When German troops occupied Sarajevo on April 15, , one of the first actions they took was to remove the Gavrilo Princip plaque erected in to commemorate the June 28, assassination.
The memorial plaque was removed on April 19, and sent to Adolf Hitler in Berlin for his 52nd birthday. A group of Yugoslav volksdeutsche, or ethnic Germans, wearing white shirts and ties, were photographed and filmed marching in formation carrying a banner to the the site of the assassination.
They are shown carrying two ladders which they use to climb to the plaque, mounted on the wall of the building.
They have erected a scaffold under the plaque. Two volksdeutsche remove the screws and dismantle the plaque, which they hand down to another member on the ladder.
They then bring the plaque down. Two volksdeutsche members are photographed holding the plaque as two Wehrmacht officers look on. The removal ceremony was filmed for the German newsreel Die Deutsche Wochenschau. The photo was published by the Berliner Volkszeitung on April 24, Subsequently, the plaque is given to German Army troops who are photographed holding the plaque.
