| Unification or Death | |
|---|---|
| Уједињење или смрт Ujedinjenje ili smrt | |
 Unification or Death's logo | |
| Also known as | Black Hand |
| Leader | Dragutin Dimitrijević |
| Foundation | May 1911; 114 years ago (May 1911) (asUnification or Death)[1][2] |
| Motives | Unification of all Serbs[3] |
| Active regions | Balkan Peninsula |
| Ideology | Greater Serbia[4] Serbian nationalism[5] |
| Notable attacks | Killing of Alexander I Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand |
Succeeded by Serbian Cultural Club (unofficial) | |
Unification or Death (Serbian:Уједињење или смрт,romanized: Ujedinjenje ili smrt), popularly known as theBlack Hand (Црна рука,Crna ruka), was asecret military society formed in May 1911 by officers in theArmy of the Kingdom of Serbia. It gained a reputation for its alleged involvement in theassassination ofArchduke Franz Ferdinand inSarajevo in 1914 and for the earlierassassination of the Serbian royal couple in 1903, under the aegis of CaptainDragutin Dimitrijević (a.k.a. "Apis").[6]
The society formed to unite all of the territories with aSouth Slavic majority that were not then ruled by eitherSerbia orMontenegro. It took inspiration primarily from theunification of Italy in 1859–1870, but also from theunification of Germany in 1871.[7][8] Through its connections to the June 1914assassination ofArchduke Franz Ferdinand inSarajevo, carried out by the members of the youth movementYoung Bosnia, the Black Hand was instrumental in startingWorld War I (1914–1918) by precipitating theJuly Crisis of 1914, which eventually led toAustria-Hungary'sinvasion of theKingdom of Serbia in August 1914.[9]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: events occurring in the long time span between the described regicide and the events of the next subsection. You can help byadding to it.(April 2017) |
In August 1901, a group of lower officers headed by captainDragutin Dimitrijević "Apis" established a conspiracy group (called theBlack Hand in literature), against the dynasty.[10] The first meeting was held on 6 September 1901. In attendance were captainsRadomir Aranđelović,Milan F. Petrović, andDragutin Dimitrijević, as well as lieutenantsAntonije Antić,Dragutin Dulić, Milan Marinković, andNikodije Popović.[11] They made a plan to kill the royal couple—King Alexander I Obrenović andQueen Draga. On the night of 28/29 May 1903 (Old Style), Captain Apis personally led a group of Army officers who murdered the royal couple at theOld Palace inBelgrade. Along with the royal couple, the conspirators killed Prime MinisterDimitrije Cincar-Marković, Minister of the ArmyMilovan Pavlović, and General-AdjutantLazar Petrović. This became known as theMay Coup.
On 8 October 1908, just two days afterAustria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian ministers, officials, and generals held a meeting at the City Hall in Belgrade. They founded a semi-secret society, theNarodna Odbrana ("National Defense") which gavePan-Serbism a focus and an organization. The purpose of the group was to liberate Serbs under theAustro-Hungarian occupation. They also shared anti-Austrian propaganda and organized spies and saboteurs to operate within the occupied provinces. Satellite groups were formed inSlovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, andIstria. The Bosnian group became deeply associated with local groups of pan-Serb activists such asMlada Bosna ("Young Bosnia").[12]
Unification or Death was established at the beginning of May 1911,[13] and the original constitution of the organization was signed on 9 May.[14]Ljuba Čupa,Bogdan Radenković, andVojislav Tankosić wrote the constitution of the organization,[15] modeled after similar German secret nationalist associations and the ItalianCarbonari.[15][16] The organization was mentioned in the Serbian parliament as the "Black Hand" in late 1911.[17]
By 1911–12, Narodna Odbrana had established ties with the Black Hand, and the two became "parallel in action and overlapping in membership".[18]
The organization used the magazinePijemont (the Serbian name forPiedmont, the kingdom that led theunification of Italy under theHouse of Savoy) for the dissemination of their ideas.[19] The magazine was founded byLjuba Čupa in August 1911.[20]
By 1914, the group had hundreds of members, many of themSerbian Army officers. The goal ofuniting Serb-inhabited territories was implemented by training guerilla fighters and saboteurs. The Black Hand was organized at the grassroots level in cells of three to five members, supervised by district committees and by a Central Committee in Belgrade, whose ten-member executive committee was primarily led by ColonelDragutin Dimitrijević "Apis". To ensure secrecy, members rarely knew much more than the other members of their own cell and one superior above them. New members swore the oath:
I (...), by entering into the society, do hereby swear by the Sun which shineth upon me, by the Earth which feedeth me, by God, by the blood of my forefathers, by my honour and by my life, that from this moment onward and until my death, I shall faithfully serve the task of this organisation and that I shall at all times be prepared to bear for it any sacrifice. I further swear by God, by my honour and by my life, that I shall unconditionally carry into effect all its orders and commands. I further swear by my God, by my honour and by my life, that I shall keep within myself all the secrets of this organisation and carry them with me into my grave. May God and my brothers in this organisation be my judges if at any time I should wittingly fail or break this oath.[21]
The Black Hand took over the terrorist actions[which?] ofNarodna Odbrana and deliberately workedto obscure any distinctions between the two groups, trading on the prestige and network of the older organization. Black Hand members held important army and government positions.Crown Prince Alexander was an enthusiastic financial supporter.[22] The group held influence over government appointments and policies. The Serbian government was fairly well-informed of Black Hand activities.
Friendly relations had fairly well cooled by 1914. The Black Hand was displeased with Prime MinisterNikola Pašić and thought that he did not act aggressively enough for the Pan-Serb cause. The Black Hand engaged in a bitter power struggle over several issues, such as who would control territories that Serbia had annexed during theBalkan Wars. By then, disagreeing with the Black Hand was dangerous, as political murder was one of its tools.
In 1914, Apis allegedly decided that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir-apparent of Austria, should be assassinated, as he was trying to pacify the Serbians, which would prevent a revolution if he was successful. Towards that end, three young Bosnian Serbs were allegedly recruited to kill the Archduke. They were certainly trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship by current and former members of the Serbian military.Gavrilo Princip,Nedeljko Čabrinović, andTrifko Grabež were smuggled across the border back into Bosnia by a chain of contacts similar to theUnderground Railroad.The decision to kill the Archduke was initiated by Apis and not sanctioned by the full Executive Committee (if Apis was involved at all, a question that remains in dispute[23]).
In 1938,Konspiracija, a conspiracy group to overthrow theYugoslav regency was founded by, among others, members of theSerbian Cultural Club (SKK).[24] The organization was modeled after the Black Hand, including the recruitment process.[25] Two members of the Black Hand, Antonije Antić andVelimir Vemić, were the organization's military advisors.[26]
“The society’s constitution stated that its aim was the unification of all Serbs by any means necessary, including violence.”
“The Black Hand sought the creation of a Greater Serbia, uniting all Serb-inhabited territories under one nation.”
“The group's commitment to pan-Serbian nationalism was uncompromising, often advocating for violent means to achieve political ends.”
Y августу 1901. нижи официри су, под руководством капетана Драгутина Димитр^евиhа – Аписа, створили заверенички покрет против ди- насти е ("Црна рука").
Оригинални Устав истого, друштва од 9/22 ма]а 1911 год. са своеручним потписила опт.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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