A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed in the Bosnian capital...

A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed in the Bosnian capital

MURDER IN SARAJEVOThe killer, a Serb student, was immediately seized


You are an English newspaper reporter who has been sent to cover Archduke

Franz Ferdinand’s tour of Bosnia-Herzegovina. There is a rumor that the Black Hand group is planning to protest about the way the Austrian-Hungarian Empire is ruling

Bosnia-Herzegovina.


If you prefer, you can be a TV reporter who is time-

travelling into the past. You can work with a partner. To ensure that your article is historically accurate, make

sure you only include information in your report

that would have been available on 28th June,

1914.


Below there is a possible outline for your newspaper

report, which is adapted from Britain at War by Craig Mair, 1982. You can also read the Memoir of Count Franz von

Harrach, who was in Archduke’s car when he was

killed.


“Bosnia and Herzegovina were provinces just south of

Austria which were governed

by the Turks until 1878.


The Treaty of Berlin (1878) gave Austria the power to

administer the two provinces indefinitely.

On October 6, 1908 Austria annexed Bosnia and

Herzegovina directly into the

Austrian-Hungarian Empire.


Bosnia was populated primarily by three groups: Croats (Roman Catholic),

Serbs (Serb-orthodox) and Muslims. There is no ethnic

group: Bosnians. Many Bosnian-Serbs felt a

nationalistic desire to have their province joined with that of their Serb brothers across the river in Serbia.


Many in Serbia openly shared that desire. A secret society,

called the Black Hand, organized anti-Austrian propaganda, sabotage, espionage and political

murders. When it was learned that the Heir to the Austrian throne was scheduled to visit

Sarajevo, the Black Hand decided to kill him.


Sunday 28 June 1914 was a bright and sunny day in

Sarajevo. The city was preparing for the royal visit. Crowds lined the streets and waited for the procession of cars to appear.

Hidden among the crowds were six teenager terrorists sworn to

kill the Archduke.


They hated him and Austria. They had bombs, pistols and phials of poison which they had promised to swallow if

they were caught. They were stationed at intervals along

the riverside route which the cars follow on their way to

Town Hall.


The Archduke had been warned that the city was full of Bosnian-Serb nationalists, but he had received so many

threats in the past that he ignored them. At 10.15 the cars passed Mehmedbasic,

the first in line of the waiting killers. He took fright, did

nothing, and then escaped.


Nearby, the next assassin, a schoolboy called Cabrincvic, also lost his nerve and did

nothing. But then as the cars passed the Cumurja Bridge, Cabrincvic threw his bomb, swallowed his poison, and

jumped into the river.


The Archduke saw the bomb coming and threw it off his car, but it exploded under

the car behind, injuring several people. Now there was total confusion as the

procession accelerated away. The Archduke was driven to

the City Hall, where he demanded to visit the bomb

victims.


Fearing more terrorists, the officials decided to take a

new route to avoid the crowds. Meanwhile the other

assassins, on hearing the bomb explode, assumed the Archduke was dead and left - all except Princip, who soon

discovered the truth.


Miserably he wandered across the street towards Schiller’s delicatessen and café. Princip was standing outside the café when, at 10.45, the Archduke’s car suddenly appeared beside

him and turned into Franz Josef Street.


This was a mistake, for according to the new plan

the procession should have continued straight along the

Appel Quay. As the driver realized he had taken a

wrong turn he stopped and started to reverse. Princip

could hardly believe his luck.


Pulling an automatic pistol from the right hand-pocket of his coat, he fired two shots at a

range of just 3 or 4 meters. He could not miss. One bullet

pierced the Archduke’s neck and the other ricocheted off the car into Sophie’s stomach. Princip

was immediately seized.


He managed to swallow his poison, but it did not work and he was taken off to prison. All

the plotters except Mehedbasic were caught but only the

organizer, Ilic, was hanged, for the others were too young for the death penalty. Princip died

in an Austrian jail in April 1918”.


When you have finished your work, read a real report on the assassination of Franz

Ferdinand published on 29th June 1914. In what ways is

your article different?

A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed in the Bosnian capital...

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