El Estado de derecho

1 . This account of the death of Apis and his friends is based primar­

ily on four eyewitness reports prepared for the Serbian authorities, i.e., for Prince Alexander and Colonel Peter Zivkovic. Those by Paunovic, Dabic, and Stojkovic were published in full with explanatory notes by Milan Zi­

vanovic in his

Pukovnik A pis,

pp. 5 7 1 -95. Lieu tenant Pro tiC's "Last hours of those condemned to death" ("Poslednji cas osudjenih na smrt") is in Ziv. 1963. Another version of Protic's account is Stevan Zec, "Vojnici gadjaj te dobro!"

Duga,

No. 324, June 1986, pp. 67-72. Another signifi­

cant though controversial source for the execution is Bruno BreJun's "Hin­

richtung des Apis" from

Apis und Este

( 1 93 1 ). This literary version by an Austrian novelist with a military background, agrees in all fundamentals

with the eyewitnesses. The latter, viewing things from various vantage points, disagree only on minor details. They had been instructed to record every word and action by Apis and his friends in the hours before execu­

tion. Most thorough is the report of Captain Stojkovic, commander of the Salonika Officers' Prison, who had sent detailed reports during Apis' six months incarceration there to Prince Alexander and Zivkovic. He knew Apis far better than most and in this final report revealed clear sympathy with

him

^. In cases of dispute among the eyewitnesses, the author has relied chiefly on StojkoviC's and Protic's accounts. The other significant source is Apis farewell letter to his nephew, Milan Zivanovic, which the latter never received, first published by Vladirnir Dedijer in

Sarajevo 1914

(2nd ed., Belgrade, 1978, ll, 33840). Additional data were culled from "Crna uspomena," Ziv. 6 1 2 ; "Solunska afera," Ziv. 7 1 6 ; S. Jovanovic,

Moji savremenici

(Windsor, Canada, 1968), pp. 67-68; Milos Bogicevic ,

Le pro­

ces de Salonique(

Paris, 1928), pp. 94-96; and Ljubomir Dabic, "Streljanje pukovnika Apisa,"

Politika,

June 26, 1922, p. 3.

2. Pasic and Protic were the chief leaders of the Radical Party of Serbia which held political power for most of the period, 1 903-19 18.

3 . This refers to the alleged attempt by members of the "Black Hand" to assassinate Prince Regent Alexander near Ostrovo, Greece on August 29, 1916 (O.S.).

Notes to Chapter 11 3 1 9

4. Milan Zivanovic argues persuasively that since the entire Apis­

Paunovic conversation, according to Captain StojkoviC's precise account, lasted only twenty minutes, and the "sermon" which the priest inserted in his report, would have taken an old man slow of speech that long to de­

liver, clearly Paunovic "rewrote" and considerably expanded his report afterwards. Furthermore his primitive "sermon" could not have persuaded Apis, argues Zivanovic. Instead his uncle must have decided upon confes­

sion and communion as an ancestral rite to provide solace as he faced a tragic death.

5. Instead, Paunovic turned over the latter to Colonel Dunjic who doubtless transmitted it to the Prince Regent. In the first draft of his own report, notes Milan Zivanovic, Stojkovic wrote that Apis had asked

him

whether he could give Paunovic "a letter to my nephew," then in the fmal version changed this to a "last testament." Clearly, Stojkovic avoided men­

tioning the letter so no one would learn of it and so Paunovic could trans­

rnit it to Apis' nephew. When the latter saw Paunovic in Nice, France in the fall of 1 9 1 7, the priest said nothing about such a letter but communi­

cated some of its contents to him orally. Thereafter, Paunovic had averted his gaze whenever he encountered the nephew _in Belgrade

(Pukovnik Apis,

pp. 567-77).

6. This package, kept by Prince Alexander, was found in 1941 by the invading Germans, and some of its documents were published by Hans

Obersberger in

Auswdrtige Politik

(July 1943). A pis' last testament was published in several places between the two world wars.

7. This letter, returned with other documents relating to A pis from Austria in 1975, was first published by Dedijer in

Sarajevo 1914

(II, 338-340).

8. Zivan Zivanovic, Milan's father and A pis' brother-in-law, a promi­

nent Serbian politician and historian, was then interned in Austria.

9. Dedijer,

Sarajevo 1914,

11, 340.

10. Besides the three prin�ipals were convicted Damjan Popovic, M.

G. MilovanoJic, Radoje Lazic, Cedo Popovic, Vladimir Tucovic, Vladimir Vemic, Bogdan Radenkovic, and M. MeJunedbasic.

1 1 . This was a top Serbian military decoration named after Kara­

djordje Petrovic, leader of the first Serbian insurrection against the Turks, 1 804-13, and ancestor of Prince Regent Alexander.

12. Zec, "Gadjajte dobro!",

Duga,

No. 324, Belgrade, June 1986.

