Notes

On June 28, 1914, Princip and his comrade, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, along with four other members of the Black Hand, awaited the arrival of the Archduke. The first attempt to assassinate Ferdinand failed when Cabrinovic tossed a bomb at the royal automobile, but the bomb bounced off it and rolled under a second car, exploding and injuring an army officer. Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg, sped off to a reception at the City Hall untouched. Afterward the Archduke asked to visit the officer who had been injured earlier that day, and his driver unwittingly followed the same return route as the one taken earlier. The Duchess was not originally scheduled to return with the Archduke, but when last minute plans were made to visit the officer injured in the first attempt, she insisted on accompanying her husband. This decision, coupled with the lack of judgment in planning the return route, resulted in her death. The return route brought the Archduke back into the sights of Gavrilo Princip. As the royal car stopped within feet of him, Princip stepped forward and fired two shots. Sophie was hit on the right side and died first. The Archduke outlived her by only a short time. The bullet that took his life severed his jugular vein and came to rest in his spine. Princip later claimed that he intended one shot for General Oskar Potiorek, military governor of Bosnia, but the shot felled the duchess instead. One month later, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary had found the reason it sought to enter into war. It held Serbia accountable for the actions of Gavrilo Princip and declared war.

The Trial, the Sentence and Death
Princip understood only too well the actions that would follow. He attempted suicide at the scene by shooting himself, but a quick-thinking onlooker swiftly knocked the gun from his hand. A mob began to close in, but Princip was rescued by the police and imprisoned.

Princip and his fellow conspirators were all arrested at the scene, but during questionable interrogations, neither Princip nor Cabrinovic broke their code of silence with the Black Hand. His account of the event was not clear. "Where I aimed I do not know. But I know that I aimed at the Heir Apparent. I believe I fired twice, perhaps more, because I was so excited. Whether I hit the victims or not, I cannot tell, because instantly people started to hit me." One of the group, Danilo Ilic, confessed to his participation and nearly spelled disaster for the group, but Princip was able to gain control and exercise his leadership over the group.

While in custody, Princip again attempted suicide by the use of cyanide, but again his attempt was unsuccessful. Throughout the trial Princip remained quiet and aloof. He also remained loyal to the Black Hand, refusing to place the blame for the assassination with any organization. He expressed no remorse for the crime and made only a short final statement saying, "In trying to insinuate that someone else has instigated the assassination, one strays from the truth. The idea arose in our own minds and we ourselves executed it. We have loved the people. I have nothing to say in my defense."

Princip was found guilty, and it was at this point that the question of his age became pivotal to the outcome of his trial. The prevailing law of the country prevented the execution of any prisoner who was under twenty on the day of his crime. Princip's exact birth date could not be determined, and the court gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, the maximum the courts could give.

Princip was imprisoned in Theresienstadt prison in Austria. It is thought that he was tubercular before entering prison, and as a result of his poor health he underwent the amputation of an arm. During his incarceration he was transferred between his prison cell, where he was kept in solitary confinement, and the prison hospital where he was treated for his tuberculosis. Princip's death certificate reads that he died April 28, 1918 at 6:30 p.m. of tuberculosis of the bone in Theresienstadt Hospital. He was buried secretly.


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