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#KU_WWI Twitter Project: ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND

tweeter guide PROJECT STAFF About the Project The #KU_WWI Twitter Project is a Twitter-based e-reenactment of CREES Outreach Coordinator the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Adrienne Landry , the historical incident often cited as the initial geopolitical [email protected] event that resulted in the First World War.

#KU_WWI Project Leader During Spring 2014, #KU_WWI “Call for Tweeters” will be held on Sam Moore the KU campus where students, faculty and staff can learn more [email protected] about , and have an opportunity to become Twitter e- reenactors. Project Consultant Using this “#KU_WWI Guide” participants will develop e-reenact- Professor Nathan Wood ment characters, twitter handles, hashtags, and 140-character History Department tweets reenacting the assassination. WWI Planning Committee Chair Tweets created at these events will form an e-reenactment Mas- Professor Lorie Vanchena ter Script, which will tweet-out live on June 28, 2014, exactly 100 [email protected] years after the event. The public will be able to follow the reenactment on Twitter SPONSORSHIP through the hashtag #KU_WWI or through Twitter feeds on the crees.ku.edu and european.ku.edu websites. Event refreshments donated by: University Honors Program The #KU_WWI Twitter e-reenactment will include a creative storytell- ing component utilizing the strengths of the KU community. The e- Books donated by: reenactment will incorporate historical, geographical, literary and art Ermal Garinger Academic references both past and present, making the project a humanities Resource Center driven exploration of the events leading up to World War I. Department of Germanic Additionally, select tweets developed at the Call for Tweeters will Languages & Literatures be translated by KU students enrolled in language classes at KU — showcasing the diversity of the languages and cultures involved Professor Marc Greenberg, in World War I, and the languages and cultures taught at KU. A Slavic Languages special thanks to Marta Pirnat-Greenberg and her BCRS 208 In- & Literatures Department termediate Bosnian-Serbo-Croatian class for their help! Online analytics provided by: By inviting students to participate, the #KU_WWI Twitter Project European Studies Program will create an experiential learning opportunity to use social me- dia as a tool for engaging different academic skills; and integrate Technical assistance by: students and academic units from all over the KU campus for the Center for Global study of a single, historical event. & International Studies This project is part of the University of Kansas centennial com- Promotion by: memoration of World War I, coordinated by the European Stud- Global Awareness Program ies Program. Learn more about participating units and upcoming Hall Center for the Humanities programs at www.kuwwi.com. We greatly appreciate the support KU Libraries of the National World War I Museum and strongly encourage all KU Memorial Unions participants to check out their exhibit, On the Brink: A Month That Spencer Museum of Art Changed the World, March 15 - September 14, 2014. Thank you for participating and be sure to watch the reenactment online! June 28, 2014 @KU_WWI DOES it matter?—losing your legs?... For people will always be kind, #KU_WWI Guide And you need not show that you mind When the others come in after hunting So how did To gobble their muffins and eggs. the first world war begin? Does it matter?—losing your sight?... The First World War officially began on July 28th, There’s such splendid work for the blind; 1914 when - declared war on And people will always be kind, the Kingdom of . But why did the Austro- As you sit on the terrace remembering Hungarian declare war on Serbia? What And turning your face to the light. sparked this cataclysmic event?

Do they matter?—those dreams from the pit?... The answer: the assassination of the heir to the You can drink and forget and be glad, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdi- And people won’t say that you’re mad; nand, in Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914. Franz and For they’ll know you’ve fought for your country his wife Sophie were killed while on a state visit to And no one will worry a bit. Bosnia, which was annexed just 6 years earlier by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A young Bosnian Siegfried Sassoon, 1918 Serb, , shot them on the corner of Franz Josef Street. The assassins claimed to be part of the Black Hand, a terrorist group that called for the liberation of Bosnia from Austro- One of the things that Hungarian rule. They wanted Bosnia, as well as drives me to study Herzegovina, , , and WWI, among other to join with the , historical events, is the and form a pan-south slav , or Yu- human drama behind goslav nation. it. Above is a poem from the British poet By the way, that’s what Yugoslav means in Bos- Siegfried Sassoon, nian, Croatian and Serbian languages: Yugo = who fought during South, so…you know, “South Slav.” What Princip WWI, entitled “Does it and other members of his terrorist group wanted Matter?”, which I think was a union of south Slavic peoples in , a truly shows the idea of the human drama union realized in the formation of a few behind the war. Here was a man that was years later…sort of. changed by his wartime experience. WWI is often overshadowed by the events that would come after it, but it still is an im- portant event. It is the event that begins the 20th century; a century of bloodshed, increas- ing globalization, and hope. Often the human element of history, the experiences of the people involved, are lost. These people lived and went through events that would change their lives. Part of my goal is for people to gain a better understanding of what these people went through.

