Immediate Cause of World War I
Reading
Reading 1:
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip participated in the assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
The governor of the Austrian provinces in Bosnia and Herzegovina had invited Franz
Ferdinand and Countess Sophie to watch his troops on maneuvers. Franz Ferdinand
knew that the visit would be dangerous, knowing his uncle, Emperor Franz Josef, had
been the subject of an assassination attempt by the Serbian nationalist group The Black
Hand in 1911. Just before 10 oʼclock on Sunday, the royal couple arrived in Sarajevo by
train. In the front car was the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the cityʼs Commissioner
of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were in the second car with Count von Harrach.
The carʼs top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.
Questions:
1. Why was the Archduke in Sarajevo at this time?
Reading: 2
The seven Black Hand members lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel
Quay, each one with instructions to kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his
position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmed.
Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmed lost his nerve and allowed the car
Immediate Cause of World War I
Reading
pass without taking action. Mehmed later said that a policeman was standing behind
him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb.
At 10:15 AM, when the six car procession passed the central police station a nineteenyear-old student hurled a hand grenade at the Archdukeʼs car. The driver accelerated
when he saw the object flying towards him. Then, he remembered that it had a 10
second delay and the bomb exploded 10 seconds after, under the wheel of the next car.
Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously
wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.
After the bomb missed the Archdukeʼs car, five other conspirators, including Princip, lost
an opportunity to attack because of the heavy crowds and the high speed of the
Archdukeʼs car. To avoid capture, the man who threw the grenade swallowed a cyanide
pill and jumped into the river to make sure he died. The cyanide pill was very old and
made him vomit and the river was only 4 inches deep. A few seconds later, he was
hauled out and detained by police.
Questions:
2. How many chances did the Black Hand have to kill the Archduke?
3. How did the group members, such as Muhamad Mehmed, intend to avoid
prosecution for their crimes?
Reading 3:
Franz Ferdinand later decided to go to the hospital and visit the victims of the failed
bombing attempt. In order to avoid the city centre, the governor decided that the royal
car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However,
Potiorek forgot to inform the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the
hospital, Urban took a right turn into Gebet Street.
Princip had gone into Moritz Schillerʼs cafe for a sandwich, having apparently given up,
when he spotted Franz Ferdinandʼs car as it drove past, having taken a wrong turn.
After realizing the mistake, the driver put is foot on the brake, and began to back up. In
doing so, the engine of the car stalled and the gears locked, giving Princip his shot.
Princip stepped forward, forward, drew his pistol, and at a distance of about five feet,
Immediate Cause of World War I
Reading
fired twice into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie in the abdomen,
and they both died before 11 AM.
Questions:
4. Why/how was it that Princip came to be the one who actually carried out the
murders?
Reading 4:
Princip tried to kill himself first by ingesting the cyanide, and then with the use of his
pistol. But he vomited the past-date poison. The pistol was wrestled from his hand
before he had a chance to fire another shot. Princip was too young to receive the death
penalty, being twenty-seven days short of his 20th birthday at the time of the
assassination. Instead, he received a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was
held in harsh conditions which were worsened by the war. He died of tuberculosis on
April 28, 1918 at a place which later became infamous as a Nazi concentration camp. At
the time of his death, Princip weighed around 88 lbs., weakened by malnutrition, blood
loss and disease.
Questions:
5. Why was Princip not successful in committing suicide?
6. What happened to him after assassination?
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Immediate Cause of World War I
Reading
Reading 5:
Gavrilo Princip is a person whose significance and reputation are viewed very differently
around the world. He is mostly seen as the man who started World War I; indirectly
responsible for the decline of Europe and the death of millions. However, Gavrilo Princip
had no way of knowing his actions would spark the Great War; his ambition was the
independence of the Yugoslav people in Austro-Hungary, in which case he may be
viewed as a hero who gave his life for the freedom of many people under Austrian and
Hungarian rule (and in a way actually succeeded in this, as the formation of Yugoslavia
was a consequence of World War I). These two conflicting reputations have remained
throughout the world from the very moment the bullets were fired.
Questions:
7. What are the two conflicting legacies of Gavrilo Princip?
8. Which of the two legacies do you agree with? Why?