed as the motorcade sped past the rest of the terrorists. The Archduke then went to the Town Hall. There they tried to calm him down, but he was too excited, he did not understand and constantly insisted that he had arrived on a friendly visit, and a bomb was thrown at him.
Then his wife calmed Franz Ferdinand and he gave a speech. Soon it was decided to interrupt the planned program, and the Archduke decided to visit the wounded in the hospital. Already at 10:45 they were back in the car. The car headed towards the hospital along Franz Joseph Street.
Princip learned that the assassination attempt had ended in complete failure and decided to change his location, settling near the Moritz Schiller Delicatessen store, through which the Archduke’s return route passed.
When the Archduke's car caught up with the killer, he suddenly jumped out and fired two shots at a distance of several steps. One hit the Archduke in the neck and pierced the jugular vein, the second shot hit the Archduke's wife in the stomach. The killer was arrested at the same moment. As he later said in court, he did not want to kill Franz Ferdinand’s wife, and this bullet was intended for Pitiorek.
The wounded Archduke and his wife did not die immediately; immediately after the assassination attempt they were taken to the hospital to receive assistance. The Duke, being conscious, begged his wife not to die, to which she constantly replied: “It’s normal.” Referring to the wound, she consoled him as if everything was fine with her. And immediately after that she died. The Archduke himself died ten minutes later. The Sarajevo murder was thus crowned with success.
Consequences of the murder
After their deaths, the bodies of Sophia and Franz Ferdinand were sent to Vienna, where they were buried in a modest ceremony, which greatly angered the new heir to the Austrian throne.A few hours later, pogroms began in Sarajevo, during which everyone who loved the Archduke brutally dealt with all Serbs, the police did not react to this. A huge number of Serbs were brutally beaten and wounded, some were killed, and a huge number of buildings were damaged, destroyed and looted.
Very soon all the Sarajevo murderers were arrested, and then the Austro-Hungarian military were also arrested, who handed over the weapons to the murderers. The verdict was passed on September 28, 1914; everyone was sentenced to death for high treason.
However, not all participants in the conspiracy were adults under Serbian law. Therefore, ten participants, including the murderer Gavrilo Princip himself, were sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison. Five people were executed by hanging, one was imprisoned for life and another nine were acquitted. Princip himself died in 1918 in prison from tuberculosis.
The murder of the heir to the Austrian throne shocked almost all of Europe; many countries took the side of Austria. Immediately after the murder, the government of the Austro-Ugric Empire sent a number of demands to Serbia, among which was the extradition of all those who had a hand in this murder.
Serbia immediately mobilized its army and was supported by Russia. Serbia refused some important demands for Austria, after which on July 25, Austria broke off diplomatic relations with Serbia.
A month later, Austria declared war and began mobilizing its forces. In response to this, Russia, France, and England came out for Serbia, which served as the beginning of the First World War. Soon all the great countries of Europe had chosen sides.
Germany, the Ottoman Empire took the side of Austria, and later Bulgaria joined. Thus, two huge alliances were formed in Europe: the Entente (Serbia, Russia, England, France and several dozen other states that made only a small contribution to the course of the First World War) and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Belgium (the Ottoman Empire soon joined them). empire).
Thus, the Sarajevo murder became the reason for the outbreak of the First World War. There were more than enough reasons for it to start, but the reason turned out to be just that. The fields that Gavrilo Princip fired from his pistol are called “the bullet that started the First World War.”
It is interesting that in the Museum of Military History in the city of Vienna, everyone can look at the car in which the Archduke was riding, at his uniform with traces of the blood of Franz Ferdinand, at the pistol itself that started the war. And the bullet is kept in the small Czech castle of Konopiste.
06/15/1914 (06/28). - The murder of the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo as the reason for the start of the First World War
Shot in Sarajevo
The assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by Gabriel Princip on June 28, 1914 (NS) served as the “trigger” for the outbreak. It was prepared by the International Financial International of Jewish bankers to strengthen their global influence by defeating competitors, tying all currencies to the American dollar (which became their uncontrolled instrument) and, of course, by eliminating the alternative Russian civilization. Unfortunately, they succeeded. There was also a political goal of the war: the creation of a “Jewish national home in Palestine” - the core of the future state of Israel. But we will talk about this side of the war, which bankers around the world agreed to wage against only one enemy - Orthodox Russia, in the material of our calendar for August 1 - the day of the beginning of this Great War, a turning point in the fate of mankind. Now let's pay attention to the provocation in Sarajevo.
When we say that Freemasonry and Jewry prepared and unleashed a war, this does not mean that they arranged everything out of the blue, without reason, according to their artificial plan. Disasters of this magnitude never go exactly according to plan. Wars and revolutions are not organized out of nowhere; they are possible only if there are significant reasons. But, having sufficient means of influence, these causes can be eliminated or aggravated. The reason for the outbreak of the Great War was given by the contradictions between Russia and the Central Powers (as they were then called: Germany and Austria-Hungary) in relation to the Balkan Slavs.
Since 1867, the Austrian Empire turned into a dual Habsburg monarchy, which in the external arena pursued a policy of a single state, and in internal politics divided the powers of governance between the Austrian and Hungarian administrations. In addition to the Germans (Austrians), who made up more than 30% of the population, and the Hungarians (Magyars) - less than 20%, the Austro-Hungarian “patchwork” empire included many Slavic peoples: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians (Little Russians and Carpathian Russians), Serbs , Croats, Slovenes, etc. Slavs made up about 45% of the population of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was second only to Russia in terms of the number of Slavic population.