Sam Moore, Project Leader Background European climate Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a time of nationalism, militarism, and high tensions. The had led to new class divisions and restructuring. There was a great influx of people from rural farms to urban factories, making cities dirty and crowded. Ruling classes were falling out of favor and new political philosophies emerged that advocated for the proletariat. By 1914, heads of states coupled their Definition: na·tion·al·ism fears of social problems at home with fears of geopolitical noun instability. Seeking security, the European powers formed the belief that the nation should rule an alliance system that pitted them against each other itself; a feeling that people have of being in more or less equally matched blocs. Because of this loyal to and proud of their nation, often system, a localized conflict could in fact be the cause of with the belief that it is better and more a much wider war. The assassination in Sarajevo was the important than other nations. catalyst that set these blocs against each other, resulting in the overwhelming destruction that killed over 9 million people in combat and almost 17 million total. A war of alliances: who fought who? TRIPLE ALLIANCE: The only formal alli- ance between more than one nation was the Tripe Alliance between , Austria- Hungary, and Italy. The terms of this alliance deemed that all three would, “go to war together if any one were attacked by two other states.” When Archduke Franz Ferdi- nand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serb terrorist group, Germany and Italy sided with them in their declaration of war on the Kingdom of Serbia. John Keegan, The First World War, ( New York: vs. Vintage Books, 1998), 52. TRIPLE ENTENTE: The other camp was not a formal alliance between three na- tions, but rather a loose system of alliances between Great Britain, , and Rus- sia. Not as rigid as the Triple Alliance, the Triple Entente was still a system that would guarantee if one of these powers went to war then at least one other would as well. According to historian John Keegan, it is this mechanism that is commonly believed to have legalistically brought these nations together in war. So when Austria-Hungary declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia declared war on Austria- Hungary and Austria-Hungary’s ally Germa- ny declared war on Russia, and so on and so on… Background Who got shot? SUMMER 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand TIME LINE Franz Ferdinand was the June 28 Archduke of Austria and Assassination of Archduke Franz heir to the Austro-Hun- Ferdinand by Serb nationalists garian throne. His assas- in Sarajevo sination, June 28, 1914, is what precipitated the chain July 28 of events that lead to the Austria-Hungary declares war outbreak of WWI in August. on Serbia Ferdinand was the nephew of Austro-Hungarian Em- August 1 peror Franz Joseph, and Germany declares war on Russia became the heir presump- Germany and sign an alliance tive when his cousin Crown France mobilizes to support Russia Prince Rudolf committed suicide in 1889. Franz was not known for being particularly likeable. Pretty much everyone August 2 except his wife hated him. The and the imperial Germany Invades Luxembourg court disliked him because they thought he was too liberal – a dangerous reformer. The public didn’t like him because August 3 they thought he represented the conservative stagnation of Germany declares war on France the monarchy. Contemporary opinion called him “bigoted,” “overbearing” and “bad-tempered.” So imagine everyone’s August 4 surprise when Franzi fell in love, and overthrew the estab- Germany declares war on lished order so he could marry her. Britain declares war on Germany U.S. proclaims neutrality

