The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian Archduk Essay

Everyone wants peace but it is not often that it is accomplished, especially between nations. Even though World War 1 was over, disputes between nations did not come to an end, but continued. The Treaty of Versailles was one of many attempts. It was a document that ended World War 1; however, it solely blamed Germany for the war and forced Germany to pay reparations. Furthermore, the treaty was also unfair because Germany did not even attend the meeting, Germany was blamed and humiliated, and they also had to pay everything.

An assassination that threw an entire continent into war, a brutal bloodshed that stretched over four year, and ten million lives lost. The morale of entire countries beaten into a tired submission. This is was what WWI left for Europe at it’s close in 1918. And these are the most popular details of this war. And although WWII is often spoke of more often and televised more than it’s predecessor, it’s importance and relevance does not waver. If it were not for this war, entire empires may still be in place. One could argue that if it were not for this war, Russia may still be under imperial rule. This one war was a spark in a flame that kept burning in Europe long after it ended. And though the assassination

During the start of the 20th century, Europe was in a good place. It controlled many empires and colonies, and technology was advancing at a rapid pace after the Industrial Revolution (1840-1870). However this peace did not last; 1914 started a brutal four year war known as WWI. The immediate cause of this war is known to be the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, in June of 1914. However, there are many more elementary causes of this complicated war. Some of the main underlying causes of WWI was the strong militarism and imperialism felt in the European countries, and the alliances put in place to uphold these powerful militaries and colonies.

Many contributions lead to the spark of World War I. The three main causes included the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, alliance systems, and militarism. Although imperialism and nationalism are said to be contributing factors to the cause of World War I, the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, alliance systems, and militarism were three of the most important causes of The Great War. An immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s archduke, Francis Ferdinand.

Through the book ‘Europe’s Last Summer’ David Fromkin tackles the issues of pre WWI Europe, and the surrounding political, economic, social, debacles that led paranoid countries to go to arms after nearly a full century of relative peace within the European continent. While Fromkin certainly points his fingers to all the nations of Europe his primary focus lies with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Though he continues to stress throughout much of the book that Kaiser Wilhelm II and Archduke Ferdinand were fervent keepers of the peace within their nations, the fault of the war ultimately could be laid at the feet of their two nations and their constant attempts at war-mongering. He claims the war could have been avoided for the moment, had all the nations of Europe wanted peace, but the two bad eggs of Europe drew them all into an unavoidable general war.

If you were killed right now would you think the world have an impact for the better or the worse. My assassination research paper is on the former archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. Franz and his wife, Sophie, were shot on June 28,1914. I believe this assassination an unjust action. This was an unjust act because it lead to two world wars and shamed the Ferdinand family yet did bring some benefits for the U.S. If Franz Ferdinand was not killed the would have reached a great benefit.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1896. He was a threat to the Black Hand Terrorist group, a group of radical Serbian nationalists. They pledged “to destabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in order to incorporate their Serb population into a greater Serbia” (CITE) However the Archduke’s goals were “strengthening the Austro-Hungarian Empire” (CITE) which was contrary to the Serbs' desires. They feared that if he came into power, he would continue to persecute the Serbs, henceforth the decision to assassinate him.

People go into war for countless reasons; however, power remains as one of the main factors of war. Wanting to have more power over the world can lead to a global conflict. By the end of the first world war, the Treaty of Versailles kept peace in Europe until Hitler of Germany began violating its contracts. Thus, began World War II that corrected the evil of Hitler with a justifiable cause. Although the second World War brought many casualties, World War II resulted as a justifiable war because it saved nations from German exploitation, began as a last resort after all forms of appeasement failed, and brought the German powers to an unconditional surrender.

A young generation was emerging within Serbia and Bosnia whose experience of national and social struggles had taught them the effectiveness of violence as a means to achieve goals (as seen in the Balkan Wars 1912-13). It was a generation that demanded action and sacrifice instead of words and political wisdom (Cirkovic 246). Russia repeatedly assured their Slav brethren that they only had to wait (MacKenzie 58). Serbian agitation against Austria-Hungary was increased and the more the Austro-Hungarians attempted to subvert it, the more violent and fanatical it became. The fearlessness that was born from the support of Russia led those seeking Slavic unity to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, thereby triggering the cascade that began WWI.

In part one of “The Age of Total War”, Hobsbawm (1994) also argues that the war of 1914-1918 was senseless. It is argued that it is difficult to understand “why sensible statemen had not decided to settle the war by some compromise before it destroyed the world of 1914” (Hobsbawm, 1994, p. 29). He claims that the war was brutal and caused more death and destruction than was necessary. The battlefield of the Western Front was as brutal as it got. A field of blood, guts, mud and the abandoned bodies of brothers and friends was surrounded by the sound of never ending a gun fire, shouts of orders and screaming of men, whilst millions stood in trenches on either side and fired weapons at each other to add to the mass of chaos. Landscapes and towns were destroyed, countries lost up to twenty percent of their men, and those who weren’t lost were often mutated and severe haters of war. Moreover, it is argued that the destruction caused by the war did not end purely with the loss of human life, it

When someone hears the words World War I, what do they think of? Some might think about the French or Germans, while others might think about the time period and the weapons involved. In the year of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated while he went to check on some individuals who were involved in a bombing. Several days following his assassination, the great powers of Europe went to war against each other, later known as World War I. Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front, wrote a novel about World War I and in this novel one can see how World War I was a transformative event. By examining the horrors of war, the effects that war had on the soldiers who were involved, nationalism and sacrifice, and

While there is never just a single event that has led to the start of a world war, or any other serious war, there is often one thing that triggers long lived tensions and thus war ensues. Such was the case in WWI with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There were many tensions that existed prior to his assassination, but it was his assassination which triggered the war, his assassination that served as an excuse, and perhaps the last straw, so to speak, which led to the First World War. The following paper examines the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and its relationship to the start of WWI.

Although a war has just occurred and created massive destruction,nations should try to constitute peace so that both combatants can still receive necessary supplies from each other. According to the Just War Doctrine after a war “The terms of peace must be made publicly by a legitimate authority, and a legitimate authority must accept the terms.”This means that after the war has taken place nations must if possible make peace and declare it publically. In World War 1 the war ended with a peace treaty was negotiated on the theoretical basis of a peace without annexations and reparations. After World War Ⅰ occurred , The Treaty of Versailles was created. Although it was not until March 3,1918 that the treaty was finally signed. The Treaty of

While we are always reminded of the negative effects of war, it is not everyday that we learn to understand the deeper factors of war that can turn a small conflict into an international outbreak. World War I was said to have been sparked by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand but there are various deeper reasons that contributed to the commencement of the Great War. These factors include militarism, imperialism and the alliance systems.

World War 1 was fought between the periods of 1914 to 1919. It is also known as the Great War. WW1 began as a conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. The conflict spread like wildfire, dragging almost all of the countries in Europe into WW1. Lots of reasons are given onto the cause of the war and what eventually concluded the war. My paper will discuss the different aspects of the war, especially the U.S.’s contribution and involvement to the war.