Today is June 28, 2014; and it marks 100 years since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo, Bosnia. It was the event that got the ball rolling for the First World War, the so-called War to End All Wars, the spark that set off a powder keg as mainstream historians like to say.
And you won't find anything on this event on History Channel, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC, NBC or CBS (those last three are too busy showing soccer, golf and car racing). They weren't to busy to broadcast a lot of 70th Anniversary D-Day crap (isn't 75 supposed to be the big one, usually things are celebrated in increments of 25 years?), but they don't seem to think this is important. Then again, they glorify World War II, with most of what passes for history on that being a colossal lie, and ignore World War I (and Korea, and Vietnam; probably because those were a tie and a loss for the U.S. and they weren't popular and glamorized). Print media has seen fit to report on it,
Actually it is Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it was annexed in 1908 by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne (a "dual monarchy, the Austrian emperor was also the King of Hungary since 1867). He was considered somewhat liberal for his day in certain ways, although so-called liberals today would think him way to reactionary. But that word, reactionary, should truly be applied to his uncle, the elderly Franz Joseph, who was 84 years old when the political murder of his nephew occurred, he admitted it himself. Franz Joseph favored greater autonomy for the many ethnic groups of the empire and addressing their grievances, particularly the Czechs in Bohemia and Slavs in Croatia and Bosnia. But he disliked the Hungarians and viewed Hungarian nationalism as a threat to the (inbred) Hapsburg dynasty and regarded the Hungarian forces of the imperial army as unreliable. Franz Joseph wanted to replace the dual-monarchy with a supra-national federation according to Count Leopold Berchtold, the Foreign Minister. He wanted to rock the boat politically and was unpopular with the emperor and many conservatives for it.
The really interesting thing about Franz Joseph, or perhaps ironic is a better word, is his view towards Serbia, the country that was, in the parlance of today, a "state sponsor of terrorism", since the secret terrorist society Black Hand was deeply involved in the murder of Franz Ferdinand and his wife. High ranking members of the Serbian government and military as well as intelligence service were involved in this odious organization. They planned the conspiracy that ended in the political murder of the heir to the throne, and his wife. The Archduke wanted to treat Serbia gently, feeling harsh treatment of Serbia would bring the empire into conflict with Russia (which is exactly what happened after his murder) to the detriment of both empires. Another interesting thing about this man is that in an age and dynasty where marrying royalty (and in the case of the Hapsburgs, marrying your cousin, the dynasty was inbred that it was ridiculous) Franz Joseph married for long, a morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting for Archduchess Isabella. As such, her station was high enough to permit marrying a member of the royal family. Franz Ferdinand was very much in love with her, but the reactionary emperor Franz Joseph was so against it that it took intervention from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, German Emperor Wilhelm II and finally the pope, Leo XIII to get the old bastard to relent. But he put conditions on it, it had to be morganatic, meaning that if he became emperor she would not be empress, the children could not become emperor, she couldn't be next to him in royal appearances nor sit in a box at the theater with him. At receptions she had to be far down the line. She, and he, put up with this for love, neither the emperor nor the Archdukes brothers attended the wedding,.
More should be made of this event, and of this man and his wife, than is being made on the 100th anniversary of their murders by terrorists that still get called "patriots" and "nationalists". Guess it depends on whose ox is getting gored as to who is a terrorist and who is a patriot. 16 million dead and 20 million wounded/maimed, and that's the just physically, not mention those permanently psychologically damaged; plus upwards of 50 million people dead from 3 years of the "Spanish Flu" pandemic following it. all started by a few shots in a Balkan city.
And you won't find anything on this event on History Channel, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC, NBC or CBS (those last three are too busy showing soccer, golf and car racing). They weren't to busy to broadcast a lot of 70th Anniversary D-Day crap (isn't 75 supposed to be the big one, usually things are celebrated in increments of 25 years?), but they don't seem to think this is important. Then again, they glorify World War II, with most of what passes for history on that being a colossal lie, and ignore World War I (and Korea, and Vietnam; probably because those were a tie and a loss for the U.S. and they weren't popular and glamorized). Print media has seen fit to report on it,
Actually it is Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it was annexed in 1908 by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne (a "dual monarchy, the Austrian emperor was also the King of Hungary since 1867). He was considered somewhat liberal for his day in certain ways, although so-called liberals today would think him way to reactionary. But that word, reactionary, should truly be applied to his uncle, the elderly Franz Joseph, who was 84 years old when the political murder of his nephew occurred, he admitted it himself. Franz Joseph favored greater autonomy for the many ethnic groups of the empire and addressing their grievances, particularly the Czechs in Bohemia and Slavs in Croatia and Bosnia. But he disliked the Hungarians and viewed Hungarian nationalism as a threat to the (inbred) Hapsburg dynasty and regarded the Hungarian forces of the imperial army as unreliable. Franz Joseph wanted to replace the dual-monarchy with a supra-national federation according to Count Leopold Berchtold, the Foreign Minister. He wanted to rock the boat politically and was unpopular with the emperor and many conservatives for it.
The really interesting thing about Franz Joseph, or perhaps ironic is a better word, is his view towards Serbia, the country that was, in the parlance of today, a "state sponsor of terrorism", since the secret terrorist society Black Hand was deeply involved in the murder of Franz Ferdinand and his wife. High ranking members of the Serbian government and military as well as intelligence service were involved in this odious organization. They planned the conspiracy that ended in the political murder of the heir to the throne, and his wife. The Archduke wanted to treat Serbia gently, feeling harsh treatment of Serbia would bring the empire into conflict with Russia (which is exactly what happened after his murder) to the detriment of both empires. Another interesting thing about this man is that in an age and dynasty where marrying royalty (and in the case of the Hapsburgs, marrying your cousin, the dynasty was inbred that it was ridiculous) Franz Joseph married for long, a morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting for Archduchess Isabella. As such, her station was high enough to permit marrying a member of the royal family. Franz Ferdinand was very much in love with her, but the reactionary emperor Franz Joseph was so against it that it took intervention from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, German Emperor Wilhelm II and finally the pope, Leo XIII to get the old bastard to relent. But he put conditions on it, it had to be morganatic, meaning that if he became emperor she would not be empress, the children could not become emperor, she couldn't be next to him in royal appearances nor sit in a box at the theater with him. At receptions she had to be far down the line. She, and he, put up with this for love, neither the emperor nor the Archdukes brothers attended the wedding,.
More should be made of this event, and of this man and his wife, than is being made on the 100th anniversary of their murders by terrorists that still get called "patriots" and "nationalists". Guess it depends on whose ox is getting gored as to who is a terrorist and who is a patriot. 16 million dead and 20 million wounded/maimed, and that's the just physically, not mention those permanently psychologically damaged; plus upwards of 50 million people dead from 3 years of the "Spanish Flu" pandemic following it. all started by a few shots in a Balkan city.