Sophie Chotek, Duchess of Hohenberg August 10 The Archduke’s wife, France declares war on Duchess Sophie Chotek, Austria-Hungary was also killed on June 28, 1914. Born into a Bohe- August 11 mian aristocratic family, Montenegro declares war Sophie could count 32 on Germany uninterrupted generations of aristocratic descent. August 12 Despite this noble heritage, Britain declares war on she was still considered Austria-Hungary too inferior to marry a member of the imperial August 23 family. She grew up the child of a diplomat, traveling Eu- Germany invades France rope from Dresden to St. Petersburg. Despite her father’s Austria-Hungary invades career, her family was relatively poor, living a simple life Russian Poland without pomp and ceremony. With no fortune or inheri- Japan declares war on Germany tance to speak of, Sophie became a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, the imperial matron of Viennese so- August 27 ciety. It was then that she met Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austria-Hungary declares war and after a 5-year courtship, married the heir to the impe- on Belgium rial throne, sparking the Cinderella story of the century. The Two Lovers Why were they in Sarajevo? The Archduke and his wife were in Sarajevo as part of an official trip to inspect army maneuvers. They were also there to meet the subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s newly annexed territory of Bosnia. Franz Fer- dinand had taken his wife Sophie on this trip because she was often denied certain aspects of court life and he thought this might be a good opportunity for her to receive some pomp and ceremony. You see, Sophie was not very popular back in Vienna… Sophie was from a lower class, and many, including the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, deemed her unfit to be the Definition: mor·ga·nat·ic wife of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. In fact, the adjective Emperor only allowed them to marry after Franz agreed of or pertaining to a form of marriage that their children would have no in which a person of high rank, as a

Greg King and Sue Wool- future claim to the throne – a mor- member of the nobility, marries mans, The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo ganatic marriage. someone of lower station with the 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World, stipulation that neither the (New York: St. Martin’s The courtship between Franz and Press, 2013), 32. low-ranking spouse nor their children, Sophie didn’t help sway public if any, will have any claim to the titles opinion either. Franz, known as a or entailed property of the bit of a playboy, was thought to be having an illicit affair high-ranking partner. with a noblewoman or her daughter, nobody was quite certain. This was fairly scandalous at the time and getting a lot of coverage in local newspapers and tabloids. Imagine everyone’s surprise when it was discovered that he wasn’t having an affair with a noblewoman or the noble- woman’s daughter, but rather courting the noblewoman’s lady-in-waiting, Sophie! Given the nuances of Aus- tro-Hungarian social class structure in 1917, dating what many considered a servant was much worse than having an illicit affair. Needless to say, the Emperor was not amused. You would have thought that their marriage would have added some level of respectability to their love affair, but it only made things worse. Sophie never received the respect the wife of the heir deserved. She was not allowed to sit with him at state dinners and was almost never allowed to accompany him on official visits to parts of the empire. That’s why the trip to Sarajevo was so special. Since the trip was simply to observe the Bosnian army in the field, and not an official state visit, Franz was given permission to bring Sophie with him. Franz also thought that since it was so close to their anniversary, a mini-holiday would be a nice addition to their very private cel- ebration – nobody else celebrated their marriage, of course. Plus, so far from Vienna, Sophie might get some of the noble treatment she so rightly deserved. June 28th, St. Vitus’s Day Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, (New York: Harper The most unfortunate day Collins, 2012), 367. for the Austro-Hungarian Heir to visit Sarajevo

In Orthodox ar- eas like , there are many saint days – days of religious observance and feasting. To the outside observer, St. Vitus Day is one of many. But for ethnic , St. Vitus Day is fraught with meaning… On June 28, 1389, The destroyed a Serb-led army in Battle of , 1389 Kosovo, ending the short-lived Serbian Empire. This territory was integrated into the Ottoman Empire, and stayed there for the next 700 years. In 1913, during the second Balkan War, Kosovo was liberated from the Ottoman Empire. And it was on June 28, 1914, that Kosovo was officially reintegrated into Serbia. For many ethic Serbs June 28th was a day to celebrate their nationalism, their 700-year ambition to liberate themselves from a foreign empire’s oppression. The arrival of the Archduke, the Austro-Hungarian heir of who many considered another oppressive empire, was a sign of aggression. In his book, The Sleepwalk- ers, Christopher Clark expresses this idea quite clearly, “For Serb ultra-nationalists, both in Serbia itself and across the sympatric Serbian network in Bosnia, the arrival of the heir apparent in Sarajevo on this of all days was a symbolic affront that demanded a response.” It seems likely that the date for this visit was made in ignorance by the Austro-Hungarian event planners. But for Serbs living in newly annexed Bosnia, the date was a clear message that they were subjects to a foreign power. Additionally, the location of Sarajevo for an assassina- “’Some damn foolish tion attempt held particular significance. Bosnia had thing in the ,’ become a point of contention between Austria and German chancellor Otto Serbia. The two countries used to be friendly, united von Bismarck predicted, in their dislike of the Ottoman Empire. But then Aus- would ‘sooner or later tria-Hungary annexed the highly coveted provinces plunge all of Europe into of on October 6, 1908, and a general war.’”

