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diff --git a/10166-0.txt b/10166-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bbe498b --- /dev/null +++ b/10166-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8816 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10166 *** + +WHAT GERMANY THINKS + +OR THE WAR AS GERMANS SEE IT + + +By Thomas F.A. Smith, Ph.D. + +Late English Lecturer in the University of Erlangen + +Author of "The Soul of Germany: A Twelve Years' Study of the People from +Within, 1902-1914" + + +1915 + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + + I--THE CAUSES OF THE WAR + + II--ON THE LEASH + + III--THE DOGS LET LOOSE + + IV--MOBILIZATION + + V--WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS + + VI--THE DÉBÂCLE OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS + + VII--"NECESSITY KNOWS NO LAW" + +VIII--ATROCITIES + + IX--THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM AND + GERMANY'S ANNEXATION PROPAGANDA + + X--SAIGNER À BLANC + + XI--THE INTELLECTUALS AND THE WAR + + XII--THE LITERATURE OF HATE + +XIII--"MAN TO MAN AND STEEL TO STEEL" + +INDEX + +WHAT GERMANY THINKS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CAUSES OF THE WAR + + +In many quarters of the world, especially in certain sections of the +British public, people believed that the German nation was led blindly +into the World War by an unscrupulous military clique. Now, however, +there is ample evidence to prove that the entire nation was thoroughly +well informed of the course which events were taking, and also warned as +to the catastrophe to which the national course was certainly leading. + +Even to-day, after more than twelve months of devastating warfare, there +is no unity of opinion in Germany as to who caused the war. Some writers +accuse France, others England, while many lay the guilt at Russia's +door. They are only unanimous in charging one or other, or all the +powers, of the Triple Entente. We shall see that every power now at war, +with the exception of Germany and Italy, has been held responsible for +Armageddon, but apparently it has not yet occurred to Germans that the +bearer of guilt for this year's bloodshed--is Germany alone! + +It is true that the conflict between Austria and Serbia forms the +starting point. Whether or not Serbia was seriously in the wrong is a +matter of opinion, but it is generally held that Austria dealt with her +neighbour with too much heat and too little discretion. Austria kindled +the flames of war, but it was Germany's mission to seize a blazing torch +and set Europe alight. + +When the text of Austria's ultimatum became known, a very serious mood +came over Germany. There was not a man who did not realize that a great +European War loomed on the horizon. A well-organized, healthy public +opinion could at that period have brought the governments of the +Germanic Powers to recognize their responsibility. Had the German Press +been unanimous, it might have stopped the avalanche. But there were two +currents of opinion, the one approving, the other condemning Austria for +having thrown down the gauntlet to Serbia and above all to Russia. + +One paper exulted over the statement that every sentence in Austria's +ultimatum "was a whip-lash across Serbia's face;" a phrase expressing so +aptly the great mass of popular opinion. This expression met with +unstinted approval, for it corresponded with German ideals and standards +in dealing with an opponent. Yet there was no lack of warnings, and very +grave ones too. A glance at German newspapers will suffice to prove this +statement. + +On July 24th, 1914, Krupp's organ, the _Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung_, +contained the following: "The Austro-Hungarian ultimatum is nothing but +a pretext for war, but this time a dangerous one. It seems that we are +standing on the verge of an Austro-Serbian war. It is possible, very +possible, that we shall have to extinguish East-European conflagrations +with our arms, either because of our treaties or from the compulsion of +events. But it is a scandal if the Imperial Government (Berlin) has not +required that such a final offer should be submitted to it for approval +before its presentation to Serbia. To-day nothing remains for us but to +declare: 'We are not bound by any alliance to support wars let loose by +the Hapsburg policy of conquest.'" + +The _Post_ wrote on the same date: "Is that a note? No! it is an +ultimatum of the sharpest kind. Within twenty-four hours Austria demands +an answer. A reply? No! but an absolute submission, the utter and +complete humiliation of Serbia. On former occasions we have (and with +justice) made fun of Austria's lack of energy. Now we have a proof of +energy which terrifies us. This 'note' represents about the very +uttermost which can be said to any government, and such things are only +said when the sender of the 'note' has absolutely determined upon war." + +The principal organ of Germany's largest political party, the Social +Democrats, contained a still more emphatic protest on July 25th. A +telegram from the Belgrade correspondent of the _Vorwärts_ runs: "Since +the presentation of Austria's note, public opinion has become +exceedingly serious, although the city is still very calm. The general +view held is that Austria's ultimatum is unacceptable for a sovereign +State. In Belgrade no one doubts that Russia will stand by