Posted on 06/22/2004 10:07:58 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
BERLIN -- The Browning pistol that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and sparked the crisis leading to World War I has been discovered gathering dust in a Jesuit community house in Austria.
The weapon is going on display in the Vienna Museum of Military History in time for the 90th anniversary of the assassination of the heir to the Austrian empire and his wife, Sophie. Gavrilo Princip, a student from Belgrade, fired seven shots as they were driven through Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
The shooting led to World War I, which by one estimate resulted in 8.5 million deaths.
For decades the murder weapon, serial number 19074, was in the possession of a community of Jesuits in Styria, southern Austria. They inherited it from a close friend of the archduke and his wife.
A Jesuit priest, Anton Puntigam, gave the couple the last rites and later made public his intention of opening a museum in memory of the archduke. But the chaos of the war foiled his plans.
On the priest's death in 1926, the objects were offered to the archduke's family, which declined to take them. They remained out of sight until recent publicity about the 90th anniversary.
Daily Telegraph
Looks like a Spad XIII to me. That IS a great picture! Do you have more?
Thanks for those links
Go to the link at post #82 for more pictures. I will try to get more scanned and on the net soon.
And one Painted up a little flashier: http://www.1stfighter.org/1stpursuit/images_1stpursuit/Circus.jpg
A careful study of Rasputin and the Czar's Russia is also helpful in understanding the winds of war. That was one very interesting time in world history. I recommend The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin by Alex DeJong. There are many other good ones as well.
I'm facinated by the Browning because it's a known firearm that was in a particular place in time. We know for sure exactly where it was almost a hundred years ago. AND IT SURVIVED ALL THOSE YEARS.
If you think it's evil or has some sort of power over you that it must be destroyed, I can't argue with that. You know yourself better than I do.
I wish I knew the history of the firearms I own. One piece I used to own was a rarity of a rarity from the Civil War.
Are books "inanimate"?
This PARTICULAR gun is notorious for murdering people.
Seek help.
By the way, what is the statute of limitations on war souvenirs?
I just checked my hard drive and I do have some that I don't think have been posted anywhere yet. Freepmail me with your email and I will send you some, if you would like.
# [adj] appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible pulse; "an inanimate body"; "pulseless and dead"
# [adj] not endowed with life; "the inorganic world is inanimate"; "inanimate objects"; "dead stones"
# [adj] (linguistics) belonging to the class of nouns denoting nonliving things; "the word `car' is inanimate"
Great links. Thanks!
I think it was Göring that said: "When I hear the word, culture, I reach for my revolver."
Otto von Bismarck's comment about the nature of the region in question is germane: "another (delete expletive here) thing in the Balkans." Imagine a place where people name a bridge after an assaassin.
I guess I'm glad this flintlock isn't even semi-auto.
By those definitions, a book would appear inanimate; nonetheless, I would posit that it is possible for books to possess moral character (good or evil) in and of themselves. While it may be possible to use an evil book for good purposes or a good book for evil purposes, I would posit that does not prevent some books from being inherently good and others inherently evil.
I learned in school that it was the assassination which started the war, but aside from a vague explanation that nations started lining up behind their allies and then everyone fought, I never quite understood how one lead to the other. Do you know of a good book which explains this well?
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