Serbia’s ambitions for a Greater Serbia on the Balkan Greg King and Sue Wool- mans, The Assassination Peninsula were thwarted. Tensions continued to rise of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that as each country made moves countered by the other, Changed the World, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, each vying for supremacy in Southeast Europe. 2013), xxxii.

Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How The Conspiracy Europe Went to War in 1914, (New York: Harper Just who was in charge? Collins, 2012), 368-69. The Serb terrorist group, The Black Hand, claimed respon- sibility for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 – but was this organization really the one in charge? The Black Hand’s role in the assassina- tion is still a point of contention. There are conflicting ac- counts that The Black Hand takes credit for the assassina- tion after the fact, and may not have played as big a role as they claimed.

The Black Hand was headed by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, chief of Intelligence within the Kingdom of Ser- bia. Most historians are in agreement that The Black Hand supplied the weapons, trained the assassins, and aided them in crossing the Serbian border, sneaking them into Sarajevo.

There are some historians that take it Max Hastings, further and claim that The Black Hand Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War, ( New York: was actually responsible for coming up Knopf, 2013), xxxi. with the idea in the first place. Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević

Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević was But as British Historian, Sir Max Hastings, writes, “there is chief of Serbian intelligence and no hard evidence about what further support or direction the leader of The Black Hand at the Gavrilo Princip and his comrades receive in .” time of the assassination. In 1903, Dimitrijević led a coup that assas- sinated King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia. It’s said that he and a group of his officers stormed the Belgrade palace at dawn, rac- ing through murdering everyone they came across. They found the King and Queen hiding in a closet. They dragged both from their hiding place, shooting King Alexander more than 30 times and shooting Queen Draga at least 20. Both corpses were stripped and thrown off the balcony. It’s said that the Russian’s paid Dimitrijević to lead the coup and install the pro-Russian King Peter I on the Serbian throne. King Peter I hailed Dimitrijević and his assassins as “saviors of the Father- land” and he was promoted to chief of Serbian Intelligence. Unsubstantiated rumors claim that the assassination was organized by Other theories... officials in Austria-Hungary to get rid of an unpopular heir. Most people believed that once he got to the throne, Franz would renounce his Austrian promise and crown Sophie as Empress, paving the way for his sons to General Baron inherit the empire. Conrad von Other rumors claim that military commanders in Austria-Hungary were Hotzendorf looking for an excuse to wage war on Serbia. What better way than to (Chief of the provoke an incident in Bosnia that would justify their aggression to- General Staff) wards Belgrade? formally re- quested per- Others claim that the assassination was ordered by Russia, Serbia’s mission from powerful ally, who wanted to eliminate Austria’s influence in the Bal- the Austro-Hungarian emperor to kans. Many in the Russian government feared that Franz would unite wage a “preventive war” against the south Slav’s under Hapsburg rule, denying Russian imperial ambi- Serbia no less than 25 times. tions to expand into Europe through the Balkans. Those who give Greg King and Sue Woolmans, this theory credence cite Russia’s relationship with Black Hand leader The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević as proof. that Changed the World, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013), 162. Who were the actual assassins? The bolded names indicate the assassins that played a main role in the assassination. Chabrinovitch, Princip, and Grabezh were the Assassins main conspirators that were trained in Belgrade, and whom historians • Muhamed Mehmedbshitch generally agree came up with the plot to kill the Archduke. Princip and • Vaso Chubrilovitch Chabrinovitch were known to authorities in Sarajevo to be pro-Serbian • Nedjelko Chabrinovitch nationalists. • Cvjetko Popovitch • Gavrilo Princip In the days leading up to the assassination Chabrinovitch, Princip, and • Trifko Grabezh Grabezh crossed into Bosnia. As they crossed Bosnia, Chabrinovitch • Danlio Ilitch parted ways with Princip and Grabezh and met up in Tuzia, were they stashed their weapons. Their contact in Sarajevo was Donlio Ilitch, who recruited Chubrilovitch, Mehmedbshitch and Popovitch. It was also Ilitch who went to Tuzia to retrieve the weapons. Princip was given a pistol, Chabrinovitch a bomb, and Grabezh both. At age 19, Gavrilo Princip (below) was too young to be given the death penalty, according to Austro-Hungarian law. He eventually died in prison of tuberculosis.

