Assassination at Sarajevo

Who was Gavrilo Princip? How could the action of a single individual and a handful of fellow conspirators drive the world to war? On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip stood on Grebet Street in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo and aimed a pistol at an automobile that carried His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Princip' s shot, which killed the Archduke, was heard around the world, for it set in motion a series of events that plunged the great powers of Europe into World War I. Although almost all involved agreed that such an all-out war would be a terrible and bloody tragedy, a combination of treaty alliances, national ambition, ethnic rivalry, diplomatic miscalculation, and saber rattling nevertheless led Europe into the conflagration that became known as the War to End All Wars and left nine million people dead. Six Broadsheet essays examine these events in ways that today' s students can understand. This portfolio also includes a Study Guide with reproducible student activities. 6 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * Assassination at Sarajevo * The Victims * The Assassins * Ultimatum * Europe's Reaction * The British Reaction 12 Primary Source Documents: * Photographs of the events of June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo * Photograph of Gavrilo Princip and his fellow conspirators at trial * Declaration of war by Austria on Serbia, as transmitted by telegram (with English translation) * Typewritten letter, in Serbo-Croatian, from condemned conspirator Veljko Cubrilovic to his young daughter (with English translation) * Full-page Neutrality League advertisement from the Manchester Guardian, August 4, 1914 * Selection of press clippings from British newspapers regarding outbreak of war, August 1914 * Part of handwritten draft of telegram sent by British foreign secretary to British ambassador to Austria in response to Austria's declaration of war on Serbia * Handwritten minutes of meeting of British foreign office in response to the crisis, July 25, 1914 * Handwritten note of British diplomat to British foreign secretary, July 27, 1914, regarding Serbia's response to Austria's ultimatum * English translation of message of Germany's chancellor to German ambassador to Britain announcing that Germany is now at war with France, August 3, 1914 * Intercepted message from German foreign office to German ambassador to Britain declaring that German invasion of Luxembourg and Belgium was matter of "self-defense," August 4, 1914 * Draft of Britain's declaration of war on Germany, with handwritten corrections by foreign secretary, August 4, 1914 * Transcripts are provided for Exhibits 7, 8, 9, 10, 12