\

320 APIS: The Congenial Conspirator

13. A pis was referring, noted Milan Zivanovic, to the Karadjordjevic dynasty which he and his comrades had restored to power in May 1903.

At that time Peter Karadjordjevic, who became King Peter I, was living in straitened circumstances in Swiss exile.

14. Apis was referring to Lieutenant Colonel Velimir Vemic, a found­

er of the "Black Hand." Apparently, Vemic's bitte1 attacks on him in front of his friends during recesses of the Salonika Trial prompted this unchar­

acteristically sharp criticism.

15. Apis referred, notes Zivanovic, to his letter to Prince Alexander of May 30, 1 9 1 7 explaining his role in the assassination of Franz Ferdin­

and in Sarajevo. See below Chapter XXI. Apis suggested that Prince Alex­

ander was personally responsible for his death.

16. Colonel Radoje Radojlovic, at Prince Alexander's instruction, was buried on Corfu in 1 9 1 6 with special honors. Quickly shifting sides after the May Coup of 1903, Radojlovic had become a trusted friend and sup­

porter of Alexander.

17. There is some disparity in the· times cites by various eyewitnesses about their arrival at the execution site, but it was between 1 :30 _and 2:30 AM.

18. Apis claimed that the entire affair had been arranged in advance by Radical leaders and by his enemies among the officers. Captain Arand­

jelovic had been an investigator in Salonika just before the triaL Temeljko Veljanovic and Djordje Konstantinovic were key prosecution witnesses who later recanted their testimony. See below Chapters XVlll, XX and XXIV.

19. This refers apparently to Colonel Milan Tucakovic, commander of the Vardar Division of the Third Army.

20. Both Dabic and Paunovic in their reports sought to include an admission of guilt by Apis. Earlier, Dabic had recorded Apis' belief that Serbia required his death because of the Sarajevo assassination and the Serbian government's efforts to arrange a separate peace with Austria.

Thus Zivanovic ftnds it puzzling that Apis should tell Dabic that his death resulted from "excessively strained relations" with Serbian political leaders and thus from differences over internal policy.

2 1 . Paunovic never carried out these requests. After his role as an agent of the Salonika regime had been revealed, he avoided even chance meetings with Milan and Zivan Zivanovic, nor did he deliver VuloviC's bequests to his wife.

•

Notes to Chapter li 321

22. Major Vulovic had found Malobabic there in October 1 9 1 5 _acute­

ly ill of tuberculosis. Apis had urged him to remain at Kursurnlje, but Malo­

babic had insisted they take him along so he would not be hung by the Austrians.

23. Vulovic, the pessimist, anticipated Serbia's def�at and resultant misery whereas Apis, ever the optimist, foresaw victory in World War I for Serbia and the realization of his dream of Greater Serbia and Yugo­

slavia.

24. This was the site near the present Albanian frontier of the famous Battle of Kosovo of June 15/28, 1389 where the Serbian army of Prince Lazar was defeated by the Ottoman host of Sultan Bayezid "the Thunder­

bolt." Curiously, that defeat was celebrated ever after by the Serbs as a day of glory because of their heroic resistance against overwhelming odds.

Significantly, the Sarajevo assassination of 1914 occurred on Kosovo' s anniversary. .

25. The first Balkan War of 1 9 1 2 in which the Balkan League defeat­

ed Turkey.

26. There are various versions of this. According to Brehrn, Apis stated: "You haven't made it deep enough . . . but at least it is long enough."

27. According to Protic, Apis shouted: "Soldiers aim truly! Long live Yugoslavia!" Vulovic shouted: "Long live Serbia!"

Duga,

_No. 324, _p. 71.

28. Eyewitness accounts differ considerably over Apis' death. Pauno­

vic claimed that Apis and Vulovic remained alive after two volleys and the doctor's examination requiring additional shots. Wrote Stojkovic: "I order­

ed another salvo

la

set.:ond one

J

since those two were not yet dead and in an instant it was over." According to Dabi¥'about twenty shots had to be ftred at Apis and Vulovic who suffered a considerable time before dying.

Recalled Protic: "After the first volley, Apis fell, the rope broke, but he did not die yet. After another volley, the doctor confirmed his death."

Brehrn's account seems exaggerated: "Vulovic hung forward and beat with his arms around him: "Bad, bad! Shoot again please . . . lApis] stood up his bonds displaced: "End it brothers. Make an end."

No1es 10 Chapler Ill

1 . Materials about A pis' childhood and education are rather sparse.

322 APIS: The Congenial Conspirator

Most useful were the memoir of his sister, Jelena: "Sestra o bratu" in M.

