Search
Login Signup

Assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - Gavrillo Princip

During a June 28, 1914 visit to Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) and his wife (Sophie) were assassinated. The archduke's death was the precipitating cause of World War One.

In this video clip - from a documentary combining historical footage and recreated scenes - meet Gavrillo Princip (leader of a terrorist gang called "The Black Hand Society"). He, and others like him, are upset that Greater Serbia does not have self-rule.

Princip is nineteen years old and dying of tuberculosis. The Austrian Empire rules his country, and the young man's anger about that fact is directed toward the heir of the Austrian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Knowing he will soon die of his illness, Princip is not afraid to kill the target of his anger.

Credits

Clip from the BBC series, Days That Shook the World.