The other conspirators: The Assassination A Comedy of Errors On June 28, 2014, Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s motorcade made it’s way down Appel Quay, a boulevard that runs along the river Milijachka in the heart of Sarajevo. As planned, the 7 assassins had positioned themselves at different points along the boulevard (see map). The motorcade drove past three of the assassins be- fore the first assassination attempt was made. Nedjelko Chabrinovitch attempted to assassinate the Archduke first. He struck his bomb against a lamppost and hurled it at Archduke’s car. The Archduke’s driver, seeing the bomb, sped up the car to avoid it. The bomb bounced off the car’s folded can- vas roof and exploded under the car behind them, wounding that car’s passengers and several bystanders. After throwing the bomb, Chabrinovitch shouted ““I am a Ser- bian hero!”, swallowed a cyanide capsule and then jumped into the Milijachka river. His intent was to kill himself rather than be caught, which would have worked except that the cyanide capsule he swallowed was old making him immediately vomit, and the river was only 10 inches deep due to summer heat (it is late June, after all). So there he was, vomiting all over himself and stuck up to his calves in Milijachka mud. Having watched his suicide attempt dramati- Greg King and Sue Wool- cally fail, the police were quick to apprehend him. mans, The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World, Still confused by what was happening, the Archduke ordered the motorcade to halt (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013), 175. and sent an aide to sort out the confusion. After reporting back that there had been an assassination attempt, and that police had already apprehended the attempted assassin, the Archduke ordered the wounded to be taken to a military hospital. The motorcade then continued along its planned route, driving right past the remaining four assassins without incident. There are many differing accounts of why Princip and the other assassins didn’t act as the motorcade con- tinued along Appel Quay. The most common assumption is that the other four assassins saw the motorcade speeding by and assumed that the assassination had been successful. They had all heard the bomb go off and there did seem to be quite a bit of alarm and confusion. The motorcade arrived on time at Sarajevo’s city hall were they were greeted by the mayor, Fehim Effendi Churchić. Unsure of how to precede af- ter the assassination attempt, the Mayor, simply read a prepared statement about how perfect the Archduke’s visit was going, not mentioning the near assas- sination just a few moments earlier. This breach in decorum angered the Archduke who responded by reading his own prepared notes, now splattered with the blood of one of his aides wounded in the explo- sion. He famously said, “I come here as your guest and your people greet me with bombs.” After the awkwardness at city hall, the Archduke and his entourage decided to head to the military hospi- tal to visit those wounded from the earlier assassina- tion attempt. Because everyone in the entourage was still a bit shaken from almost dying in an explo- sion, and then watching a guy try to drown himself in 10 inches of water while vomiting cyanide, a close friend and aide to the Archduke, Count Harrach, volunteered to stand on the running board of the Archduke’s car in case there were other assassina- tion attempts. Having discovered that the first Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War, assassination attempt had failed, (New York: Basic Books, 2013), 19. Princip set up a new position at the corner of Franz Josef Street. The original path of the motorcade turned “A crowd immediately surrounded Princip. onto Franz Josef Street on the way to visit a local Baron Morsey rushed forward, museum, and by standing at the corner, Gavrilo sabre drawn. Spectators were beating thought he’d get a 2nd opportunity to assassinate Princip; when Morsey saw that he still the Archduke. He didn’t know that the entourage held the gun, he turned the hilt of his would change their route to ensure the safety of the sword against him, hitting him until the Archduke and his entourage. pistol clattered to the pavement. Prin- Only, the route wasn’t changed as requested! Or if cip managed to pull the vial of cyanide it was, somebody forgot to tell the lead cars. While from his pocket and swallow the con- traveling down the Appel Quay, the lead cars took tents before it, too, was knocked from his the original route and turned down Franz Josef hand. Like that used [earlier that day] by Street as was originally planned. As the Archduke’s Chabrinović, it failed to kill him, appar- car turned General Potiorek realized the mistake and ently having lost its potency.” yelled at the driver that he was going the wrong way. The driver, throwing the car into reverse, backed right up to Gavrilo Princip standing at the corner of Franz Josef Street. Now less than 10 feet away from the Archduke, Gavrilo fired two shots. The first shot hit Sophie in the abdomen, and the second shot struck the Archduke in the neck. Sophie cried out in shock, “for Heaven’s sake what has