1914 (film)

1914 (1914, die letzten Tage vor dem Weltbrand) is a 1931 German drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Albert Bassermann, Hermann Wlach and Wolfgang von Schwindt. The film focuses on the leadership of the Great Powers of Europe in the days leading up to the outbreak of the First World War, culminating in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and premiered in the city at the Tauentzien-Palast on 20 January 1931. At the request of the German Foreign Office an introduction by Eugen Fischer-Baling was filmed and presented at the start of the film. A special screening was held at the Reichstag on 3 March 1931.