Gavrilo Princip

Gavrilo Princip (Cyrillic: ??????? ???????, IPA: [ga?'ri:l? 'prin?ip]) (July 25, 1894(1894-07-25) – April 28, 1918) was a Bosnian Serb and proclaimed himself to be a Yugoslav Nationalist. Princip is commonly associated with the freedom movement Mlada Bosna. Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Princip and his accomplices were arrested and implicated a number of members of the Serbian Military, leading Austria-Hungary and Germany to issue a démarche to Serbia known as the July Ultimatum. Which set off a chain of events that led to World War I. Unwittingly, he is one of the most influential people in 20th century history, being indirectly responsible for sparking the chain of events that led to both World Wars, the Cold War and many of the troubles in the Middle East that still exist to this day.

Early life

Princip was born in the village of Obljaj, near Bosansko Grahovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungarian Empire, the son of a postman. His parents, Petar and Marija (née Mi?i?), had nine children, five sons and four daughters, six of whom died in infancy. Gavrilo's health was poor from an early age and it was further aggravated by his living conditions. His impoverished parents could not provide for him and sent him to live with an older brother in Zagreb.

Most historians agree that Princip was a member of Young Bosnia; that the group got its weapons from the Black Hand (???? ????/Crna ruka); and that the latter group was at least somewhat responsible for coordination, training, and/or supplying weapons for the forthcoming assassination attempt on Franz Ferdinand. However, Princip had minimal contact with the group, and did not associate with them. The Young Bosnia movement was a group made up of Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims, committed to the independence of the South Slavic peoples from Austria-Hungary.

In February 1912, Princip took part in protest demonstrations against the Sarajevo authorities for which he was expelled from school. Following his expulsion, he moved to Belgrade. In Belgrade, he sought to gain admission to the First Belgrade Gymnasium but failed the entrance exam.

In 1912, Serbia was abuzz with mobilization for the First Balkan War. Princip planned to join the komite, irregular Serbian guerrilla forces under Serbian Major Vojislav Tankosi? which had fought in Macedonia against Ottoman units. Tankosi? was a member of the central committee of the secret society Unification or Death (Ujedinjenje ili Smrt). Princip, however, was rejected by the komite in Belgrade because of his small physical stature. He then went to Prokuplje in Southern Serbia where he sought a personal interview with Tankosi?. Tankosi?, however, rejected Princip due to being "too small and too weak." Dedijer argued that this rejection was "one of the primary personal motives which pushed him to do something exceptionally brave in order to prove to others that he was their equal."

Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand

 On June 28, 1914 Gavrilo Princip participated in the assassination in Sarajevo. General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina had invited Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie to watch his troops on manoeuvers. 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 Black Hand in 1911.

Just before 10 o'clock on Sunday, the royal couple arrived in Sarajevo by train. In the front car was Fehim ?ur?i?, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.

The seven members of the group lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, each one with instructions to try to kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedba?i?. Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedba?i? lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedba?i? 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 A.M., when the six car procession passed the central police station, nineteen-year-old student Nedeljko ?abrinovi? hurled a hand grenade at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the bomb exploded 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 ?abrinovi?'s bomb missed the Archduke's car, five other conspirators, including Princip, lost an opportunity to attack because of the heavy crowds and the high speed of the Archduke's car. To avoid capture, ?abrinovi? swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the River Miljacka, but was hauled out and detained by police.

Franz Ferdinand later decided to go to the hospital and visit the victims of ?abrinovi?'s failed bombing attempt. In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek 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 Schiller's cafe for a sandwich, having apparently given up, when he spotted Franz Ferdinand's car as it drove past, having taken the wrong turn. After realizing the mistake, the driver put his 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, drew his pistol, and at a distance of about five feet, fired twice into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie in the abdomen, and they both died before 11am.

Capture and imprisonmentPrincip tried to kill himself first by ingesting cyanide, and then with the use of his pistol. But he vomited the past-date poison (as did ?abrinovi?, leading the police to believe the group had been deceived and bought a much weaker poison). The pistol was wrestled from his hand before he had a chance to fire another shot.

Trial

 (Ilustrowany Kurier Wojenny, 5th December, 1914).Princip was too young to receive the death penalty, being one month and three days short of his twentieth birthday at the time of the assassination. Instead, he received the maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. He was held in harsh conditions which were worsened by the war. He died of tuberculosis on April 28, 1918 at Theresienstadt (a place which later became infamous as a Nazi concentration camp). At the time of his death, Princip weighed around 40 kilograms (88 lbs), weakened by malnutrition, blood loss and disease.

Controversial legacy

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 peoples in Austro-Hungary, in which case he may be viewed as a hero that gave his life for the freedom of the many peoples under Austrian and Hungarian rule (and in a way actually succeeded in this, as an indirect liberator). These two conflicting reputations have remained throughout the world from the very moment the bullets were fired.

Quotes

"I am the son of peasants and I know what is happening in the villages. That is why I wanted to take revenge, and I regret nothing."

"There is no need to carry me to another prison. My life is already ebbing away. I suggest that you nail me to a cross and burn me alive. My flaming body will be a torch to light my people on their path to freedom."

—Princip to the prison governor on being moved to another prison

"I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be free from Austria."

"Our shadows will be walking through Vienna, strolling through the court, frightening lords."

—found engraved on the wall of Princip's prison cell after his death

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