happened to you,” and then immediately col- lapsed into her husband’s lap. The Archduke held her as she lay dying. His last words were, “Sophie, Sophie, don’t die. Live for our children.” By the time the car reached the Governor’s palace, both the archduke and his wife were dead. Reaction Who cares about a dead Archduke? How did this event lead to the death of almost 17 million people, 9 million of those in combat? It’s difficult to wrap one’s head around the fact that the death of one person could ignite such a fire, especially when the initial reaction outside of Austria-Hungary was fairly lukewarm. The day after the assassination The Times and the New York Tribune pub- lished an article about the event. The New York Tribune’s piece doesn’t showcase any sort of urgency or that event could lead to anything. The Times reports in a similar fashion, but adds WHERE WERE THEY WHEN...? that the Emperor is in mourning, and had declared that the court shall have a week of mourning. German To some this assassination just seemed like one in a long Kaiser Wilhelm string of political assassinations: The Kaiser was out 1876 Sultan of the Ottoman Empire racing his yacht when 1881 American President James Garfield he heard news of the Alexander II of Russia Greg King and Sue Wool- assassination. Wil- 1894 French President Sadi Carnot mans, The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo helm was closer to the 1896 Shah of Persia 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World, Archduke than most, 1897 Prime Minister of Spain (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013), xxxi-ii. and decided to aban- 1898 Empress of Austria-Hungary don the race to travel back to Berlin. 1900 King Umberto of Italy 1901 American President William McKinley French 1903 King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia President Poincare 1905 Grade Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia 1908 King Carlos and Crown Prince Louis Felipe of Portugal At races in Longchamps 1911 Russian Prime Minister Peter Solypin with his wife. When 1913 King George of handed the telegram with the news of the as- sassination, Pocincare Myths thought, like most of his guests at the race, little No one can agree on the truth of the news. Over the years there have been a number of myths that have popped up regarding the assassination: MYTH: The Archduke’s coat was “supposed” to be bullet proof. In 1914? Really? MYTH: The Archduke was sewn into his coat, which they had to cut off in order to try and save his life. There are many accounts disproving this but somehow it remains in collective memory. Also, the Archduke was shot in the neck so there would be no need to cut his coat off... MYTH: Gavrilo Princip went to get a sandwich after the first attempt, and just happened to be standing in the right spot when the Archduke drove by him a second time. This is one of the most popular myths and a personal favorite. However think about it… if you traveled halfway across the country to kill an Archduke and knew his planned route, would you give up that easily and go grab a sandwich? Also, sandwiches weren’t that common in Sarajevo, at the time...so the whole thing just seems unlikely. The Assassination in Popular Culture Who cares about a dead Archduke? Music A Scottish indie-rock band named themselves Franz Ferdinand in 2002. When asked why they named themselves after the assassinated arch- duke, they responded that they liked the name’s alliteration. But there may be more to it, as they do seem to know a lot about the assassi- nation... In their first single “Take Me Out” they indirectly reference the assassination. The B-side of the single “All for You, Sophia” directly references the events of June 28th. At concerts and shows, the band often uses crosshairs in their promotional materials and laser effects. And for a time they did ghost shows under the name The Black Hands, after the Black Hand group. There’s a rumor that the band has been asked to play in Sarajevo on June 28, 2014, exactly 100 years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. Lyrics to “All For You, Sofia” WWI in Literature Bang bang, Gavrilo Princip Bang bang, shoot me Gavrilo Poetry Bang bang, the first six are for you An excerpt from “Ach vojna, vojna!” Bang bang, the seventh is for me Bang bang, Gavrilo Princip (The Soldier’s Lot) Bang bang, Europe’s going to weep by Leos Janacek (Czech) All for you, all for you, all for you, Sophia (x4) Oh war, war, that evil war, Bang bang, history’s complete The Queen herself has written Bang bang, shoot me Gavrilo A letter to Moravia Bang bang, the first six are for you To make Johnny go to war. Bang bang, the seventh is for me Johnny stands above the white water, Bang bang, Gavrilo Princip His mind troubled. Bang bang, shoot me Gavrilo Get a move on, Johnny. Saddle the horses, All for you, all for you, all for you, Sophia (x4) You’ll be riding to war. I won’t go, my mind is troubled… The Black Hand holds the gun The devil takes his run Ach vojna, vojna, nescasna vojna, Urban, take the Appel Quay dyz na nu jit musim. It’s June the twenty-eighth Sama kralovna do Moravy psala, The seventh was for me aby Janoska na vojnu dostala.