Serbia. +Everyone is certain that in consequence of Austria's excessively sharp +tone, Russia will not remain inactive should Austria resort to armed +force. The populace is prepared for war." + +In view of the subsequent attitude of Germany's Social Democrats, an +official proclamation, published in all their seventy-seven daily papers +on July 25th, is of supreme importance. At that date they had apparently +no doubt whatever as to the guilty party. The change of front in the +Reichstag on August 4th would seem in the light of this proclamation, as +nothing other than a betrayal of conscience. Further, the split which +has arisen in their ranks during the war leads to the supposition that +Liebknecht, Kautsky and Bernstein have been troubled by the inward +voice. + +This is the full text of the proclamation as it appeared in the +_Vorwärts_: + + "An Appeal! The Balkan plains are still steaming with the blood of + thousands of murdered; the ruins of desolate towns and devastated + villages are still smoking after the Balkan War; hungry, workless men, + widowed women and orphan children are still wandering through the + land, and yet again Austria's Imperialism unchains the War Fury to + bring death and destruction over all Europe. + + "Even if we condemn the doings of the Greater-Serbian Nationalists, + still the wicked war-provocation of the Austro-Hungarian Government + calls forth the most stinging protest. The demands made by this + government are so brutal, that in the history of the world their like + has never been presented to an independent State, and they can only be + calculated to provoke war. + + "Germany's proletariat, conscious of its mission, raises herewith, in + the name of humanity and civilization, the most fervent protest + against this criminal action of the war party (_Kriegshetzer_). It + (the Social Democratic Party) demands imperatively that the German + Government should exercise all its influence on the Austrian + Government to preserve peace, and in case this infamous war cannot be + prevented then to abstain from any warlike interference. No single + drop of blood of a single German soldier may be sacrificed to gratify + the lust for power of the Austrian autocracy, the Imperial + profit-interests. + + "Comrades! we call upon you to give expression to the working-classes' + unshakable will for peace in mass meetings. This is a serious moment, + more solemn than any in the last few decades. There is danger in + delay. A world war threatens us. The ruling classes who enslave, + despise and exploit you in times of peace desire now to misuse you as + cannon-fodder. From all sides the cry must ring in the ears of those + in authority: We don't want war! Down with war! + + "Long live international brotherhood! + + "Berlin, July 25th, 1914. + + "_The Leaders of the Party_." + +Two days later the _Leipziger Tageblatt_ announced that the Public +Prosecutor had commenced proceedings against the editors of _Vorwärts_ +for having distributed the above appeal in pamphlet form in the streets +of Berlin. From this fact we may conclude that the charges thrown out by +the Social Democratic Party were by no means congenial to the plans of +the German Government. + +The Liberal _Berliner Tageblatt_ (July 24th), gave its unreserved +support to Austria's action. "The Austrian Government has voiced its +demands in a calm and serious tone which contains nothing offensive to +the Serbian monarchy. Everyone who has considered the results of the +inquiry into the tragedy of Serajewo, and the burrowing of Serbian +propagandists in Austria, must give his absolute sanction to the +latter's demands. Much as every right-thinking man must desire that +peace should be preserved, still he must admit that Austria could not +have acted otherwise." + +Even the _Vossische Zeitung_, the organ of army circles, was more +conservative in its judgment. In the issue for July 24th a leading +article runs: "It cannot be denied that nearly every point raised by +Austria in her note is an encroachment on Serbia's sovereign rights. +Austria appears as the policeman, who undertakes to create order in +Serbia, because the Serbian Government, according to Austria's claim, is +unable to hold in check those 'subversive elements' within its +frontiers, which disturb Austria's peace. But only in this manner can +Austria protect herself against the criminals who are sent from Serbia +to the territories of the Hapsburg monarchy. No consideration whatever +can be shown to Serbia, as Austria's first duty is self-defence." + +In the German Press two widely-differing opinions found expression with +regard to the equity of Austria's demands, but the Press and people were +unanimous in believing that if these demands were ruthlessly pressed +home they could only lead to a European conflagration. + +In view of this latter danger, national opinion was again divided into +two camps: the first against war, the second determined to support +Austria and pursue the path chosen by the Berlin Government, no matter +what the consequences might be. The latter party included the vast bulk +of the nation; and Chauvinism dominated in the Press, theatres, +concert-halls, churches and music-halls. "Patriotic" demonstrations were +held before Austrian consulates, in restaurants and coffee-houses. The +Berlin Government was overwhelmed with telegrams from all kinds of +bodies--especially those with a military colouring, such as veterans' +clubs, societies of one-year volunteers, university societies, +etc.