Of course, the Slavs did not have equal rights with the two state-forming peoples, and therefore have long turned their attention to mighty Russia. For this reason, at the beginning of the 19th century, it was in Austria-Hungary that the Pan-Slavist movement arose, which set itself the goal of uniting the Slavic peoples into a single empire with Russia. Among these peoples, the most influential was the Orthodox Serbian, to whom Russia had also long provided assistance in the fight against the Turks. After the victorious Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. Serbia experienced a great national upsurge, had a strong army, was eager to annex the region of Montenegro and also free itself from the power of Austria-Hungary, entering into an inevitable conflict with it.
Emperor Franz Joseph I was then 84 years old and his energetic heir, nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863–1914), was already regarded by everyone as the de facto ruler. In addition, he was known as an ardent oppressor of the Serbs.
On June 28, 1914, a parade of the Austrian army under the command of Franz Ferdinand was being prepared in the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. The parade was arrogantly (essentially provocative) scheduled on the sad day for the Serbian people of the defeat of the troops of Prince Lazar on Kosovo Polje in 1389 in a battle with the Turkish army. This defeat led to the loss of Serbia's independence for 500 years. The appointment of the Austrian parade on this particular day aroused the indignation of Serbian national organizations, especially since Bosnia was annexed by Austria-Hungary as recently as 1908, and this almost caused a war even then. So, the time and place for the provocation was chosen ideally. On the day of this military parade, student Gavriil Princip, a member of the youth nationalist organization Mlado Bosnia, killed the Archduke, who was considered a supporter of military action against Serbia.
What is also surprising is the strikingly “careless” behavior of the guards of the heir to the throne, given the completely obvious discontent of the Slavic population that predominated in Sarajevo. Amazingly, the heir was killed in a second (!) assassination attempt on the same day. The first attempt was unsuccessful: a thrown bomb injured the people accompanying him, nevertheless Franz Ferdinand continued his ceremonial trip around the city in an open car. The event program has not been changed. And when the heir went to the hospital to visit those wounded in the first explosion, G. Princip in the center of the city killed the heir and his wife with a revolver.
The direct terrorists - worker N. Gabrinovich, who threw the first bomb, and student G. Princip - were arrested immediately. Later they captured their accomplice Grabesh (the son of a priest - which was also played up in the press accordingly), who fled from the scene of the assassination attempt. All three were sentenced by the court to 20 years in prison each (all of them were under 20 years old, and only from this age, according to the Austrian Criminal Code, the death penalty could be applied), all died very quickly in prison (obviously not by natural causes), the last one in April 1918 G. Princip died ( in the photo on the left).
During the investigation and trial, it became clear that the defendants had connections with influential military and political circles, all of whose representatives were members of the secret society “Svoboda” in Bosnia, the “Narodna Obrana” and “Black Hand” societies in Belgrade. Among the leaders of the “Black Hand” was Dragutin Dmitrievich in 1913–1915. headed the intelligence of the Serbian General Staff (arrested by order of the Serbian king in December 1916 and shot in June 1917), his closest assistant Major Tankosic (died at the front in 1915) was also involved in the case, and secretary of the Narodna Obrana organization "was an officer of the Serbian General Staff Milan Pribichev.
“The figure of Vladimir Gachinovich seems interesting,” writes historian N. Gorodnyaya, “to whom many attribute the main role in organizing this murder. It was he who was simultaneously a member of all three organizations - the Bosnian “Freedom”, “Narodnaya Obrana” and “Black Hand”. It was through him that contacts between these organizations and Russian revolutionaries were carried out - Lunacharsky, Martov, Trotsky, Radek. By the way, his sudden illness and death in August 1917 suggests poisoning - he knew too much. And he reported some of this information to Trotsky. In any case, there is evidence that Trotsky, Zinoviev and Radek knew about the preparation of the conspiracy and its organizers. Radek wanted to reveal this secret at the Moscow trial of 1937, but he was not allowed to speak.”
In part, these words of Radek are reflected in Izvestia (January 30, 1937): “...And we must also show the whole world that - I repeat his name from this bench with trembling - in the letter, in the directives for the delegation heading to The Hague , wrote about the mystery of war. A piece of this secret was found in the hands of the young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, who could die in the fortress without revealing it. He was a Serbian nationalist and felt he was right in fighting for this secret, which protected the Serbian national movement. I cannot hide this secret and take it with me to the grave for the reason that if, in view of what I confessed, I do not have the right to act as a repentant communist, then after all, 35 years of my participation in the labor movement, with all mistakes and crimes with which it ended, gives me the right to demand trust from you in one thing - that after all, these masses of people with whom I walked represent something for me. And if I had hidden this truth and left the stage with it, as Kamenev did, as Zinoviev did, as Mrachkovsky did, then when I was thinking about all these things, in my dying hour I would still hear the curse of those people who will killed in a future war and to whom I could, with my testimony, give means of fighting against the impending war...”
Based on this publication, the version of the involvement of Lenin (as the ideological inspirer) and Radek (as the direct organizer) in the assassination attempt is also presented by A. Arutyunov (“Lenin’s dossier without retouching”). His argument is mainly that Lenin was extremely interested in war as a means of overthrowing the Tsarist regime with the help of the intelligence services of the Central Powers. Lenin’s work for Germany and receiving huge sums from it through Parvus, Ganetsky and Furstenberg has been documented, but still his involvement in the Sarajevo murder has not been proven. And did the pathetic emigrant Lenin have such physical capabilities?
It is more reasonable to assume that both the Sarajevo nationalists and Lenin and Parvus, each in his own place, were pulled by puppeteers in the higher spheres of world politics. It was from there that the desire came to pit the Central Powers against Russia and overthrow all these major European monarchies. At the trial, Princip and Gabrinovic stated that the Freemasons in 1913 decided to kill the Archduke, and that the organizers of the assassination attempt (Tsyganevich, who obtained the bombs and weapons, and the above-mentioned Major Tankosic) were members of the Masonic lodge in Belgrade, they agreed with the perpetrators and with the customers also and the date of the assassination attempt.