Bang bang, Gavrilo Princip Four Male Voice Choruses by Leos Janacek, 1885. Bang bang, shoot me Gavrilo Bang bang, the first six are for you An excerpt from “Doubts” Bang bang, the seventh is for me by Tristan Tzara () Bang bang, Gavrilo Princip Bang bang, shoot me Gavrilo You do not know what is real and unreal. If I move this could die You think you see a bandit and you fire Eyes move this can die and they tell you afterwards that it was a soldier. C’mon...take me out That’s how it was with me… I know I won’t be leaving here (with you) I know I won’t be leaving here Anthology of Contemporary Romanian Poetry ed. by I know I won’t be leaving here (with you) Roy MacGregor-Hastie (London, 1969) I know I won’t be leaving here with you An excerpt from “Mora” (“The Nightmare”) But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; by Antun Matos (Croatia) Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped A world of weaponry — oh! gods of war! behind. A doctoral degree in the pocket of a fool, old time sinners with clerical faces, Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!-An ecstasy of fumbling, gains against syphillis but cultural losses, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; progressive nations devouring backward ones… But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime... Oruzan mir — oj, davor, davori! Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, Doktorski diplom u dzepu bedaka, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. Bludnici stari s licem crkvenjaka, Sifilis progres i kulturne bijede, In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, Napredan narod slaboga sto jede… He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Antun Gustav Matos by Eugene Pantzner, Behind the wagon that we flung him in, (Boston, 1981) And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; An excerpt from “A Man Sings After the War” If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood (1920) by Dusan Vasiljev (Serbia) Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, I waded in blood up to my knees, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud and I have no more dreams. Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,- My sister sold herslf, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest and they cut my mother’s grey hair. To children ardent for some desperate glory, But I in this sea of lechery and filth, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est am not looking for prey; Pro patria mori. oh, I long for air and milk, [Note: the Latin phrase means “Sweet and fitting it is and the dew of morning. to die for one’s country.”] I am not sorry that I waded in blood up to my knees, or that I have survived the red years of slaughter. To Germany (1914) Yet because of this holy pilgrimage by Charles Hamilton Sorley (Scotland) ruin has been heaped upon me. You are blind like us. Your hurt no man designed, I am not looking for prey. And no man claimed the conquest of your land. Give me only a handful of air, But gropers both through fields of thought confined and a taste of the white dew of morning - - We stumble and we do not understand. All the rest is for you. You only saw your future bigly planned, Serbian Poetry from the Beginning to the Present ed. And we, the tapering paths of our own mind, by Milne Holton, (New Haven, CT, 1988) And in each others dearest ways we stand, And hiss and hate. And the blind fight the blind. Dulce Et Decorum Est (1917-18) When it is peace, then we may view again by Wilfred Owen (England) With new won eyes each other’s truer form and Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, wonder. Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed Grown more loving kind and warm through We’ll grasp firm hands and laugh at the old pain, sludge, When it is peace. But until peace, the storm, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs The darkness and the thunder and the rain. And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots Prose