--calling upon it to defend Germany's honour against Slavonic murder +and intrigue. In short, all Germany gave itself up to a veritable +_Kriegsrausch_ (war intoxication) which found expression in the wildest +attacks on Russia and a perfervid determination to see the matter +through, should Russia venture to intervene in any way to protect Serbia +from whatever measures Austria thought proper to take. + +It is little to be wondered at that Russia in face of this spontaneous +outbreak did take military precautions, for all Germany made it +perfectly clear that no kind of intervention on Russia's part in the +Austro-Serbian dispute would be tolerated by Germany. It is true that, +late in the day, Austria avowed that she had no intention of annexing +Serbian territory, a declaration which Germans did not believe, and +certainly one which Russia had no reason to accept after Austria's +annexion of Bosnia and Herzegowina in 1908. + +Furthermore, Austria gave Russia every reason to cherish suspicion as to +her intentions. On July 25th Austria issued official orders for the +mobilization of eight of her sixteen army corps, in addition to which a +part of the _Landsturm_ was called up. The corps mobilized were: one +each in Upper and Lower Austria, Dalmatia, Buda-Pest, Croatia and Bosnia +and two Bohemian corps. Three-eighths of the forces called up were thus +placed very near to the Russian frontier. + +Vienna was wild with war-enthusiasm which found expression in +demonstrations lasting all through the night, July 25-26th. Austrian +officers, who have always been hated by the populace, were cheered, +embraced and carried shoulder-high wherever they were met. The effect +which this had in Berlin may be seen from the _Berliner Tageblatt_ of +July 26th: "An enormous mass of people gathered before the Russian +Embassy last night between the hours of twelve and one. The crowd howled +and hissed, and cries were raised: 'Down with Russia! Long live Austria! +Down with Serbia!' Gradually the police cleared the masses away." + +Russia ignored the incident, but when about a hundred Frenchmen +demonstrated before the Austrian Embassy in Paris at exactly the same +time, the Ambassador at once protested at the Quai d'Orsay and the +Director of the French Foreign Office immediately apologized. + +On the whole the reports of excesses in various parts of Germany against +any and all who dared to show any anti-war sympathies proves clearly +that the blood-lust aroused by the German Government's policy had +already passed beyond the control of the authorities. In Munich one of +the most modern coffee-houses (Café Fahrig) was completely gutted +because the proprietor endeavoured to keep the demonstrants within +reasonable bounds. Serbs and Russians were attacked and ill-treated. One +such incident occurred at mid-day, Sunday, July 26th, in Munich, of +which a full description is given in the _München-Augsburger +Abendzeitung_ for the following day. + +A few days later (August 2nd) the Princess Café, Berlin, was demolished +because the guests believed that there were Russians in the band. In +Hamburg on the following day a newly-opened restaurant was completely +destroyed because a young Dane had failed to stand up when the national +hymn was being played. "Yesterday a young Dane remained sitting during +the singing of the national hymn, for which reason the persons in the +hall became greatly excited. 'Russian, stand up!' was shouted to him. In +the same moment blows began to rain down upon him, so that, streaming +with blood, he was carried out." (_Berliner Zeitung am Mittag_, August +4th.) + +These are only a selection of many such incidents which show that the +national brutishness was appearing through the veneer. In the light of +such events where, on German soil, Germans murderously attacked their +fellow-countrymen on such ridiculous pretexts, it requires little +imagination to explain the outburst of brutality against Belgians who +dared to defend hearth and home. + +Meanwhile the smaller party which desired peace had not been entirely +idle. On July 28th the Social Democrats held thirty-two mass meetings in +Berlin to protest against war. "The attendance was in every case +enormous, but the meetings were all orderly and calm. The police had +taken extensive precautionary measures. The speakers were mostly members +of the Reichstag or the Berlin Town Council. Throughout they were guilty +of the most fiery and tactless attacks on Austria, _to whom alone they +ascribed the guilt for the warlike developments_. Each meeting adopted a +resolution against war. The chief of police had forbidden all +processions or demonstrations to take place after the day before. In +spite of this, many of the Socialists who had attended these meetings +tried to form processions, especially in Unter den Linden. As large +bodies of troops had closed the streets, small parties of the Socialists +managed to reach the Linden by means of trams and omnibuses. At about 10 +p.m. hisses and cries of 'Down with the war party!' were heard before +the Café Kranzler. In a moment the number of Democrats swelled to large +proportions and the workmen's Marseillaise was struck up, followed by a +short, sharp order. The mounted police advanced with drawn swords +against the rioters; the air was filled with shouts and cries of _Pfui_! +(Shame!). On the other side of the road the crowd sang the national +hymn. The masses clashed together, and the police advanced again and +again till the street was cleared. At the corner, however, the +Socialists formed up again, and began to demonstrate anew, so that the +police were compelled to attack them without any consideration in order +to preserve the peace. They cleared the pavements and galloped up the +promenade. Again the cry echoed 'Down with war!' and as answer came 'die +Wacht am Rhein.' But it was some considerable time before the struggle +ceased to surge to and fro." (_München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, July +29th.) + +Thus the great Socialist-International-Pacifist movement, with four and +a quarter million German voters behind it, fizzled out on the pavements +of Unter den Linden. Probably there were demonstrations in other parts +of Germany, but this much is certain, that the members of Catholic and +Protestant _Arbeiterverbände_ (Workmen's Societies) held meetings and +demonstrated in favour of war. On the other hand the Women's Union of +the German Peace Society in Stuttgart sent a telegram to the Kaiser, +begging him in the name of "millions of German mothers" to preserve the +peace. + +The most interesting protest against the war movement is undoubtedly the +following: "This, then, is the cultural height to which we have +attained. Hundreds of thousands of the healthiest, finest, most valuable +forces in the nation are trembling from anxiety that chance, or a nod of +Europe's rulers, malevolence, or a fit of Sadism, a Caesar-madness or a +business speculation, an empty word or a vague conception of honour, +will drive them to-morrow out of their homes, from wife and child, from +all that which they treasure and have built up with so much pain and +trouble--into death. The mad coincidence may arise to-day, may call them +to-morrow, or at any minute, and all, all of them will go--obeying +damnable necessity, but still obeying. At first they will whine on +seeing their bit of earthly happiness snatched away, but soon, +however--although their consciences may not be quite clean--they will be +possessed by the general frenzy to murder and be murdered." Franz +Pfemfert in _die Aktion_. + +Although this article appeared on August 1st, it had evidently been +written before the proclamation of martial law. It was one of the last +political articles which the paper published, for the next number but +one contains the announcement that "the _Aktion_ will in future only +publish articles on art and literature." The reasons are not far to +seek. + +In justice to the pacifist elements it must be stated that they were up +against bayonets. The only pity is that British public opinion, or any +section of it, had been led to believe that it could ever have been +otherwise. Austria had committed an unpardonable act of provocation, +which at first reasonable opinion in Germany openly condemned. +Simultaneously the German Government set in motion an avalanche of +racial feeling to play off against the just and moderate measures taken +by other powers to checkmate Austrian aggression. In addition to the +racial hostility, which had been lashed into bitterness during the +spring of 1914, came Germany's morbid conception of national and +personal honour. Lastly the fear of a Russian invasion was astutely +inoculated into the nation. + +It is the author's firm conviction, and the military events in Poland +and Galicia have only strengthened this opinion, that from the very +beginning Germany could have prevented any Russian invasion of her +territory, but she did not desire that end, but rather that the fear of +Russia should complete the "Kriegsrausch" of the German nation. After +frightening the people the Berlin Government struck its blow in the +direction of their political ambitions--to the West, and after the +Russians had been allowed to penetrate German territories they were +hurled over the Eastern frontiers at the end of August. While the Kaiser +was sending peaceful telegrams to Petrograd and Vienna, the Press was +full of horrible pictures of Cossack barbarism and the dread terrors of +the Russian knout, both of which--the public was led to believe--were +about to strike Germany. + +In this manner the Kaiser and his advisers created a national psychology +which left open only two alternatives: the absolute humiliation of +Russia and the consequent hegemony of Germany in Europe--or war. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +ON THE LEASH + + +Russia gave the world to understand by an official declaration, issued +on Friday, July 24th, 1914, that she was not an indifferent, but a +keenly interested spectator to the Austro-Serbian conflict. On the +following day Russia's declaration was published in almost the entire +German Press, and from that moment the same Press was flooded with all +kinds of attacks directed against the Eastern neighbour. Russia was +frankly told to mind her own business--the quarrel did not concern her. + +The German public immediately accepted this point of view, so that every +subsequent move on Russia's part appeared in the light of an +unwarrantable offensive. Undoubtedly the Bismarckian tactics of +publishing inspired articles in all parts of Germany were employed, and +their colouring left no doubt on the public mind that the much-talked-of +Slavonic danger had assumed an