Terrorist: Gavrilo Princip, the Assassin Who Ignited World War I

By Henrik Rehr

"I am not a criminal, because I destroyed that which was evil. I think that I'm good."—Gavrilo Princip, October 23, 1914.

This much we know: On June 28, 1914, a young man stood on a street corner in Sarajevo, aimed a pistol into a stalled car carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and pulled the trigger. Within a few minutes, the archduke was dead, and Europe would not know peace again for five years. More than 16 million people would die in the fighting that came to be known as World War I.

Little else is known about the young man named Gavrilo Princip. How could a poor student from a tiny Serbian village turn the wheel of history and alter the face of a continent for generations? Henrik Rehr's dark and riveting graphic novel fills the gaps in the historical record and imagines in insightful detail the events that led a boy from Obljaj to become one of history's most significant terrorist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781467786713

Henrik Rehr

Henrik Rehr has been a cartoonist for more than thirty years. He was born in Denmark and lives with his family in New York City.

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Reviews for Terrorist

[artymedon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With as much empathy for the victim as for the assassin, Mr. Rehr, a Danish Artist living the United States in New-York at the time of 9/11, fills us in on all the details of the motivations, personal and political, sentimental or revanchist that led a young Serb from Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip, to murder the unique heir to the Austrian Empire and his wife in that Bosnian town.If one does not like European history or is unfamiliar with the complexity of the central Balkans, this graphic novel is an excellent starting point because it provides maps and snapshots of the revolutionary atmosphere at the eve of July 1914 when the world went at war.Central to this novel and to the Author is the question asked to the reader: Can one man stop the course of history or in the case of Princip-who did not act alone- trigger it? He also shows how the greatest plans are acted upon with a mixture of strong will and absolute coincidence and pure luck. Very well described is how the Serbian Leader informed of the plot, tries to stop it at the last minute and then how the first bomb thrown by one of the Serbian anarchists destroys the car immediately following the open limousine of the Imperial couple and how courageously and recklessly the Archduke decides to go once more through this fatal road to visit victims at the hospital. Then Gavrilo goes buy himself a sandwich thinking he missed his target and sees the Imperial car drive past him because it took a wrong turn! Whenever you go to Sarajevo, see for yourself how narrow was the route that followed this motorcade. The black and white inks are sumptuously dark when they show the conspirators working in the shadows with few moments of light when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Duchess of Hohenberg share breakfast mirrored by brief encounters between Princip and his romantic interest Jelena. It traces the animosity of the Serbs against the Turks to the 1448 Battle of Kosovo and the memory of this historical battle is then provided a new impetus when Austria, already an occupier, decides to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina.In more modern terms, the question is often raised if the assassination of an autocrat will stop events from happening or if they will give, as it was the case in Princip's successful act, the pretext needed to declare war.

[ellsbethb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised to find this story actually dragged on a bit for me. It seemed like you needed a little too much prior knowledge of Serbian history to follow the narrative. The art is interesting, especially the backgrounds and interludes. I am glad I was able to learn more about Gavrilo Princip and the regional conflicts that helped lead to The Great War through reading this book.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fictionalized graphic biography of Gavrilo Princip, who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and sparked World War I. Following the Serbian nationalist's long journey toward the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Rehr creates a penetrating portrait of what drives people to become terrorists. Stark, powerful, and fascinating.