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Civil Croatia on the Eve of the First World War (The Echo of the Assassination and Ultimatum)

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Civil Croatia on the Eve of the First World War (The Echo of the Assassination and Ultimatum) Povij. pril. 301-317 Zagreb, 1995. UDK 949.75 »1914« Izvorni znanstveni rad Primljeno: 5. VI. 1995. Civil Croatia on the Eve of the First World War (The Echo of the Assassination and Ultimatum) DAMIR AGIČIĆ Filozofski fakultet, Zagreb, Republika Hrvatska Introduction The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Francis Ferdi­ nand and his wife Sophia Hohenberg in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914 was an event of world importance. It was not only a »usual« assassination of a crowned head similar to many in history, but it gave casus belli for the first great war of the twen­ tieth century which engulfed almost the entire world. At the turn of the century the great powers of Europe were divided into two main opposing alliances looking for a motive for war. Several times they succeeded in avoiding war, but after the assas­ sination at Sarajevo, war came and soon became the biggest human slaughter­ house ever seen in world history up to then. What was being prepared in the political kitchens during the month between the assassination and the beginning of war is more or less clear. Historians have dealt with this question even from the time of war. In this article we will present the situation in Civil Croatia after the assassination up to the first days of the war, that is how the events of June and July 1914 affected the Croatian public. In the elections for the Croatian Parliament of 16th December 1913 the Croatian-Serbian Coalition became the most powerful party in the Sabor (the Croatian parliament). These elections were not based on universal suffrage. Of a total of 88 seats in parliament the Croatian-Serbian Coalition obtained 48. To­ gether with the Unionists (Magyrones)J it took possession of the right wing of the Sabor. In the centre there were the representatives of the Frank Party of Rights (Frankovci), three representatives of the Croatian People's Peasant Party and They were pro-Hungarian and firmly supported connections with Budapest. 301 D. AGIČIĆ, Civil Croatia.. Povij. pril. 14, 301-317 (1995) three independent representatives. The left wing consisted of representatives of the Starčević Party of Rights (Milinovci or Starčevićanci).2 The Croatian-Serbian Coalition had an absolute majority in the Sabor and could, without any problems, control Croatian politics. But the opposition was very forceful and obstructed the Sabor's first session. During the winter and spring of 1914 the Sabor debated, among other things, the King's address, the agreement between Tisza and the Coalition, and issues to do with the Nagodba (Agreement or Compromise), indemnity, the budget for 1914/1915, etc3 The Assassination at Sarajevo and its Repercussions for Croatia In the summer of 1914 the Austro-Hungarian army held manoeuvres in Bos­ nia under the supervision of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne and Inspector general of the army. At the end of the manoeuvres he and his wife Sophia Hohenberg went to Sarajevo. An awful fate awaited them in the Bosnian capital: the Austro-Hungarian royal couple was killed there by a young Serbian nationalist. The first attempt to assassinate Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, by Nedeljko Čabrinović, was not successful. Čabrinović threw a bomb into the Archduke's car, but it did not explode immediately and Ferdinand managed to throw the bomb out. However, he did not avoid death. The second assailant, 19-year old Gavrilo Princip, succeeded in killing him and his wife. Both Čabrinović and Princip, along with a third conspirator, Trifko Grabež, were members of the secret society »Young Bosnia« and fanatical student revolu­ tionaries. There were revolutionary young people like them in every backward European country in those days, and in western Europe several decades earlier. It would not have been difficult to persuade them to carry out an assassination. It is true that »the full story of the Sarajevo assassination has yet to be told and, in spite of much learned research, many vital points remain obscure«.4 What is well known is that the assassination was organized by the Serbian secret organi­ zation »Union or Death« (more widely known as the »Black Hand«). This organi­ zation was founded on 3rd March 1911, to achieve a Greater Serbia by means of violence, conspiracy and terrorism. The head of the organization was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, Chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Serb General Staff, who had assassinated King Aleksandar Obrenović in 1903. 2 Bogdan Krizman, Hrvatska u prvom svjetskom ratu. Hrvatsko-srpskipolitički odnosi (Za­ greb, 1989) p. 27. 3 For more details see: Krizman, Hrvatska, pp. 29-50. 4 L. C. F. Turner, Origins of the First World War (London, 1970) p. 78. 