According to the ancient rule, solving any crime should begin with an attempt to understand its purpose: who benefits from it? And logically speaking, it is difficult to see any benefit for Serbian nationalists in this: it was absolutely clear that the authorities’ response would be repression against their organizations and the entire anti-Serbian policy of Austria-Hungary would become tougher. Contrary to the statements of the European (mainly Jewish) press (these were later repeated by the Soviet “historian” Pokrovsky), this was not beneficial for Russia, which relied on a peaceful resolution of the Slavic problem. The Austro-Serbian conflict resulted in a world war due to the work of a different mechanism - those same calculating puppeteers from the world behind the scenes, who correctly believed that the crime would be a shock to the Austro-Hungarian authorities, who would try to punish Serbia, and that the deeply decent Russian Tsar would not be able to betray and abandon The Orthodox Serbian people are in trouble.
The entire European press (not only the Austro-Hungarian one) immediately declared the murder the work of Serbian nationalists, behind whom Russia stood: they say that she wants war. Anti-Serbian pogroms began in Austria. The diplomats in this story also behaved rather strangely, reacting to everything late and actually not controlling the wave of hysteria. As a result, on July 15 (28), Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, after which Russia began mobilization, and on July 19 (Aug. 1), Germany declared war on Russia...
Once again, history shows us vile facts about the involvement of “God’s people” in the most large-scale and bloody crimes against humanity.
There is almost nothing new in the article.
Dear Bogdan, for most historical events and memorable dates in any calendar, little new can be said. Does this mean that there is no need to remind about them? And in general, let me disagree with you: it is in this calendar “Holy Rus'” that a lot of new things are given, always honest and thoughtful assessments of seemingly generally known truths.
We start when they close it. One thing is good: the power born at this moment has begun to act
There is no better life on Earth than to die for one’s friends. If the massacre of the Jews for the freedom of the Slavs begins now, with the last of my strength I will go to kill the Jews. If I die, I will die with a calm soul.
The global Masonic backstage is to blame for everything. Both then and now.
Bogdan. Even if for 90% there is nothing new, then for the sake of the remaining 10% it is necessary to publish it. Especially. that more than half are ignorant. And thanks to the author!
A war can start early... because of a sidelong glance... or because of a stray bullet... or because of one king’s resentment against another... or anything... but Jewish provocations. so it goes without saying
Absolute stupid bullshit and even with an anti-Semitic smell
Mikhail Viktorovich, thank you for the educational program
I hate Zionism, and I perfectly understand its destructive role in history. In theory, I should agree with what the author writes, and I seem to agree...
But the author is clearly dishonest, and he is clearly working for the very people he so angrily denounces. The word “world” with the ancient letter “and with a dot” can only be written by a person committed to cabalism. After all, if the author had adhered to pre-revolutionary spelling, he would have written this letter not only in this case, but in all others. And besides: he would write hard signs at the end of the word, fitu, yat, and would observe other rules of pre-revolutionary spelling. But for some reason he doesn't do this. He attaches some kind of fetishistic meaning to just this one word, into which he writes a letter that is unusual for the Russian alphabet.
The fact that in his writings there is a prefix BEZ- in those cases where you should write BES- (SAFE, for example). He says that he is a religious fanatic. For only fanatics and mentally ill people are afraid to use the prefix BES-, fearing that with it DEMONS will penetrate us.
In other words: you cannot trust this person. He reeks of Jewish religious fanaticism in its most extreme and vile forms.
very interesting how one shot affected the course of events
Mikhail Viktorovich, thank you for your tremendous educational work! Low bow!!!
Franz Ferdinand von Habsburg is an Austrian Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was assassinated in 1914 in Sarajevo by the Serbian nationalist terrorist Gavrilo Princip. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand became the formal reason for the outbreak of the First World War.
Childhood and youth
Archduke Franz Ferdinand von Habsburg was born in Graz on December 18, 1863. His father was the brother of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, and his mother was the daughter of the Sicilian king, Princess Maria, the second wife of Karl Ludwig. The first marriage with Margaret of Saxony did not bring children to the Archduke of Austria, and Franz Ferdinand became his first-born. Franz had two younger brothers and a sister, Margarita Sophia.
Franz's mother died early from tuberculosis, and Karl Ludwig married for the third time - to the young Maria Teresa of Portugal. The stepmother turned out to be only eight years older than Franz. The slight difference in age contributed to the fact that warm and friendly relations were established between Maria Theresa and her young stepson, which ended only with the death of Franz Ferdinand at the age of fifty.
Heir to the throne
Franz Ferdinand began preparing for his accession to the throne at the age of 26, after the only son and direct heir of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Crown Prince Rudolf, committed suicide at Mayerling Castle. So Franz Ferdinand found himself next in line after his father to inherit the throne. And when Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz became a contender for the throne of Austria-Hungary.
The young Archduke's future required a good knowledge of what was happening in the world, so in 1892 he set out on a long trip around the world. The route ran through Australia and New Zealand to Japan, and from there, changing ships, Franz Ferdinand went to the west coast of Canada, from where he sailed to Europe. During the trip, the Archduke took notes, on the basis of which a book was later published in Vienna.
The Archduke was also entrusted with the role of the emperor's deputy in matters of supreme command of the troops. By the will of Franz Joseph, the Archduke from time to time went abroad on representative missions. At the residence of Franz Ferdinand - the Belvedere Palace in Vienna - the Archduke's own office, consisting of advisers and associates, operated.