acute form. + +A request on Russia's part, made on July 25th, that the space of time +(forty-eight hours) allowed to Serbia for an answer should be extended, +only increased popular irritation in the Germanic Empires. This +irritation was accompanied by an unmistakable bellicose spirit which +called forth its natural counterpart in Petrograd. + +Nevertheless the fact remains that up till July 25th Russia had only +asked for time, and the reply given by the Berlin mob (?) during the +following night, was echoed throughout Germany. The view that Russia had +no right to interest herself on behalf of Serbia (passing over Russia's +right to preserve the newly-established balance of power in the Balkans) +is untenable. If Canada had a quarrel--just or unjust--with the United +States, it would be ridiculous to assert that England had no right to +intervene. + +This was, however, not the first occasion on which Germany had advanced +so preposterous a claim. During the tariff conflict between Germany and +Canada some years ago, a wave of indignant anger went over the whole +Fatherland, because England ventured to interfere. + +In any case, during the last week before war broke out, the German +Government succeeded in imposing upon public opinion the feeling that +the quarrel was a racial one; together with the conviction that Russia +was interfering in order to protect a band of murderers from just +punishment, and had neither rights nor interests at stake in the +quarrel. This conspiracy succeeded, but the whole German nation must +still be held responsible for the outbreak of war, because, as has been +shown in the preceding chapter, the nation had already been warned by +newspapers of various political parties. They had been plainly told that +Austria had exceeded the limits of all diplomatic dealings between two +sovereign States, and that Austria's provocation could easily kindle a +world war. + +Warnings and truths were alike forgotten, and the voices which uttered +them were now raising another hue and cry.[1] Racial hatred was ablaze; +the warlike instincts of a military people were calling for action, and +a diseased conception of national honour was asking why Berlin did not +act against the Russian barbarians. In one paper the author remembers +reading a violent demand for action against Russia before the national +ardour had time to cool down. + +[Footnote 1: The last mention of Austria as the guilty party is the +account of the Social Democratic demonstrations in Berlin on July 28th; +reported in the papers of the following day.] + +On July 26th Austrian mobilization was in full swing, and Russia +admittedly took precautions of a similar nature soon after that date. We +may be sure that Russia understands her neighbours better than the +inhabitants of the British Isles understand them. In 1909 she had +suffered a severe diplomatic defeat and corresponding loss of prestige, +because she could only use words in dealing with Germany and Austria.[2] +Now she was faced with the alternative of withdrawing from her declared +attitude (July 24th) or taking measures of a military character. In +order not to sacrifice her position as a European power and her special +position as the leader of the Slavonic peoples, Russia chose the latter +course, the only honourable one open to her. German papers and public +speakers retorted that Russia is the patron and protector of +assassins--a calculated distortion of the facts intended to have due +effect on public opinion. On all sides it was said that Russia had given +Serbia secret assurances of help which caused her to become stiff-backed +and unrepentant. Fortunately, it is possible to refute the accusation +through the pen of a German journalist, who described Belgrade's +desperate position on July 25th, the day when the ultimatum expired. + +[Footnote 2: "The interests of Russian and German imperialism have +continually clashed during the last ten years, and more than once Russia +has had to beat a retreat before Germany's threats." Dr. Paul Lensch, +member of the Reichstag, in his "German Social Democracy and the World +War," p. 35. Published by "Vorwärts Co." Berlin, 1915.] + +"At last the inhabitants of Belgrade have become aware of their serious +situation. 'We are lost! Russia has left us in the lurch!' is being +shouted in the streets. Journalists, who at 2.30 p.m. had assured me +that Russia had intervened in Vienna with success, succumbed now to the +general depression. The people believe that they have been betrayed and +sold; rumours of assassination pass from mouth to mouth. The ministerial +council has been characterized by violent recriminations, ending in +blows. Others asserted that the Crown Prince Alexander had been stabbed +by a leader of the war-party. Another whispers that King Peter is dying +from an apoplectic fit or as the result of an _attentat_. The reports +become wilder, and each increases the dread of some unutterable, +imminent catastrophe. + +"The streets are crowded with terror-stricken citizens. Curses resound +on all sides. Certainly a most unusual struggle is going on between the +two parties for peace and war. Shortly after three o'clock it seems to +be settled that Austria's demands will be fulfilled. It is true the +mobilization decree has been posted up on all public buildings, but that +means nothing. We still have nearly three hours in which all can be +righted. How will this gallows-respite