The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek reason for that. Jaroslav Hašek was more than avant Excerpts from the Intro to the New English garde. He was an iconoclastic revolutionary, both in Edition by Zdeněk Sadloň and Emmit Joyce his life and as an artist. The First World War liberated the Czech Lands and Jaroslav Hašek simultaneously. Some writers so capture the For the fi rst time, he was free to write and create soul and spirit of a people that without censorship or fear of imperial reprisal. they are identifi ed with them forever after. In England, it was … A host of literary critics acknowledge that Jaroslav Charles Dickens, in the United Hašek was one of the earliest writers of what we States, it was Mark Twain. have come to know as modern literature. He experi- For the Slavic nations, and to mented with verbal collage, Dadaism and the sur- some extent for all Central Eu- real. Hašek was writing modern fi ction before exalted ropeans, it is the Czech writer, post-World-War-One writers like Hemingway, Fitzger- Jaroslav Hašek. ald, and Faulkner, to name just a few. A literary ana- lyst has pointed out that Hašek is one of the few writ- Hašek’s most important work ers of all time to combine political with misanthropic was centered around a Czech soldier’s experiences satire. In fact, The Good Soldier Švejk, he says, is the in World War One. It’s actual title is The Fateful Ad- only example of this genre in the 20th century. ventures of The Good Soldier Švejk during the World War, but it is known by tens of millions of Central It seems unconscionable that Hašek’s work has been Europeans as simply, The Good Soldier Švejk. This inaccessible to English readers for so long. What if monumental, humorous work is acknowledged as “... Victor Hugo or Leo Tolstoy had been kept from us? one of the greatest masterpieces of satirical writing” It’s hard to imagine literature without them. by no less a standard and exalted reference than the Let’s reverse the situation. What if you suddenly Encyclopedia Britannica. became aware that, because of some problem with … translation or some other oversight, Mark Twain’s The book’s central character is a quintessential, work had been virtually hidden from Europeans for 75 working-class citizen-soldier, often abused by the years? Most Americans would consider that a lamen- fates and the forces of the . In both table travesty. Well, that is what has happened to the civilian and military life, Švejk lives by his wits. His Czech people in the case of Jaroslav Hašek. He and chief ploy is to appear witless to those in authority. In his work are practically non-existent in the English- fact, he is fond of pointing out that he has been certi- reading world, an infl uential audience of at least 500 fi ed to be an imbecile by an offi cial military medical million people. commission. Consequently, he reasons, he cannot be held responsible for his sometimes questionable actions because he’s a certifi ed nitwit! Yet, Švejk is not a coward, nor is he indolent. He is drafted back into the army as cannon fodder to die for an Emperor he despises. His method of subvert- ing the Austrian Empire is to carry out his orders to an absurd conclusion. His is an inspired resistance. He holds the foreign authorities, and their Czech fellow travelers, accountable for their ridiculous platitudes and pseudo-patriotic blather. The Good Soldier Švejk is as entertaining as any book of the 20th century. And, though it is set in World War One and written shortly thereafter, most readers will fi nd it thoroughly modern. There is good ...literary critics agree that Jaroslav Hašek wrote participated in this conflict and examined it in The the grandaddy of anti-war novels. According to Good Soldier Švejk. one critic, only the first two-thirds of The Red Badge of Courage precedes it. The Good Soldier Hašek knew that a momentous, fundamental change Švejk even predated that quintessential First World in was occurring. For Central and War novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. More Eastern Europe, it was the end of the old order. It was familiar to today’s readers, perhaps, is Joseph the demise of a social structure that had evolved from Heller’s Catch 22, set in World War Two. Hašek’s prehistoric times and affected every human life. Tribal biting satire and humor is its direct ancestor also, and clan chieftains had evolved into Dukes, Counts as well as that of many others. It might be hard and Lords, and then into Monarchs and . to imagine, but “anti-war” was not “in” before The These despots caused and lost World War One Good Soldier Švejk. And, it should be noted that and suddenly vanished. The decrepit were Hašek’s Švejk preceded Joseph Heller’s Yosarrian replaced by democratic republics, except in Rus- by almost 50 years. sia where the bolsheviks instituted their own fatally ... flawed dictatorship and empire. However, as most historians agree, enough perverse elements and World War One, amplified by modern weapons and limbic memory of the old order remained in Central techniques, quickly escalated to become a massive Europe to foment and fuel the biggest meatgrinder of human meatgrinder. It has been eclipsed in many them all, World War Two. memories by World War Two, the most horrendous conflict of all time. However, if you set that debacle So, as you can see, the setting of The Good Soldier aside, World War One would easily dwarf any other Švejk is right there on the cutting edge of histori- in human history. Fifteen million people died, one cal change. It is Jaroslav Hašek’s peek, a la Charlie million of them Austrian soldiers. Jaroslav Hašek Chaplin, at the dawn of truly modern times. … #KU_WWI Twitter Guide Sources

Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, (New York: Harper Collins, 2012). Greg King and Sue Woolmans, The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013). Jaroslav Hašek, The Fateful Adventures of The Good Soldier Švejk during the World War, transl. Zdeněk Sadloň and Emmit Joyce (www.zenny.com: The Samizdat, 2000). John Keegan, The First World War, ( New York: Vintage Books, 1998). Max Hastings, Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War, ( New York: Knopf, 2013). Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War, (New York: Basic Books, 2013).