It was on this day in 1914 that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by the Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia when he was in town for military maneuvers of the Imperial & Royal Army. Princip was part of a gang of conspirators armed and trained by elements within the Serbian military which wished to provoke a war in the hope of creating a "Greater Serbia". It was the spark that ignited the powder keg of alliances, bringing about the First World War. Before it was all over, fighting would reach all across Europe, the Middle East, parts of Africa, Asia and all the oceans of the world, bringing down the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. The institution of monarchy would never be the same again.
Today’s world may remember princip as a hero, the great initiator of the 20th century and beyond, whom all modern democracies are indebted to.
ReplyDeleteIn my perspective however, a man who dare to injure (even to kill) an unarmed woman is nothing more than a coward and pardon me, an as*****.
"Serbien muss Sterbien!"
ReplyDeleteArchduke Ferdinand is among the list of Catholic leaders who's souls I pray for. He was recently nominated for the NSIR's Catholic Leader of the Month for the month of July. It is sad that Austria's quest for justice was manipulated into causing one of the greatest slaughters in world history and reflects little good on the statesmen of the day. I hope it was worth it. As far as I'm concerned? It was not.
I consider WWI to be the single greatest tragedy of the entire 20th century. All the horrors that occurred during the war itself, and then the whole chain reaction of horrors it initiated - the rise of Communism and Fascism, creeping republicanism, loss of faith in traditional institutions, WWII, and even the rise of Islamic radicalism can all be linked to the outcome of the First World War. A war that served no real purpose, achieved no positive results, and simply didn't have to happen at all. The world was left a more dangerous and less stable place and a century later, it hasn't improved.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget the idiocy that is the Treaty of Versailles
DeleteThe sad thing is that even if the Archduke had not died, the war would've happened eventually. Last year the man who holds the Archduke's hereditary title spoke in an Austrian interview about how he felt about his family being responsible for the war (no joke, the Austrians blame the Hapsburgs for World War I while thinking they were better before it and hating the people who ruled them and lead them to that golden age). He replied that considering the political climate of the time, World War I was as inevitable as the Seven Years' War or the Thirty Years' War. Even if the Archduke had never been attacked, something else would've been used as an excuse to start the war. The Austrians just wanted the Serbians to be held responsible for undermining the Empire. It was the rest of the world that used it as an excuse for total war.
ReplyDeleteIt was the state of the world at the time, and ultimately it was the decline of a respect for traditional values that lead it to that.
Who thinks Princip is a hero?! He ruthlessly murdered a helpless woman & her royal husband as they were leaving a hospital. He left four children parentless.
ReplyDeleteI do think the Russian monarchy would've fallen regardless. The d isasterous war w/Japan & Nicholas' s ineptitude as Tsar ensured that.
Most things people blame Nicholas for were more the fault of his officials than himself. But that's what happens when too much authority is given to lesser men.
DeleteThe only thing that could have saved A-H empire is if they stayed out of the War and same goes for Russian but the Alliances made no sense and why would Germany side with the Turks. Both Empires should have focused on their home fronts rather than getting involved is other countries business. Russia had dissidents at home and should have dealt with them and A-H should have modernize more of their economy so to help their people. I wonder how the world would be today if the German, Austria-Hungary and Russian Empires had survived or would they be around today.
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