be employed? + +"It is four o'clock. Messengers rush from one Embassy to the other. In +the coffee-houses the rumour goes round: 'Italy is our saviour in +distress.' Cries of 'shame!' against Russia are raised, while the +'_vivas_!' for Italy sound louder and louder. The crowd marches to the +Italian Embassy, but are received with long and astonished faces. No! +there is nothing to hope for from Italy. Next they go to the French +Embassy; now there are about two thousand of us. Another disappointment! +A young diplomat receives the thronging masses and talks empty nothings, +including a great deal about France's sympathy for Serbia. But in this +dark hour sympathy is of no avail. Downcast and silent, the people go +next to the representative of Albion--who declines to appear. + +"The confusion in the minds of the masses caused by the Government's +indecision increases from minute to minute; indescribable scenes are +witnessed before the General Post Office. It is alleged that thousands +and thousands of telegrams have arrived from Russia, begging the members +of Serbia's royal family not to give way to Austria. It may easily be +possible that the Russian telegrams all emanate from one person and have +been forged, in order to counteract the disposition to yield on the part +of the royal family. Without doubt both the King and Crown Prince have +lost all personal influence on the final decision. They are being slowly +carried along by the conflagration-party which obtained the upper hand +soon after four o'clock."[3] + +[Footnote 3: _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, July 28th.] + +This picture gives no support to Germany's accusation that Russia had +stiffened Serbia into resisting Austria's unacceptable demands. It +rather leads one to consider that an action which drives a weak nation +to arrive at a decision on so awful an issue in so short a time, is an +action discreditable to a stronger, and impossible on the part of a +morally great, power. If Serbia chose wrongly in refusing to bite the +dust, then the guilt is still chargeable to Austria for forcing her +little neighbour to take a choice in haste. Sir Edward Grey emphasized +in his speech of July 27th the shortness of the time which all the +Powers had had at their disposal to formulate a plan, by which the +conflict could be restricted to the East, or amicably settled. + +The leaders of the Germanic States had purposely willed it so. Several +unsuccessful attempts had been made to break up the Triple Entente, the +only barrier to the Germanization, _i.e._, Prussianization, of Europe, +and in the tragedy of Serajewo the Central Powers (or, at least, the +dominating factor of the two) believed they had found a lever with which +to break down the opposition by diplomacy. If that failed an immediate +appeal to the sword should follow. The diplomatic forty-eight hours' +_coup-de-main_ failed, and the programme contained no other item except +war. In a few words this means that the dastardly crime of Princip and +his fellow conspirators was exploited by Germany, acting through +Austria, to disturb the European balance of power under the guise of a +just vengeance. + +Sir Edward Grey formulated and circulated his conference proposal on the +next day, July 26th. Some persons to whom I spoke at the time welcomed +the idea; they belonged principally to the lower middle classes. One +well-known Pan-Germanist (Dr. Beckmann, professor of history in Erlangen +University) said that the proposal was an admission of a diplomatic +defeat and a sign that the Entente Powers were afraid to draw the sword. +If the three Powers in question were prepared to pocket this smack in +the face, then Germany would be satisfied, because such a defeat would +mean that the Triple Entente would never be able to work together again. + +It is interesting to compare with this opinion those of two leading +newspapers: + +(1.) "We understand that the German Government is not absolutely hostile +to England's endeavours to bring about a mediation between the +contending Powers by those not directly interested in the conflict. But +the German Government makes its participation in the mediation dependent +upon whether Austria-Hungary would accept this procedure, and in which +respect Austria wishes the mediation to follow. The German Government +cannot support any action which Austria-Hungary does not desire, as that +would mean exercising pressure. + +"From Sir Edward Grey's declaration in the House of Commons it is clear +that he was not thinking of mediation between Austria and Serbia, but +between Austria and Russia. This shade of meaning requires attention. We +think that any attempt at mediation between Austria and Serbia would +have no prospect of success, because in Vienna they do not seem inclined +to accept such an action. Diplomatic relations have not been broken off; +the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs confers still with the Austrian +Ambassador, and it is not easy to see why the other Powers Should not +further this discussion in a mediative sense. + +"But then Sir Edward Grey gave his idea more exact form and proposed a +conference between the German, Italian and French ambassadors and +himself. This conference of ambassadors is to seek a basis for an +agreement and then submit the result to the cabinets in Vienna and St. +Petersburg. In his yesterday's speech he emphasized the point that no +hostilities may take place till the conference has concluded its work. + +"Here, of course, is the difficulty which mars his plan, for it is +questionable whether Austria will consent to a postponement of her +military operations. Negotiations concerning Sir Edward Grey's proposal +are at present occupying the cabinets, and it is to be hoped that a +means will be found to make it acceptable to the Powers most interested +in the conflict."