what is the historical basis for this version of events?
Was dr. pfeffer a real person?
shareYes, Dr Leo Pfesser was the investigating judge in Sarajevo. I can thoroughly recommend the book by Greg King and Sue Woolmans "The Assassination of the Archduke" for the story of the lives of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his adored wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. In the Epilogue of the book, there is a useful discussion on the extent to which - as part of a whole raft of "conspiracy theories" surrounding the history of the assignation - the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Sarajevo, through their incompetent and so-called "security failings", actually hung the Archduke "out to dry" so that he became an easy target for Serb terrorists, thus providing the government and military in Vienna with an easy and opportune excuse to begin war against troublesome Serbia.
shareAdd apologies to my previous post - typo error in that the name of the investigating judge should read as Pfeffer.
sharethank you. was not aware of the conspiratorial aspect of this, but do remember finding the circumstances of the car being put smack dab in front of the assassin a bit hard to swallow.
the massive mobilzation of the 'schlieffen plan' within a month is a strong indication that the germans were ready to rumble.
another great book on the early days - 'the guns of august'