Emperor Franz Joseph 1 (1830- 1916) Sarajevo visit 1910
Relevance of a Nonevent
As a result of the Congress of Berlin 1878, the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, previously part of the Ottoman Empire, became under the management of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, established in 1867. Austria had lost control of Lombardy (1859), and Venetia (1866). Austria-Hungary was now up against a largely unified Italy, and a unified Germany under Prussian control. It would have to look towards The Balkans if it wanted to extend its territory and influence. The Congress of Berlin also recognised the independence of Serbia, which the Ottoman Empire had lost control of since 1867. Franz Joseph had been emperor of Austria since 1848.
It was from reading the Dutch language book Schoten in Sarajevo by Mark de Geest , an intriguing 'parallel biography' of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his assassin Gavrilo Princip, that I realised that Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I had in fact visited Sarajevo,the capital of Bosnia, arriving on 31st May 1910. By this date Bosnia and Herzegovina had changed under Austrian management. The provinces had seen the spread of industrialisation and a rapid growth of railways. Also health care and education systems. Paradoxically, greater literacy rates enabled discontented Serbs within Bosnia and Herzegovina to be inspired by writings of radical nationalists, along with work by Socialists and Anarchists. Communications were established with Serbia itself.
Sarajevo grew rapidly attracting new residents, many of them German speaking. In 1908, Austria-Hungary formerly annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, risking a confrontation with Serbia.
So a visit by Franz Joseph in 1910 appeared to be celebrating Austria-Hungary's new acquisition. There would also be Austrians, Hungarians, and other loyalists ,many who migrated to Sarajevo to welcome him. * A would be assassin,24 year old Slavic nationalist law student,Bogdan Žerajić was hovering in the crowd and got close to the Emperor at least twice to him. He even stalked Franz Joseph on a trip to Mostar. Somehow Žerajić just could not bring himself to take the Browning pistol out of his pocket. Žerajić had spent three months in a Serbian army training camp in 1908 so would have been expected to have some knowledge of how to use a firearm. DE GEEST
The first attack on Franz Joseph's life was by a young Hungarian, János Libényi in Vienna in 1853. János Libényi rushed the emperor and stabbed him in the collar. His emperor's uniform was thick enough to take the blow. János Libényi was grabbed by members of the imperial entourage and a passing butcher. He was sentenced to death and hanged. In 1882 Austrian security foiled an attempt by a twenty year old student Guglilmoe Oberdan to kill the emperor in a visit to Trieste. Franz Joseph's wife, the empress Elisabeth- usually known as 'Sisi'- was assassinated in Geneva, in 1898 by an Italian anarchist called Luigi Lucheni.
Bogdan Žerajić somehow found the inner resources to try his hand again. On 15th June 1910, he attempted to murder the Austrian Governor -General,Marijan Varešanin,as he was opening the first 'freely' elected Assembly in Sarajevo. Žerajić managed to fire five shots but missed every time. Bogdan Žerajić then turned the pistol towards his head,and proclaimed that "I leave it to Serbdom to avenge me" and killed himself with his last bullet. There is one account of Varešanin, getting out of his vehicle, walking up and kicking the corpse of Žerajić. DE GEEST Žerajić was buried anonymously in a corner of a Sarajevo cemetery for unknown vagrants and suicides. CLARK The authorities identified Žerajić and raided where had been living, discovering his cache of revolutionary tracts. It is not clear how and when the authorities realised that he had come dangerously near to Emperor Franz Joseph. Also the question of how far Serbia was behind the failed attack appears to be unresolved.
Žerajić 's failed assassinations were somehow cancelled by his own suicide. The young Slav nationalists had a martyr. A school chum by the name of Vladimir Gaćinović wrote and circulated pamphlets with such titles as Death of a Hero and Cry of Despair honouring him. Gaćinović was in exile in Switzerland at the time of the Sarajevo assassination. There was praise from at least one Serbian daily newspaper based in Belgrade and a student newspaper . Young men started to doff their caps when walking to the place where Žerajić took his own life. MILLER-MELAMED Žerajić 's grave was discovered and became a place of pilgrimage.
Gavrilo Princip first visited Žerajić 's grave when he was 16. And one night in the Spring of 1912 Princip made some sort of commitment to follow Žerajić 's example whilst he was there. DE GEEST . From the records of Princip's trial, it appears that he would sometimes spend whole nights at this graveside. CLARK Princip appeared to have also spent time at the grave on the eve of 28th June 1914. A co-conspirator involved in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Nedelijko Čabronović, was also a frequent 'pilgrim' to Žerajić 's grave.
Yet Žerajić's death triggered what Christopher Clark has called "The beginning of the systematic use of political terrorism against the political elite of the Habsburg Empire" CLARK. Seven similar incidents and a series of failed plots were detected culminating in the 28th June 1914 assassinations.
Amongst the intended victims was Varešanin's successor Governor General Oskar Potiorek. In the Spring of 1914, his would be assassin,Muhamed Mehmedbašić,planned to stab Potiorek with a poisoned dagger, and travelled by train to attempt the deed. Police started to board the train and Mehmedbašić managed to get into the train's toilet and dispose of the dagger. It later transpired that the police were in fact chasing a petty thief. MILLER-MELAMED Mehmedbašić joined the conspiracy against Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and was due to a throw a bomb at the car of the imperial couple, but didn't go through with the attack. A strange echo of Žerajić. Perhaps he also decided not to go through with the assassination attempt on Potiorek after all.
It is difficult to gauge whether or not the threat against Emperor Franz Joseph 's life at Sarajevo in 1910 had any real significance. It was a non event in the sense that the assassination didn't happen. On the other hand Bogdan Žerajić felt somehow goaded his own failure to kill the emperor to then attempt a further assassination and taking his own life when he failed again achieving some sort of perverse martyrdom.In 1914, Serbdom avenged Bogdan Žerajić .
* A Guardian reporter staying in Sarajevo in 2014 made the observation that local Serbians were more likely to still count Gavrilo Princip as a 'freedom fighter' against Austrian oppression. Croats and Muslims from the City were more inclined to count Princip as a 'terrorist,' maintaining that the management then occupation by Austro-Hungary brought substantial benefit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. MACDOWALL
Sources
Books
The Sleepwalkers How Europe Went to War in 1914, Christopher CLARK , Allen Lane 2012
Schoten in Sarajevo-De Anslag Die De Eerste Wereldoorlog Ontkended En Het Aanschijn Van Europa Voor Altijd Veranderde, ( 'Shots in Sarajevo- the Attack that Unleashed the First World War and Changed the Face of Europe Forever') Mark DE GEEST, Horizon 2024,
Missfire-The Sarajevo Assassination and the Winding Road to World War I -Paul MILLER-MELAMED, Oxford University Press, 2022
Online
The Sarajevo Assassination that didn't happen The Ironic Relevance of a nonevent , Paul MILLER-MELAMED, webarticle American Historical Association, 2022.
Villain or Hero ? Sarajevo is split on Archduke's Assassin Gavrilo Princip Andrew MACDOWALL, 'The Guardian', 27th June 2014 .
Youtube
Franz Joseph Sarajevo 1910 Silent footage
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