[4] + +[Footnote 4: _Berliner Tagtblatt_, July 28th.] + +(2.) "Germany not only cherishes, in a platonic manner, the desire of +the Western Powers to prevent the conflict between Austria and Serbia +spreading to the great Powers, but the Berlin cabinet has already been +active in more than one European capital in favour of a mediation which +will secure European peace. In this respect we are pleased (_Man +begrüsst es hier_) that, in consequence of Sir Edward Grey's initiative, +the mediation idea has assumed an official form and is open for public +discussion. There is, however, reason to doubt whether a conference +between four great Powers as an organ for the mediation is the most +suitable way out of the difficulty. Everyone is quite agreed that the +details of the Austro-Serbian conflict, which concerns these two States +alone, cannot be brought before the forum of a conference; but as +regards the removal in good time of any difficulties which may arise +between Austria and Russia, the question must be raised as to whether +the Governments of these States are willing to entrust an official +mediation to a conference of four other great Powers. For the success of +the mediation proposal it would be more practical if the means to this +end were made as simple as possible, and that use was made of the +current diplomatic discussions, in immediate communication with the +capitals of the Empires in question, in order to carry through a +mediatory action to the result desired on all sides. + +"In the employment of these means Germany would not fail to support the +Western Powers as she has already done up to the present."[5] + +[Footnote 5: _Kölnische Zeitung_, July 28th.] + +I have carefully searched the official publications of the Central +Powers (Germany's White Book; Austria's Orange Book), and can find no +record in them of any pacific action on Germany's part in either of the +European capitals; hence the claims made in the above article seem to be +an exaggeration. + +It appears incredible that these Powers should have omitted to give +proof of such action when making their case public for the sole purpose +of proving their innocence before the world. On the other hand, the +impression given by these books is that Germany and Austria's attitude +was: + +To SERBIA: The conditions must be accepted _ad hoc_ to the smallest +tittle and comma. Alternative, war. + +To RUSSIA: What we have determined upon is unalterable and inevitable, +and you must submit to this decision. Alternative, war. + +The _Görlitzer Nachrichten_ published the following paragraph on July +30th: "Vienna, July 29th. After having made inquiries in official +circles, the morning papers make this announcement: Count Berchtold has +informed the English Ambassador that the Austro-Hungarian Government is +grateful for Grey's mediation proposal, and appreciates the good +intentions of the British Government. A peaceful solution of the +conflict with Serbia is, however, no longer possible, as the declaration +of war had already been signed." + +Before leaving this all-important episode, it is instructive to compare +three other versions of the reason for refusing a conference. Sir Edward +Grey mooted the proposal for a conference to the ambassadors in London +on Friday, July 24th. On the afternoon he requested the British +Ambassador in Berlin to propose the conference to the German Government. + +In spite of this, document No. 12 in the German White Book, a telegram +from the German Chancellor to Prince Lichnowsky in London runs: "We know +nothing here of a proposal from Sir Edward Grey to hold a conference of +four in London, etc." Another telegram, document No. 15, bearing the +same date and likewise from Bethmann-Hollweg to Lichnowsky is as +follows: "We have immediately commenced the mediatory action in Vienna +in the sense desired by Sir Edward Grey. Furthermore, we have informed +Count Berchtold of M. Sasonow's desire to communicate with him +direct."[6] + +[Footnote 6: This message leads to the assumption that direct +communications between Vienna and Petrograd had already ceased, although +the _Kölnische Zeitung_ told the German public on the following day that +they had not.] + +The next document in the German White Book is dated July 28th. It is a +telegram from the German Ambassador in Vienna to the German Chancellor +in Berlin. "Count Berchtold begs me to express his thanks to you for +communicating the English mediation proposal. He replies, however, that +in consequence of the commencement of hostilities by Serbia and after +the declaration of war which has meanwhile been made he must look upon +England's step as being too late." + +In the Austrian Orange Book, p. 122, we find this passage in a telegram +from Count Berchtold to the Austrian representative in London: "When Sir +Edward Grey speaks of the possibility of avoiding an outbreak of +hostilities he is too late, for yesterday Serbians shot at our frontier +guards, and to-day we have