Document 7b
This is an excerpt of the testimony given by Gavrilo Princip reprinted in The Sarajevo Trial. He was accused
of assassinating Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife in July 1914.
The Hearing of Gavrilo Princip
12 October 1914
In the Afternoon
…Pr. [Prosecutor]: — Call Gavrilo Princip. (He is brought in.) Do you consider yourself
guilty?
Acc. [Accused, Gavrilo Princip]: — I am not a criminal, because I destroyed that which was
evil. I think that I am good.…
Pr.: — What kind of ideas did you have?
Acc.: — I am a Yugoslav nationalist and I believe in the unification of all South Slavs in
whatever form of state and that it be free of Austria.
Pr.: — That was your aspiration. How did you think to realize [accomplish] it?
Acc.: — By means of terror.
Pr.: — What does that signify?
Acc.: — That means in general to destroy from above, to do away with those who obstruct and
do evil, who stand in the way of the idea of unification.
Pr.: — How did you think that you might realize your objectives?
Acc.: — Still another principal motive was revenge for all torments which Austria imposed
upon the people.…
Pr.: — What was the feeling about Austria in your circles?
Acc.: — It was the opinion that Austria behaved badly to our people, which is true, and
certainly that she (Austria) is not necessary.…
Source: W. A. Dolph Owings et al., eds., The Sarajevo Trial, Volume I, Documentary Publications
Based on this excerpt from The Sarajevo Trial, what was one goal of Gavrilo Princip?