Personal life
The Archduke married Sophia Chotek, a countess from the Czech Republic. The future spouses met in Prague - both were present at the ball, where their love story began. The chosen one was lower in origin than the Archduke, which entailed a difficult choice - the Archduke had to renounce either his right to the throne or his plans for marriage. According to the law on succession to the throne, members of the imperial family who entered into an unequal marriage lost their rights to the crown.
However, Franz Ferdinand managed to come to an agreement with the emperor and convince him to reserve the rights to the throne in exchange for the renunciation of these rights, which the Archduke would give for his own unborn children from this marriage. As a result, Emperor Franz Joseph gave permission for the marriage of Sophia Chotek and Franz Ferdinand.
The Archduke had two sons and a daughter, who, like her mother, was named Sophia. The Archduke's family lived either in Austria or in a Czech castle southeast of Prague. The court elite treated Sofia Chotek unkindly. Emphasizing the “inequality of the clan,” Sophia was forbidden to be near her husband during official ceremonies, which negatively affected Franz Ferdinand’s relationship with the Viennese court.
Murder and its consequences
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the revolutionary nationalist organization “Young Bosnia” operated on the territory of Serbia, whose members decided to kill the Austrian Archduke while visiting the city of Sarajevo. For this purpose, six terrorists were selected, armed with bombs and revolvers. The group was led by Gavrilo Princip and Danilo Ilic.
Franz Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo with his wife on the morning train. The couple got into the car, and the motorcade moved along the route. Along the entire route, the Archduke was greeted by crowds of people, and for some unknown reason there was little security. The terrorists were waiting for their victim on the embankment.
When the car with Franz Ferdinand inside approached the place where the conspirators were hiding, one of them threw a grenade at the motorcade. However, the terrorist missed, and the explosion injured bystanders, police officers, and people who were traveling in another car.
Having happily escaped the first assassination attempt, Franz Ferdinand and his wife went to the city hall, where the Archduke had a meeting with the burgomaster. After the official ceremonies were over, one of the Archduke's close associates advised, for the sake of safety, to disperse the people who were still crowding the streets.
The Archduke planned to go further to the hospital, and from there to the Sarajevo Museum. After the assassination attempt, it seemed unsafe for the Archduke's associates to move along the route surrounded by a crowd. To these concerns, the Hungarian governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Oscar Potiorek, responded that Sarajevo was not at all infested with murderers and there was nothing to be afraid of.
As a result, Franz Ferdinand decided to go to the hospital to visit people who were wounded during the assassination attempt, and his wife wanted to go with him. On the way, a strange incident occurred: it was decided to change the route, but for some reason the driver followed the previously agreed route, and this mistake was not immediately noticed. When the driver was asked to turn onto the embankment, he braked sharply and stopped the car at the corner of Franz Josef Street, and then began to slowly turn around.
Exactly at that moment, terrorist Gavrilo Princip came out of a store nearby, ran up to the car with a pistol and shot Franz Ferdinand’s wife in the stomach, and then shot the Archduke himself in the neck.
Having committed a double murder, the terrorist tried to poison himself with potassium cyanide, but nothing worked - he only vomited. After this, Gavrilo Princip tried to shoot himself, but did not have time to do this, because the people who ran up disarmed him. There is an opinion that the driver in the Archduke’s car was somehow connected with the conspirators and helped them, but there is no reliable and convincing information on this matter.
The Archduke's wife died on the spot, and Franz Ferdinand himself died a few minutes after being wounded. The bodies of the couple were taken to the governor's residence. After the death of the Archduke due to the fault of Serbian nationalist revolutionaries, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. The Russian Empire provided support to Serbia, and this conflict marked the beginning of the war.
Memory
Now the Archduke is remembered by the Sedm Kuli beer brand, produced by the Ferdinand brewery. The Archduke himself was at one time the owner of this brewery, and the name of the beer refers to the seven bullets that the terrorist fired at the Archduke.
In 2014, marking the centenary of the First World War, the postal departments of the countries participating in the war issued thematic stamps dedicated to this event. Several stamps depicted portraits of the Archduke and his wife.
A rock band from Great Britain was named after Franz Ferdinand in 2001.
What happened?
Dragutin Dimitrievich
This is without a doubt one of the most famous murders in human history. Only the Kennedy assassination can compete with it in terms of fame. However, we are not compiling recognition ratings here. The heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Hohenberg were killed in Sarajevo (at that time part of Austria-Hungary) by the young terrorist Gavrilo Princip. An interesting fact is that the group that organized and carried out the murder was called Mlada Bosna. But out of six terrorists, only one was Bosnian. And Gavrilo Princip himself was a Serb.
One of the organizers of the attack was the killer of the Serbian king
The goals of the “Young Bosnians” are well known to everyone: to achieve the separation of Bosnia from Austria-Hungary with subsequent annexation to a single Balkan state, which did not yet exist at that moment. And it is no coincidence that the powerful Black Hand organization was behind the murderers of Franz Ferdinand. Its head was called Dragutin Dimitrievich, and he already had experience in political murders. 11 years earlier (in 1903), he killed not even the heir to the throne, but the monarch, and personally. Then the extremely unpopular King of Serbia, Alexander Obrenovic, became Dimitrievich’s victim. Along with him, the conspirators brutally murdered Queen Draga (even more unpopular than her husband), her two brothers, and the Serbian Prime Minister. This led to a change in the ruling dynasty and the restoration of the Karadjordjevic dynasty on the Serbian throne. However, we digress.
Could things have happened differently?
