Historical Context
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and
his wife, Sofie, were touring Sarajevo. The Black Hand sent out seven
assassins to kill the Archduke. Nedjelko Cabrinovic saw his opportunity
and threw a bomb. The bomb rolled off the back of the car and injured an
officer and some bystanders. Later that day, Franz and Sofie went to visit the
injured officer. On the way, the Archduke’s driver took a wrong turn at the
intersection of Appelquay and Franzjosefstrasse. Gavrilo Princip, happened to
be waiting there. Princip then fired his gun into the car. His shots
hit Sofie and the Archduke. Sofie died instantly,
and Franz died within the hour.
The driver of the car recalled the scene after the shooting as “His Royal Highness said: ‘Soferl, Soferl, don’t die. Live for my children.’ I asked him: ‘Is your Highness in great pain?’ To which he clearly answered: ‘It is nothing.’ His face was distorted, and he repeated six or seven times, every time losing more consciousness and with a fading voice: ‘It is nothing.’ There came a brief pause followed by a convulsive rattle in his throat, caused by loss of blood.”
Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was stopped from shooting himself after a bystander tackled him. He was taken to jail, and that was where he eventually died. Following this event, Austria-Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum. If Serbia did not agree to the terms, then Austria-Hungary would declare war on Serbia.
The driver of the car recalled the scene after the shooting as “His Royal Highness said: ‘Soferl, Soferl, don’t die. Live for my children.’ I asked him: ‘Is your Highness in great pain?’ To which he clearly answered: ‘It is nothing.’ His face was distorted, and he repeated six or seven times, every time losing more consciousness and with a fading voice: ‘It is nothing.’ There came a brief pause followed by a convulsive rattle in his throat, caused by loss of blood.”
Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was stopped from shooting himself after a bystander tackled him. He was taken to jail, and that was where he eventually died. Following this event, Austria-Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum. If Serbia did not agree to the terms, then Austria-Hungary would declare war on Serbia.
Go to "The Black Hand"