Black Hand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black Hand (Serbian: Црна рука / Crna Ruka), officially Unification or Death (Serbian: Уједињење или смрт / Ujedinjenje ili smrt) was a secret society founded in Serbia in May 1911[1][2] as part of the Pan-Slavism nationalist movement, with the intention of uniting all of the territories containing Serb populations (notably Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria-Hungary in October 1908). The society's implication in the June 1914 assassination in Sarajevo of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria is considered to have been the main catalyst to the start of World War I.
Contents |
[edit] Origin
The Black Hand was founded by former members of a semi-secret society named Narodna Odbrana (Defence of the People) dedicated to achieving Pan-Slavism and nationalism by means of assassination. The purpose of the group was to recruit and train partisans for a possible war between Serbia and Austria, and eventually free Serbia from Austria. Under their anti-Austrian propaganda, they organized spies and saboteurs to operate within the empire's provinces. Satellite groups were formed in Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Austria. In 1909, after the Annexation Crisis, Austria pressured the Serbian government to put a stop to their anti-Austrian insurrection. At that time Russia lacked military strength to fully support Serbia in case of a war, so the organization was forced to stop. From then on, Narodna Odbrana attempted to disguise itself as a cultural organization by shifting its concentration to education and propaganda within Serbia.
In 1911, differences between the two main groups of the Narodna Odbrana--political leaders of the Radical Party and military officers--arose. The political leaders preferred a more passive approach for the time being, including more peaceful relations with Austria and concentrating on strengthening Serbia for future struggle, but some of the military officers grew impatient with the more moderate radical policies. Consequently, the more zealous members of the Narodna Odbrana started a new secret society, and the Black Hand was founded.
[edit] Ideology
The group encompassed a range of ideological outlooks, from conspiratorially-minded army officers to idealistic youths, sometimes tending towards republicanism, despite the acquisition of nationalistic royal circles in its activities (the movement's leader, Col. Dragutin Dimitrijević or "Apis", had been instrumental in the June 1903 coup which had brought King Petar Karađorđević to the Serbian throne following 45 years of rule by the rival Obrenović dynasty). The group was denounced as Nihilist by the Austro-Hungarian press and compared to the Russian People's Will and the Chinese Assassination Corps which, like the Black Hand, used assassination to achieve anti-imperialist political goals.
[edit] Impact
Just prior to World War I, the Black Hand supplied weapons and assistance to the group "Young Bosnia" in its plot to assassinate the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand while he was visiting present day Bosnia. Only three of the assassins actually made an attempt - and one, a 19-year-old named Gavrilo Princip -- succeeded in killing him. The Austrians therefore dispatched an ultimatum to Serbia, which is believed to have been deliberately written to be unacceptable. To Austria-Hungary's surprise, all but one of the demands - to allow Austrian agents to investigate the assassination on Serbian soil - were accepted. The Austrian government chose to regard this as a rejection of the ultimatum and declared war, with the support of Germany. Russia began to mobilize in support of Serbia. Germany's war plans were based on a two front war, one against France and one against Russia. Realizing that it would take much longer for the Russians to mobilize, Germany invaded France through Belgium, effectively starting World War I. The three assassins were later imprisoned and one was hanged for his part.
[edit] Decline
In May 1917 Dimitrijević was tried on charges of plotting against the royal government, then exiled in Thessaloniki, Greece, following Serbia's occupation by Austro-Hungarian, German, and Bulgarian forces in late 1915. His subsequent execution signaled the Black Hand's eclipse by the monarchist White Hand, which was to dominate the political outlook of military leaders in the Yugoslav kingdom.
[edit] Popular Culture
Video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion includes a group of assassins called the Dark Brotherhood, whose leaders are called The Black Hand. Popular PC game series "Command & Conquer" features an organization called "The Black Hand;" an elite division within the Brotherhood of Nod whose operations are based in Sarejevo.