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Modern historians believe that the death of the Archduke was the result of a whole chain of tragic accidents. There are at least several reasons to believe that the heir could have survived. One of them is medical. With the modern level of medicine, Franz Ferdinand would probably have been saved. However, this is not about that now. Firstly, you need to clearly understand the situation in the Balkans in the pre-war years, when Serbia and Austria were in a state of undeclared war. There were many reasons for hatred. And the deep split of the Balkan elite, some of which gravitated towards Austria, and some towards Russia, and the so-called “pig war”, after which Austria-Hungary began a customs blockade of Serbia, and, finally, the factor of the Serbian military, who could not come to terms with the Austrian dominion in the Balkans. The point here was mainly that Greater Serbia could not come to terms with the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Austria-Hungary. The stated reason: a large number of Orthodox Serbs living in territories controlled by Vienna. There is a version that in Austria-Hungary Orthodox Serbs were subjected to ostracism, persecution and discrimination; however, there are studies indicating that such cases were not widespread. However, many Serbs believed that their brothers by blood and faith were not free and needed salvation. It was under this sauce that a real terrorist war was launched against the Austrian presence in the region at the beginning of the twentieth century. It began in 1903 with the murder of the pro-Austrian King of Serbia, Alexander I and his wife Draga, which led to a change in the dynasty and foreign policy.
The Archduke would have survived if the Sarajevo authorities had not succumbed to panic
The next act of the war was numerous attempts on the lives of high-ranking Austrians in Bosnia. True, none of them succeeded. Members of the terrorist organization were preparing the murders of two governors general of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marjan Varesanin and Oscar Potiorek. There were also frequent attacks on Austrian generals in Sarajevo. All this created a serious threat to the safety of the heir to the throne during his visit. That is why many advised Franz Ferdinand not to go to Sarajevo. Moreover, the reason was, in general, nonsense. The Archduke attended the maneuvers that took place near Sarajevo, and came to the city itself to open the state museum. Among those who dissuaded Franz Ferdinand was his wife Sophia. Yielding to her persuasion, the Archduke had previously canceled his visits to the Balkans twice. There is a second reason to believe that the heir to the Austrian throne could have avoided death. The fact is that by the time the fatal attack by Gavrilo Princip happened, it was already absolutely clear that the life of the heir was under threat. After all, Princip was a backup option, plan B. The Mlada Bosna group included several terrorists who were supposed to attack the motorcade. All three were Bosnian Serbs, Austrian subjects who lived in Belgrade. In addition to Gavrilo Princip, the group included Trifko Grabezh and Nedeljko Chabrinovic. It was Chebrinovich who made the first attack, throwing a grenade at the Archduke's car. The grenade bounced off the car and exploded in the air. Several people were injured, and Chabrinovic was detained while attempting to drown himself. One way or another, at that moment it became absolutely clear that the terrorists were preparing an attack on Franz Ferdinand, that the life of the heir was in danger, and security measures needed to be strengthened. Why didn't this happen? There are quite a few versions explaining this. Some point to general panic and confusion, and the Archduke's refusal to remain in the Town Hall, which he reached safely. Others believe that Potiorek and a group of Austrian generals condoned the plot because they were not happy with Franz Ferdinand as heir to the throne.
There are two more reasons. First, Princip could simply have missed. Secondly, the Archduke could have been saved. If Franz Ferdinand had received immediate medical attention, there would have been a chance of saving his life.
If there had been no murder, would there have been no war?
Gavrilo Princip immediately after his arrest
The great powers had to figure out their relationship with each other
No. Murder was the reason, but not the reason. If the Archduke had returned home safe and sound, the war would still have started. Just later. The leading powers, in fact, have already divided the world into either their own possessions or spheres of influence. America, where most countries achieved independence by the middle of the 19th century, did not fall into the division zone. But all other territories from the Atlantic Ocean to the International Date Line, plus Oceania, were, to one degree or another, divided. Even formally independent countries were under someone's influence, either political or economic. The only exception, perhaps, was Japan, which managed to overcome external pressure thanks to the famous reforms of Emperor Meiji. A couple of simple examples: independent Bulgaria had, with a completely Orthodox population, a Catholic king dependent on the German Empire; independent Persia in 1910 was divided into spheres of influence by Russia and Great Britain. The agreement, in essence, was a division; the Persian side was not expected to participate in it in any way. However, the most telling example is China. The Celestial Empire was torn apart by the great powers in 1901 following the Yihetuan uprising. It was suppressed by a coalition of Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France, the USA, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The contingent of the last two countries was 80 and 75 people, respectively. Nevertheless, Italy and Austria-Hungary, along with everyone else, took part in the signing of a peace treaty, as a result of which China, while maintaining formal independence, became a zone of economic interests of eight countries at once.
When all the territories have already been divided and eaten, the only question that arises is when the dividers will get involved in conflict with each other. The Great Powers apparently had future conflict in mind. It is not for nothing that global geopolitical alliances were concluded long before the war. Entente: Great Britain, France, Russia and the Central Powers: Germany and Austria, which were later joined by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. All this laid a powder keg under a peaceful Europe. However, Europe was not peaceful anyway. She fought constantly and continuously. The goal of each new campaign, albeit a very small one, was the desire to chop off some more square kilometers for their sphere of influence. However, another thing is important: each power had an interest that ran counter to the interests of the other power. And this made another conflict inevitable.
Inevitable
Map of Europe before World War I
The governments of Austria, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Great Britain and France were interested in war with each other, because they saw no other way to resolve existing disputes and contradictions. Great Britain and Germany divided East and South-West Africa. At the same time, Berlin did not hide the fact that it supported the Boers during the Anglo-Boer Wars, and London responded to this with an economic war and the creation of an anti-German bloc of states. France also had many claims against Germany. Part of society demanded military revenge for humiliation in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, as a result of which France lost Alsace and Lorraine. Paris sought their return, but under no circumstances would it give up these territories to Germany. The situation could only be resolved by military means. Plus, France was dissatisfied with Austrian penetration into the Balkans and regarded the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway as a threat to its interests in Asia. Germany demanded a revision of Europe's colonial policy, constantly demanding concessions from other colonial powers. Not to mention the fact that the Empire, which existed for just over forty years, sought to dominate, if not all of Europe, then at least its continental part. Austria-Hungary had huge interests in the Balkans and perceived Russian policies aimed at protecting the Slavs and Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe as a threat.
