June 28th 1914

[GrauGeist]

Not sure if many were aware of today's date...

It was 100 years ago that Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip

All of Europe was a powder keg on the verge of blowing up at the slightest blink and this assassination lit the very short fuse.

 

[imalko]

The Shot That Still Echoes Today...

Anniversary of the assassination was commemorated on Saturday separately in Bosnian cities Sarajevo and Višegrad, which just shows how ethnic divisions of recent civil war are enduring today and indeed are projected on this historical event. I won't be venturing into a political rant, but I have to say something what many resident nationalists on all sides here in the Balkans tend to forget... Gavrilo Princip was a member of organization called "Young Bosnia" (not "The Black Hand" as I often read in some internet articles these days) and this was movement dedicated to liberation and unification of all South Slavic nations. For example, the only Princip's accomplice who survived participating in the assassination was Bosnian Muslim Mehmedbašić who escaped to Montenegro. So, there was a time once, when Yugoslav idea was considered by many as something worth fighting and dying for. And for those people Serbia, at that time already independent, was a beacon, their Piedmont. The date of the assassination, 28th of June, symbolically coincided with Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day) an important Serbian national and religious holiday and an anniversary of the epic medieval battle of Kosovo (1389). Reportedly it was advised to the Archduke not to visit the province in turmoil on that particular day, but he neglected the advice and went as a show of force. The rest is history...

Here are some pictures...

Picture 1.
Archduke and his wife leaving the City Hall in Sarajevo prior to the assassination. In the upper left frame is a picture of Gavrilo Princip at the time of his captivity. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and died of constant abuse and tuberculosis shortly before the end of war. It is interesting to note that his second shot was not intended to the Duchess, but rather to Bosnian Governor Oskar Potiorek who was seated in the same car. While he struggled with the guards he accidentally shot Sophie instead.

Picture 2.
This picture has been widely described as showing the assassin Gavrilo Princip (second right) being arrested at the scene,but there are claims it shows the arrest of one of his accomplices, possibly Čabrinović.

Remaining pictures
The assassination made headlines across the world...

 

[imalko]

Here is also a link to a very interesting article explaining the circumstances and the aftermath of the assassination...

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Sarajevo, 28th June 1914

 

[vikingBerserker]

The ultimate family feud.

 

[meatloaf109]

The Kaiser starts to find any way out.