Zivanovic , Pukovnik A pis, pp. 64345, and Ziv. 1 94 1 , "Iz zivota Pukov­

nika D. D. Apisa," by Zivan Zivanovic. Also valuable were P. Pankovic,

"Prevrat izvrsen 29. maja 1903 g." Ziv. 1985, by a fellow officer con­

spirator; Ziv. 209 1 , "A pis . . . ," by M. Zivanovic, and his "D. D. Apis,"

Ziv. 1927.

2. See D. MacKenzie, The Lion of Tashkent: The Career of General M. G. Chemiaev (Athens, Georgia, 1974).

3. An excellent general account of Serbia's development is M. B.

Petrovich, A History of Modern Serbia,

1804-1918

(2 vols., New York, 1976). Briefer is Fred Singleton's A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples (Cambridge, England, 1985).

4. On the Cincars see D. J . Popovic, 0 cincarima (Belgrade, 1937).

5. Jelena Zivanovic, "Sestra," in Zivanovic, Pukovnik Apis, pp. 643-44. Information about Jelena Dirnitrijevic's efforts during 1884 to secure a transfer from the Kraljevo school is contained in several documents, inclu­

ding three letters by her to the Minister of Education, in AS, Ministry of Education, f. XXXI, July-December 1884.

6. On the Military Academy see Spomenica 70-godi!njica Vojne Akademije, (Belgrade, 1925), and GliSic, Program predavanja djeneral­

!tabnog (Belgrade, no. date).

7. Ziv. 1 94 1 , Z. Zivanovic, "Iz zivota Pukovnika D. D. Apisa."

8. Herbert Vivian, The Ser)Jian Tragedy (London, 1904 ), pp. 40, 43.

A British officer who visited Serbia in 1896 and 1902 and was decorated by the King, he was very pro-Obrenovic and eulogized Alexander and Draga, dedicating his book "to the memory of his most gracious Majesty, King Alexander 1, Patriot, Statesman, hero-Rest in peace."

9. Ibid., pp. 40-50; Ziv. 1941. For details on the Milan-Natalija troubled relationship and its impact on Alexander see Sava Grujic, AS,

PO 82.

10. Lazare Marcovitch, "Nikolas Pachitch," unpublished manuscript, 1955.

1 1 . Marco, "Pripremanje 29. Maja 1903," NE, XV, br. 12, pp. 405-13;

ibid., "Preporod srpske vojske i borba za ujedinjenje," NE, XVI, br. 2.

1 2. VIA, Belgrade. Colonel D. T. Dirnitrijevic's official service record.

13. Ziv. 7 ; "Beleske Tucovica"; Ziv. 8, "Papers of Col. Ceda Popo­

vic"; Ziv. 6 1 7 , B. Simic, "Ujedinjenje ill smrt!"; Marcovitch, Pachitch.

Notes to Chapter Ill 323

Noted a prominent contemporary , Aca Novakovic: " . . . The attempt against King Milan was the affair of his son, Alexander and Draga Ma5in,"

Tribuna, Aug. 19, 191 1 .

14. Ziv. 4, "Beleznik Andra Djordjevica." In October 1897 Djordje­

vic, Minister of Education, was informed by Dr. Sirna Lozanic, a Belgrade physician, that the King was impotent. Allegedly a girl had been taken to him for his pleasure, but Alexander had proven totally incapable.

1 5 . Vivian, op. cit., pp. 66 ff. ; Ziv. 8, Papers of C. Popovic.

1 6 .

z.

Zivanovic, Polit icka i storija Srbije. . . , 4 vols., Belgrade, 1923-25, IV; S. Jovanovic , Vlada Aleksandra Obrenovica (2 vols., Belgrade,

1929-31), _11, 136 ff. ; Ziv.

8,

Popovic. For a general account in English see Wayne Vucinich, Serb ia Between East and West (Stanford, 1954), pp. 1 ff.

1 7 . Ziv. 8, "Oko veridbe i zenidbe . . . ," Popovic papers.

18. Ibid.; "Sestra o bratu," Pukovnik Apis, p. 644.

Notes to Chapter IV

1 . Those elections confirmed the Radical Party's split as younger more radical elements led by Ljubomir Zivkovic defected to form the Independent Radicals. However, Pa5ic's "old" Radicals won 84 out of 130 Skupstina seats and the Progressives 26. ZivkoviC's rebels, opposing a coali­

tion with the Progressives or any cooperation with King Alexander, advo­

cated uncompromising struggle against the King. S. J ovanovic, V/ada Alek­

sandra Obrenovica, II, 21 8-22 1 . For background of the May Coup in Eng­

lish see W. Vucinich, Serbia Between East and West, pp. 7-23 and A.

Dragnich, Serqia, Nikola Pasic and Yugoslavia, pp. 54-58.

2. On the false pregnancy, see Vucinich, pp. 18-19; J ovanovic , V/ada Aleksandra, II, 1 7 1 ff. ; Z. Zivanovic, Politi

c

ka istorija, IV, 24749.