Diplomats failed to prevent the war that the military wanted
In addition, Austria had a long-running dispute with Italy over trade in the Adriatic Sea. Russia, in addition to the Balkans, also wanted to gain control over the straits between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The number of mutual claims and conflict situations suggested only one way out of the situation - war. Imagine a communal apartment. Six rooms, each of which houses a family of well-armed men. They have already divided the hallway, kitchen, toilet and bathroom and want more. The question is, who will control the entire communal service? At the same time, families cannot agree with each other. What will happen in such an apartment is war. All I needed was a reason. In the case of Europe, this occasion was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. If it weren't for him, there would have been another reason. This, by the way, is shown quite convincingly by the negotiations that took place in July 1914. The great powers had a month to come to an agreement, but they did not even try to do so.
The only option
Nicholas II
The First World War destroyed four Empires
Another thing is that no one, obviously, suspected how the global conflict of all the strongest countries on the planet could end. Governments believed that the war would be long, but not that long. A year or two, no more, and then peace and anticipation of a new conflict. But two years passed very quickly, the war did not end, and economies began to crack. Five Empires and one Republic entered the war. Four years later, not a trace remained of the four Empires. Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Russian Empire ceased to exist in the form in which they existed before. The Ottoman Empire also died. If the governments of these countries had accepted the idea of such a development of events, then perhaps war could have been avoided. In the end, non-participation was an option for Russia and Austria. Moreover, quite influential politicians lived and worked in these countries who convinced the Emperors not to get involved in the conflict.
“They killed, then, our Ferdinand,” - with this phrase Mrs. Müllerova, the protagonist’s maid, begins “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik during the World War.” For most people, a hundred years after his death in Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne remains, as for Mrs. Müllerova, nothing more than a human target.
– By 1914, Bosnia had been under the rule of Austria-Hungary for 35 years. It is known that in general the population of the province, including the Bosnian Serbs, lived better than their fellow tribesmen in Serbia proper. What was the reason for the rise of radical nationalist sentiments, the bearers of which were Gavrilo Princip and his comrades in the Mlada Bosna group, which organized the assassination of the Archduke? And were the contradictions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia so irreconcilable that they could only be resolved by war?
– I have just returned from an international conference of historians in Sarajevo, where this issue was lively discussed. There are different versions. Some colleagues point out that Austria-Hungary sold a large batch of rifles to Serbia shortly before the murder. This suggests that she did not intend to fight: who supplies weapons to their enemy? As for nationalist sentiments, there were different factors. We must not forget about the contradictions between the three peoples who lived (and are living) in Bosnia - Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks. If the Bosnian Serbs believed that their land should belong to Serbia, then the Croats and Muslims had a different view of this, they were more loyal to the Austro-Hungarian authorities. Although life was better in Bosnia than in Serbia, nationalism is not directly related to the standard of living. The idea of unifying national territories served as the core of Serbian nationalism.
– Couldn’t Austria-Hungary offer the Serbian population of Bosnia some kind of political model that would suit them?
– Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1878 by decision of the Berlin Congress, and was finally annexed in 1908. All this must be seen in the wider European context. The Russian factor was also at work here: Russia traditionally supported Serbia, and therefore, indirectly, Serbian nationalism in Bosnia. As for the Habsburg government, it was a tough and efficient bureaucracy, it left its mark in Bosnia, there are still many beautiful buildings built during the Austrian period. This was all designed to last for centuries, but the local population was still perceived as alien.
– Historians have been studying for decades the question of how closely the terrorists from Mlada Bosna were connected with the official authorities of Serbia. In your opinion, who was closer to the truth then - Vienna, which accused the Serbian authorities of patronizing the murderers, or Belgrade, which claimed that it had nothing in common with them?
Proper security measures were not taken during Franz Ferdinand's visit - and given that the heir had many enemies, some historians believed this was done on purpose
– The version about Mlada Bosna’s connection with Serbia is very widespread, but there is a question: with which Serbia? There, on the one hand, there was the secret officer organization "Black Hand" ("Unity or Death"), and on the other, the government of Nikola Pasic and the ruling Karageorgievich dynasty. And the relationship between these two groups was not easy. Pašić sought to distance himself from the conspirators. In some ways he can be compared with Stolypin, who dreamed of a long period of peace for Russia - and Pašić, apparently, did not intend to fight in 1914. There is also a unique anti-Austrian version of the Sarajevo murder. It is known that during Franz Ferdinand's visit, proper security measures were not taken - and given that the heir had many enemies, some historians believed that this was done on purpose, exposing the Archduke to bullets. But I’m afraid we will never know the whole truth.
– How do people in the Balkans evaluate the events of a hundred years ago today? Who are Gavrilo Princip and his friends heroes for public opinion? Criminals? Confused idealists deserving of pity?
– If we take Serbia, then, with the possible exception of professional historians and intellectuals, the old idea that these are national heroes remains in force. Of course, in other countries there are other opinions - that it was political terrorism. In general, how does the historical approach differ from the political one? In relation to the First World War, looking for its causes is a historical approach, and dealing with the question “who is to blame?” – rather political. At the conference in Sarajevo, which I mentioned, many historians acted as politicians, raising primarily the question of responsibility for the war, which now, it seems to me, no longer makes sense.
