The Serbian Blue Book is a collection of 52 Serbian diplomatic documents regarding events between 29 June and 6 August 1914, a period including the aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (the July Crisis) and the beginning of World War I, published by the Government of the Kingdom of Serbia on 18 November 1914. It includes correspondence between Serbian ministers and diplomats, Serbia and Russia (including royal), Austria-Hungary, and Germany. It was published in French translation in 1914,[1] and English translation by the British Foreign Office in Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, and also American Association for International Conciliation, in 1915.[2]
After the war, the Allied Commission used the book along with other diplomatic document collections to conclude the responsibility of the Central Powers in the war.[3] According to Joseph Ward Swain, the 'purpose of the Serbian blue book was to show the aggressive spirit of the Austrians'.[4]