After his bullets had slain the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, GAVRILO PRINCIP is arrested in Sarajevo on Sunday, June 18, 1914. This picture has been reprinted countless times, but last year Yugoslav newspaper alleged that the man is not Princip but an innocent bystander who was arrested in error. Princip, a 19-year-old student, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment but after four years died of TB. His bullets, which cut down the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, led to the outbreak of the first World War.
WHO started it? Who started World War 1. This is a big year in remembering the fallen in the war to end all wars. The experts are wading in:
Boris Johnson (Conservatie) knows:
It is a sad but undeniable fact that the First World War – in all its murderous horror – was overwhelmingly the result of German expansionism and aggression.
Michel Gove (Conservative) knows:
The First World War may have been a uniquely horrific war, but it was also plainly a just war. The ruthless social Darwinism of the German elites, the pitiless approach they took to occupation, their aggressively expansionist war aims and their scorn for the international order all made resistance more than justified.
He went on to compare actual war to telly:
The conflict has, for many, been seen through the fictional prism of dramas such as Oh! What a Lovely War, The Monocled Mutineer and Blackadder as a misbegotten shambles – a series of catastrophic mistakes perpetrated by an out-of-touch elite.
Tristram Hunt (Labour) saw his chance to remind everyone that he knows:
There was always a fear that the timing of the Great War anniversary, alongside the May 2014 European Parliament election and the rise of Ukip could undermine a dignified response to the events of 1914-18. Yet few imagined the Conservatives would be this crass. The reality is clear: the government is using what should be a moment for national reflection and respectful debate to rewrite the historical record and sow political division.
Good job it’s only them, then, and Hunt can see clearly.
Then Blackadder actor Sir Tony Robison (Labour), told us stuff:
“When imaginative teachers bring it in, it’s simply another teaching tool; they probably take them over to Flanders to have a look at the sights out there, have them marching around the playground, read the poems of Wilfred Owen to them. And one of the things that they’ll do is show them Blackadder.
“And I think to make this mistake, to categorise teachers who would introduce something like Blackadder as left-wing and introducing left-wing propaganda is very, very unhelpful. And I think it’s particularly unhelpful and irresponsible for a minister in charge of education.”
The actor and Labour activist said it was “just another example of slagging off teachers,” adding: “I don’t think that’s professional or appropriate.”
Appropriate and its contrary inappropriate are the buzzwords in the big debate that seek to shut down opposing views. They are the words of the intolerant and illiberal.
So. Who did the war start? Anyone? No. This is about the modern sages and know-alls using the past to flog us their modern lessons on life. It isn’t now. It was then. Things were different then. If you want to find out what happened, you need to understand those times bot these…
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