– Who are these people, members of Mlada Bosna, for you personally?
“On the one hand, they, of course, sincerely wanted national liberation. On the other hand, these were very young people, not very educated and somewhat confused. They could not imagine what monstrous consequences their step would lead to. They fought for national freedom, but as a result of the First World War there was no triumph of freedom,” notes Russian Balkan historian Sergei Romanenko.
Unpleasant man from Konopiste
Franz Ferdinand was a convenient target for various reasons. Many did not like him and were afraid of him - not only because of his political views, which promised drastic changes if the heir came to power, but also because of his difficult, difficult character. The Archduke was quick-tempered, hot-tempered, although easygoing - having unfairly offended someone, he was able to apologize to him with all his heart. Another unpleasant trait of his was his suspicion. It is, however, largely explained by the circumstances of his life.
Franz Ferdinand became the heir to the throne by accident. In 1889, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, Rudolf, committed suicide, unable to bear the burden of everyday and psychological problems. According to the law, the next heir was supposed to be the monarch's younger brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, but he was an elderly and completely apolitical man and gave way in the “queue” to the throne to his eldest son, Franz Ferdinand. The emperor did not like his nephew - they were too different people. When, at the age of thirty, Franz Ferdinand fell ill with tuberculosis and left Vienna for a long time for treatment, the old monarch began to give important assignments to his younger nephew, Otto, which aroused the rage of the sick Franz Ferdinand. The heir's biographer Jan Galandauer writes: “The Habsburgs have always been suspicious, and Franz Ferdinand especially. To this it is necessary to add the mental changes that accompany tuberculosis. One of the specialists involved in the influence of tuberculosis on the psyche of patients calls the suspicion that arises in them “tuberculous psychoneurosis with paranoid elements.”. It seemed to the Archduke that everyone around him was against him and was plotting to prevent him from inheriting the throne. As Stefan Zweig later wrote, “the Archduke lacked the quality that Vienna has long valued above all else - easy charm, charm.” Even his recovery from a serious illness, which many then considered a miracle, did not improve his character.
The story of Franz Ferdinand's marriage also did not contribute to his popularity in the eyes of the emperor and the court - although it somewhat improved his image in the eyes of the general public. An affair with the Czech Countess Sofia Chotek, whom he decided to marry, confronted Franz Ferdinand with a cruel choice: to abandon the woman he loved or the rights to the throne. After all, the law deprived the right to inherit the crown from members of the imperial house who entered into an unequal marriage. With his characteristic tenacity, Franz Ferdinand persuaded the emperor to retain his right of inheritance - in exchange for renouncing these rights for his children from his marriage to Sophia Chotek. The heir's ill-wishers took it out on his wife: Sophia, as “unequal by birth,” during ceremonies and events, according to the strict etiquette of the Viennese court, did not dare to be near her husband. Franz Ferdinand was angry, but endured, dreaming of how he would take revenge on his enemies when he ascended the throne.
Franz Ferdinand was angry, but endured, dreaming of how he would take revenge on his enemies when he ascended the throne
The marriage with Sophia (the emperor, who treated her well, gave her the title of Princess von Hohenberg) turned out to be very happy. Three children were born there - Sofia, Max and Ernst. The fate of the sons of Franz Ferdinand, by the way, was not easy: during the Second World War, both of them, who did not hide their hatred of Nazism, were thrown into the Dachau concentration camp. But the children grew up in the Konopiste castle near Prague, purchased by the heir to the throne, in an atmosphere of love and joy. In the family circle, the withdrawn and irritable Franz Ferdinand became a different person - cheerful, charming and kind. The family was everything to him - it was not without reason that the Archduke’s last words were addressed to his wife, who was dying next to him in the car seat: “Sophie, Sophie! Live for the sake of our children!”
Family life of Franz Ferdinand and Sophia. Konopiste, Czech Republic
True, the Archduke did not have much time for family joys: he was appointed chief inspector of the armed forces of Austria-Hungary and paid a lot of attention to improving the condition of the army and navy. Actually, the trip to Sarajevo was primarily in the nature of a military inspection. In addition, the heir and his entourage were developing plans for large-scale reforms that would renovate the magnificent but dilapidated building of the Habsburg Monarchy.
Reforms of last resort
A Czech historian, professor at Charles University (Prague) told Radio Liberty about what kind of politician Archduke Franz Ferdinand was and what plans he had in mind. Milan Hlavačka.
– According to the recollections of many contemporaries, after the Sarajevo murder, the reaction of society in Austria-Hungary to what happened was calm and even indifferent. The heir to the throne was not very popular among his subjects. On the other hand, it is known that Franz Ferdinand had plans for major reforms that would modernize the Habsburg Monarchy. What accounts for the Archduke's controversial reputation?
– As is often the case with historical figures, we can talk about two images of Franz Ferdinand: on the one hand, about the image created by the mass media and partly historiography, and on the other, about the image that is closer to reality. Franz Ferdinand's unpopularity was a consequence of some of his personal qualities. Well, let's say, the severity and sometimes arrogance with which he treated his servants in the Konopiste castle near Prague, or his hunting mania, this extermination of thousands of animals by the Archduke. Towards the end of his life he was even deaf from shooting too often.
As for his reform aspirations, they are also largely surrounded by myths. It is believed that he tried to save the monarchy and developed plans for transformation. This is all true, but these plans were imperfect and often not well thought out. Much of the heir’s policy was determined by his hostility towards the Hungarians, or more precisely, towards the dualistic structure of Austria-Hungary, which, as he believed, weakened the monarchy. He sought to weaken the growing position of the Hungarian ruling elite.
