Trifko Grabež
Encyclopedia
Trifun "Trifko" Grabež (1895–February, 1918) was a Bosnian Serb member of the organization the Black Hand
involved in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Trifko Grabež was born to a Serbian-Orthodox priest in Pale
, a small town in central-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
. At the age of seventeen, Grabež was expelled from school for striking one of his teachers.
Grabež left home and moved to Belgrade
, the capital of Serbia
. As well as continuing his education he joined the Black Hand
secret society. For the next two years he spent most of his spare time with other nationalists who favoured a union between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was going to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic
, the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, sent three men, Grabež, Nedeljko Čabrinović
and Gavrilo Princip
to Sarajevo to assassinate him.
Each man was given a revolver, two bombs and small vial of cyanide. They were instructed to commit suicide after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been killed. It was important to Dragutin Dimitrijević that the men did not have the opportunity to confess who had organised the assassination.
Grabež, Nedjelko Čabrinović and Gavrilo Princip, were all suffering from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long. They were therefore willing to give their life for what they believed was a great cause: Bosnia and Herzegovina achieving independence from Austro-Hungary.
Nikola Pašić
, the prime minister of Serbia, heard about the plot and gave instructions for the three men to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country. However, his orders were not implemented and they managed to reach Bosnia and Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbašić
, Danilo Ilić
, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic.
On Sunday, 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception.
In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.
Seven members of the Black Hand group also lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, each one had been instructed to try to kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic. Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedbasic lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedbasic later said that a policeman was standing behind him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb.
Nedjelko Cabrinovic, the next man on the route, hurled his hand grenade at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the grenade exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.
Later that day, Gavrilo Princip managed to kill both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato. Princip and Nedjelko Cabrinovic were interrogated by the police. They eventually gave the names of their fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbasic managed to escape to Serbia but Grabez, Danilo Ilic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic were arrested and charged with treason and murder.
Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austro-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. All the men were found guilty. Grabez therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years. Trifko Grabez died of tuberculosis in February, 1918.
Black Hand
Unification or Death , unofficially known as the Black Hand , was a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian army in the Kingdom of Serbia, which was founded on September 6, 1901. It was intent on uniting all of the territories containing significant Serb populations annexed by...
involved in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Trifko Grabež was born to a Serbian-Orthodox priest in Pale
Pale (town)
Pale is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located southeast of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo. The municipality of Pale is one of the six municipalities of the City of Istočno Sarajevo located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Middle Ages:The area of Pale...
, a small town in central-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. At the age of seventeen, Grabež was expelled from school for striking one of his teachers.
Grabež left home and moved to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the capital of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. As well as continuing his education he joined the Black Hand
Black Hand
Unification or Death , unofficially known as the Black Hand , was a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian army in the Kingdom of Serbia, which was founded on September 6, 1901. It was intent on uniting all of the territories containing significant Serb populations annexed by...
secret society. For the next two years he spent most of his spare time with other nationalists who favoured a union between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was going to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic
Dragutin Dimitrijevic
Dragutin Dimitrijević was a Serbian soldier and leader of the Black Hand group implicated with assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria in 1914...
, the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, sent three men, Grabež, Nedeljko Čabrinović
Nedeljko Cabrinovic
Nedeljko Čabrinović was a member of the nationalist Young Bosnia movement, and one of a group of seven who intended to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria during his announced visit to Sarajevo.Born in Sarajevo, Čabrinović spent many of his post-school years as a handyman, before...
and Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
to Sarajevo to assassinate him.
Each man was given a revolver, two bombs and small vial of cyanide. They were instructed to commit suicide after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been killed. It was important to Dragutin Dimitrijević that the men did not have the opportunity to confess who had organised the assassination.
Grabež, Nedjelko Čabrinović and Gavrilo Princip, were all suffering from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long. They were therefore willing to give their life for what they believed was a great cause: Bosnia and Herzegovina achieving independence from Austro-Hungary.
Nikola Pašić
Nikola Pašic
Nikola P. Pašić was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure for almost 40 years, leader of the People's Radical Party who, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade...
, the prime minister of Serbia, heard about the plot and gave instructions for the three men to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country. However, his orders were not implemented and they managed to reach Bosnia and Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbašić
Muhamed Mehmedbašic
Muhamed Mehmedbašić was a Bosniak/Muslim revolutionary and participant in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.-Background:...
, Danilo Ilić
Danilo Ilic
Danilo Ilić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1891 and died in 1915. He attended the State Teachers' College in Sarajevo and for a while taught at a school in Bosnia. In 1913 Ilic moved to Belgrade where he became a journalist and a member of the Black Hand secret society.Ilic returned to...
, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic.
On Sunday, 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception.
In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.
Seven members of the Black Hand group also lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, each one had been instructed to try to kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic. Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedbasic lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedbasic later said that a policeman was standing behind him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb.
Nedjelko Cabrinovic, the next man on the route, hurled his hand grenade at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the grenade exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.
Later that day, Gavrilo Princip managed to kill both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato. Princip and Nedjelko Cabrinovic were interrogated by the police. They eventually gave the names of their fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbasic managed to escape to Serbia but Grabez, Danilo Ilic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic were arrested and charged with treason and murder.
Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austro-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. All the men were found guilty. Grabez therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years. Trifko Grabez died of tuberculosis in February, 1918.