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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 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 helped ignite World War I.
Ideology
The group encompassed a range of ideological outlooks, from conspiratorially-minded army officers to idealistic youths, sometimes tending towards republicanism, despite the acquiescence 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.
Impact
Just prior to World War I, the Black Hand supplied weapons and assistance to fifteen people in a plot to assassinate the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand while he was visiting Bosnia. Only three of the assassins actually made an attempt - and only one, a 19-year-old named Gavrilo Princip -- succeeded in killing him. The Austrians therefore dispatched an ultimatum to Serbia, which was deliberately written to be unacceptable. To Austia-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 mobilise in support of Serbia. Germany, wishing to avoid a war on two fronts, invaded France, effectively starting WWI. The three assassins were later imprisoned and one was hanged for the deed.
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 inter-war Yugoslav kingdom.
See also
History of Serbia | Secret societies
Černá ruka | Schwarze Hand | Melnā Roka | Zwarte Hand (Bosnië) | 黒手組 | Czarna Ręka | Black Hand | Čierna ruka | Црна рука | Svarta handen | Črna roka (Srbija)
"Black Hand"