– Well, he really wasn’t a democrat. On the other hand, Austro-Hungarian society was quite developed and cultural. It was hardly possible to simply eliminate or severely limit something that had already become part of the political tradition that had worked for decades - parliament, freedom of the press and debate, coalition governments, and so on. Perhaps through a coup d'etat, but in this case he could not count on any public support.
Another myth surrounding the figure of Franz Ferdinand is the idea that he was the Kriegshetzer, the “warmonger.” This myth arose largely due to the fact that shortly before leaving for Sarajevo, in mid-June 1914, the Archduke received the German Emperor Wilhelm II in Konopiste. They talked face-to-face for a long time, the content of this conversation remained unknown, but after the First World War the following interpretation arose: it was there and then that the aggressive plans of Germany and Austria-Hungary were allegedly discussed. If we look at the documents, in particular the extensive correspondence between Franz Ferdinand and Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold, we see that things were exactly the opposite. The heir to the throne knew the internal weaknesses of his state and understood that if Austria-Hungary actively intervened in the military conflict in Europe, it could destroy it.
– Did this also apply to a possible war with Russia?
Undoubtedly. Franz Ferdinand rightly believed that the Habsburg monarchy - like, probably, the Russian one, here he also had no illusions - would not have survived such a war. And that is why he opposed the “war party” at court and in the government, including the chief of the general staff. Members of this “party” believed that the war would be local, only against Serbia or Italy, and the entire system of mutual allied obligations by which the members of both were bound coalitions of European great powers will not be put into action. These people also bet that Russia did not have time to implement the army rearmament program, and therefore would not dare to fight. As for rearmament, this was true, but despite this, in 1914 Russia immediately entered the war on the side of Serbia. And Franz Ferdinand feared exactly this - as it turned out, justified.
– Franz Ferdinand also gained a reputation as a “friend” of the Slavic peoples of the Habsburg Monarchy, whose interests he sought to protect, primarily from the ruling circles of Hungary. Is this also a myth?
– The heir sought to play a much greater political role than the one assigned to him by Emperor Franz Joseph. He partially succeeded in this - for example, Foreign Minister Berchtold consulted with the Archduke about all his political steps. And their correspondence suggests that the main goal of Franz Ferdinand was to weaken the position of the Kingdom of Hungary within the monarchy. For this purpose, he was ready to use other nations as allies. But it is unlikely that he burned with special love for them - in his letters there are such expressions as “Balkan dogs,” for example. As for, say, the Czechs, the most famous case here is the scam of Karel Šviga, a leader of the Czech National Socialist Party, who passed on confidential information about Czech politicians to the employees of Franz Ferdinand. But this was precisely the collection of information, and not some kind of close contacts between the heir and Czech politicians. Although the Archduke also had confidants in political circles - the Slovak Milan Hoxha, for example, who later, in the late 1930s, became Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia.
– The romantic love story of Franz Ferdinand and the Czech Countess Sofia Chotek and their subsequent very harmonious marriage is known. They died on the same day, as befits ideal spouses. But did Countess Sophia, later Princess von Hohenberg, have any political influence over her husband? For example, did she defend the interests of the Czechs?
– Well, Countess Chotek can only be called a Czech Czech. Yes, she belonged to an old Czech aristocratic family. But the upbringing of children, especially girls, in such families by that time had long been carried out mainly in the language of their parents - German. In principle, the aristocracy was culturally cosmopolitan. Sophia von Hohenberg, based on what is known about her, gives the impression of a completely apolitical lady, a believing Catholic, a faithful and devoted wife. Sofia was not involved in any political intrigues. She and her children created for Franz Ferdinand in Konopišt that atmosphere of home comfort and joy in which he was truly happy.
The heir sought to play a much greater political role than the one assigned to him by Emperor Franz Joseph
– If we return to the state of Austria-Hungary before the war: what did 1914 become for it? Did the war accelerate the already begun decomposition of this somewhat outdated state, or did the “Danubian monarchy” have a chance of survival?
– This is a question from the “if only” series, this is the so-called “virtual history”, which historians are not very fond of.
– Unlike journalists.
– Yes, this is such an interesting game. We cannot know what would have happened if the war had not started. But it is known that the political and intellectual world of Central Europe by 1914 had long been “accustomed” to the existence of the Habsburg monarchy. If you read the journalism of that time, even Czech, with all the dissatisfaction of the Czechs with many orders in Austria-Hungary, then with a few exceptions - a circle of intellectuals around the magazine "Samostatnost" - they all talked about the future, starting from the existence of the Habsburg monarchy as a natural state-legal framework. The question was nothing more than the degree of possible autonomy for the different peoples of the monarchy. That’s what the Czechs, too, were striving for. There was a question about relations with the German minority within the Czech Kingdom - it was a third of the population, two and a half million people. And Vienna behaved responsibly in this regard: it initiated negotiations between the Czechs and Germans, but did not interfere in them - they say, you yourself will agree on the spot on terms that suit you - will it be, for example, the same model that existed in Galicia, or something else. But before the start of the war, this process did not bring concrete results.
– Is the experience of the Habsburg monarchy as such something that belongs to the distant past, or can some of it be used now – for example, in the construction and reform of the European Union, which, like Austria-Hungary, is a motley, multinational entity?
– I think every historical experience is unique. But some lessons can be learned. For example, the EU's language policy is much more liberal than that of the Habsburg Monarchy. EU documents are translated into the languages of all 28 member countries. True, this is, of course, a very expensive solution. Another common feature is a single market, without customs and financial barriers. But, on the other hand, we now see that free trade alone will not solve all problems. The EU is missing something, a certain unifying idea. And thirdly, what was characteristic of the monarchy and necessary in today’s EU is a tendency towards unity of law, says Czech historian Milan Hlavacka.