3. Ziv. 1985, P. Pankovic, "Prevrat izvrsen 29. maja 1903 g."

4. See above, p. 00.

5. These included infantr.y captains Radomir Arandjelovic and Milan I. Petrovic, lieutenants Dragutin Dulic, M. Marinovic-Piga and Antic.

6. Destroying the Obrenovic dynasty would leave the Karadjordjevic family unchallenged.

7. Ziv. 1985, Pankovic .

8. Djordje Karadjordjevic, lstina o mom iivotu (1969), p. 149.

9 . M. B. Petrovich,A History, ll,

SOS.

324 APIS: The Congenial Conspirator

10. The seven were A pis, Antic, Milan Marinkovic, Nikodije Popovic, Radomir Arandelovic, Milan Petrovic, and Dragisa Dulic.

11. Vucinich, p. 47; DragiSa Vasic,

D

ev

etsto treca,

pp. 54-S S ; Jovano-vic,

Vlada Aleksandra,

ll, 351-52.

12. Ziv. l 987, Pankovic.

13. V. Gojkovic, "Radikali i vojska,"

NE,

XVIll ( 1928), pp. 324-27.

14. Cedo Popovic, "Organizacija 'Ujedinjenje ill smrt!' Uzroci i nacin postanka,"

NE,

XV, br. 12 (June 11, 1927), p. 397.

15. Ziv. 3803, "Uzroci majske zavere 1903 g."

16. "Sestra o bra tu," Zivanovic,

Pukovnik Apis,

p. 644; Ziv. 2091.

17.

i.

Zivanovic,

Po/iticka istorija,

IV, 343-4 7.

18. Commented Vivian: "The plot . . . was engineered with diabolical cunning. Fully two years were spent in preparing it. A few discredited politicians and unruly officers, moved by private resentments and greed . . . pledged themselves to kill the King and Queen (p. 88). He listed the original conspirators as Djordje Gencic, Colonel Masin and Dragornir Rajo­

vic (p. 92), but they entered the plot later. "Surely never can a conspiracy to kill a King and Queen have been known beforehand by so many people (p. 95).

The Servian Tragedy.

19. Zivanovic, IV, 346-47.

20. Vivian stressed GenciC's "inordinate vanity." "As a minister, his airs and graces were the standing jokes of [Belgrade] , his wild ambitions kept growing by leaps and bounds."

Servian Tragedy,

p. 92.

21. NovakoviC's detailed account of the May Coup's preparation-"ls­

povesti o prevratu 29. maja 1903 g," was published by

Tribuna

in 47 in­

stallments in August-September 1911. He emphasized the role of civilian leaders. Antic, he claimed, "was a rather limited person . . . who absolutely lacked his own views . . . and did precisely what Gencic instructed him to do."

Tribuna,

August 22, 1911.

22. Ziv. 1987, Pankovic.

23. Ibid.; Va�ic, pp. 63-64.

24. Ziv. 8, Ceda Popovic Papers.

25. Ln his account of the May Coup, appended to Dumba to Foreign Minister Goluchowski in A. Radenic, ed.,

Austro-Ugarska i Srbija,

1903-1918 (Belgrade, 1973), pp. 303-10, Colonel Mi�ic noted that meetings of the conspirators' "Main Committee" convened in General Atanackovic's and Colonel Damjan PopoviC's homes. At one meeting a relative of Antic

Notes to Chapter IV 325

suggested that politicians be recruited for the plot. Atanackovic recom­

mended Gencic as an enemy of Queen Draga. Agreeing, Gencic consented to sound out other politicians in September 1902.

Vivian affmned that Colonel Masin recruited by Gencic, possessed "ani­

mal courage." Ma5in allegedly "invented every sort of calumny against Queen Draga and even accused her of poisoning her first husband. He is a squat, villainous looking man . . . [with] shifty eyes and a cruel, wolfish mouth."

Servian Tragedy,

pp. 93-94.

26. Ziv. 8, Popovic Papers.

27. Ziv. 38, "Vojislav Tankosic."

28. Ziv. 40, "Petar Zivkovic."

29. Novakovic stresses his intimate relations with King Alexander prior to his marriage, then their relationship deteriorated into dislike. He attributed Alexander's infatuation with Draga to a lack of normal tender feelings toward women. "That was Alexander's lack which caused his destruction and that of the dynasty!" The King and Queen by their acts dragged their country in the mire to such an extent that it was shameful to admit one's nationality abroad."

Tribuna,

September 3-5, 1911.

30. Ziv. 617, Bozin Simic, "Istorija 'Ujedinjenji ili smrt!"

31. Zivanovic,

Politic ka istorija,

IV, 346 and note.

32. Ziv. 1987, Pankovic.

33. Ziv. 8, Popovic Papers.

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