302 D. AGICIC, Civil Croatia.. Povij. pril. 14, 301-317 (1995) The Croatian Press on the Assassination The news about the assassination came to Zagreb very quickly and caused ex­ citement and confusion. Some hours later special editions of the local newspapers appeared. A journalist of Ilustrovani list described the events like this: »Real panic broke out in Zagreb when people heard about the assassination. They gathered on the streets, besieged the newspaper offices. When special editions were published, they were snatched up immediately. Some of the colporters were protected by the police. Up to 50,000 copies of a single newspaper were printed.«5 The headlines about the assassination show what individual newspapers stressed, what was the most important angle in their view. While some newspapers did not include in their headlines who the assassins were, others clearly stressed that they were Serbs, depending on the newspaper's politics. Thus the official newspaper Narodne novine brought the news from Sarajevo under the heading: »The assassination of His Royal Highness the Serene Lord Archduke - the heir apparent to the throne Francis Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophia Hohen- berg«. In the article it noted that the assassins were Serbs,6 but it did not stress strongly their connections with Serbia.7 Starcevic's followers' newspaper Hrvat had a very short and simple headline: »t Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia«. The greater part of the first page of Hrvat was devoted to the deathnotice, and only on the second page were there some words about the assassins - that both of them were Serbs.8 There was a similarly short headline in Hrvatskipokret, the organ of the Croa­ tian Independent Party: »Assassination in Sarajevo. Francis Ferdinand and his wife Hohenberg are murdered«. In this newspaper, which supported South Slav unification, there was confused information about the assassins, such as: »While some say Cabrunovic is Muslim and Princip is Orthodox, according to others the former is Muslim and the latter is Catholic. According to official reports one can­ not say anything about the religion of the assassins. Both Princip and Cabrunovic, as Herzegovinans, are Catholics (sic!).«9 Only this newspaper did not mention the nationality but the religious affilation of the assassins. It even strongly asserted that both of them were Catholics. There was a completely different headline in Frankovci's newspaper Hrvat- ska. In bold print it said: »The murder of the heir apparent to the throne and his wife in Sarajevo«, and immediately after this in smaller print the subtitles: »Both assassins are sly Serbs. Bombs from Belgrade. Demonstrations in Zagreb. Bitter­ ness against Serbs in the provinces. Protests against Serbs in Vienna. Mass arrests 5 Ilustrovani list 27 (Zagreb, 4.VII.1914.) nr. 632. 6 The name of Cubrilovic was written by mistake as Gavrilovic. 7 Narodne novine 80 (Zagreb, 29.VI.1914) nr. 146. 8 Hrvat (Zagreb, 30.VI.1914) nr. 300. 9 Hrvatskipokret (Zagreb, 28.VI.1914) nr. 176. The name of Cabrinovic was written by mis­ take as Cabrunovic. 303 D. AGICIC, Civil Croatia.. Povij. pril. 14, 301-317 (1995) in Sarajevo. Impressions from the world.« This newspaper stressed several times on the title page that the assassins were Serbs.10 In its obituaries every newspaper described the assassination as an awful crime and presented the assassins as criminals. Some newspapers used less violent words and did not accuse all Serbs. Others, on the contrary, used very strong words against the Serbs, implying that they were all guilty for the crime in Sarajevo. The official Narodne novine notified that the news of the »heartless crime« had deep repercussions throughout the entire country. Because of the lack of re­ liable news Narodne novine did not give any opinion on the »vicious crime«. It hoped the investigation would show all circumstances in relation to the assassina­ tion.11 The semi-official newspaper Jidamji list published its obituary two days after the »loathsome, even unscrupulous act« and asserted that the entire nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina could not be blamed for this crime. The newspaper ex­ pressed regret regarding demonstrations which were out of control. It was stressed that it was the Croats who had to be sorry for the death of Francis Ferdinand, »a sincere friend of our people«.12 Similarly, the mouthpiece of the Starcevic Party of Rights, Hrvat, described Croatian grief and pain after the »deplorable event« in Sarajevo. It mourned for the Archduke and his wife asserting that together with them many Croatian hopes had died.13 Hrvatski pokret, the mouthpiece of the Croatian Independent Party, noted that the unexpected and terrible news would make a deep impression on the Croats, Serbs and Slovenes, who were very saddened by the terrible event which took place in the centre of Sarajevo.'"The political orientation of this newspaper was directed not only to a united and independent Croatia, but also to a unified South Slav state.
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