declared war on Serbia." + +There are two points in these telegrams which require explanation. +Firstly, why should Sir Edward Grey's proposal take so long to reach +Vienna. Apparently it took from Monday to Wednesday to go by telegram +from London via Berlin to Vienna. Two German newspapers (already quoted) +knew of this conference idea on the 27th of July and commented upon it +in their morning editions of the following day. + +The other point is the Austrian statement that Serbia commenced +hostilities. If this were the case, one would expect that +Austria-Hungary, in declaring war subsequently to the alleged shooting +by Serbians at frontier guards, would make mention of the acts as a +_casus belli_. On p. 117 of the Red Book the text of the declaration of +war is given in full, but there is no mention of any resort to arms on +the part of Serbia. + +We are forced to the conclusion that Germany and Austria are mutually +responsible for preventing the conference; they desired war, and a +conference might have preserved peace. During the present summer (1915) +an important work has been published in Germany from which the following +passage is taken: + +"Grey thought the time had now arrived to formulate a mediation +proposal. This idea was from the very beginning unacceptable to Austria, +because that would indirectly be a recognition of Russia as an +interested Power in the Austro-Serbian conflict. Only those who have +followed the development of mutual obligations between the Entente +Powers are able to understand the role which Russia's two comrades +(France and England)--to say nothing at all of Italy--would have played +in this conference. During its sittings Russia would have continued her +military preparations, while Germany would have been pledged not to +mobilize. Finally, nobody could assert that the man (Sir Edward Grey) +who would have presided over these negotiations, could have been +impartial. The more one thinks about this mediation proposal the more +clearly one recognizes that it would have made for a diplomatic victory +of the Triple Entente."[7] + +[Footnote 7: Professor Hermann Oncken: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," +pp. 545-6.] + +Even the claim that Austria showed some inclination to permit mediation +on the points in her ultimatum to Serbia which were incompatible with +Serbia's sovereignty, has been categorically denied. The Vienna +_Fremdenblatt_ for September 24th, 1914, contains this official +announcement: + +"Vienna, September 24th. In a report of the late British Ambassador +published by the British Government, there is a passage which maintains +that Austria-Hungary's Ambassador, Count Szapary, in St. Petersburg had +informed Monsieur Sasonow, Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, that +Austria-Hungary 'was willing to submit the points in her Note to Serbia +which seemed incompatible with Serbian independence, to mediation.' + +"We have been informed officially that this statement is absolutely +untrue; according to the nature of the step taken by the monarchy in +Belgrade, it would have been absolutely unthinkable. The passage cited +from the British Ambassador's report, as well as some other phrases in +the same, are evidently inspired by a certain bias. They are intended to +prove, by asserting that Austria-Hungary was prepared to yield on some +points at issue, that German diplomacy was really responsible for the +outbreak of war. + +"Such attempts cannot obscure the truth, that Austria-Hungary and +Germany concurred in the wish to preserve European peace. If this wish +has not been fulfilled, and a European conflict has arisen out of a +local settlement, it can only be ascribed to the circumstance that +Russia first threatened Austria-Hungary and then Germany by an +unjustifiable mobilization. By this she forced war upon the Central +Powers and thus kindled a general conflagration." + +In dealing with Germany's endeavours for peace Professor Oncken writes +on p. 546 of "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg" ("Germany and the World +War"): "The work of German diplomacy took the form of giving warnings +and peaceful explanations." On July 26th she pointed out to the Russian +Government that "preparatory military measures on Russia's part would +compel Germany to take corresponding steps, viz., the mobilization of +the army. Mobilization means war." Oncken does not quote any of the +"peaceful explanations" (_friedliche Erklärungen_), and much as the +present writer would like to fill up this gap in his work, he must admit +his utter inability, because in the diplomatic correspondence he can +only find exasperating threats, thrown out to Russia by the two Germanic +Empires. + +The whole problem allows of a very simple digest: On July 23rd, +Austria-Hungary handed her ultimatum to Serbia, therein stating her +demands, and on the following day informed all the European powers of +her attitude. The neutral Press of the world and an unusually large +section of the German Press, immediately pronounced Austria's position +to be indefensible and untenable. The German Government, in spite of +these facts, gave its official and unreserved support to Austria's +attitude on July 26th. After eight weeks of war (on September 25th), +Austria officially declared that she had never swerved from her original +claims, nor ever felt any inclination to do so. + +It is true that the usages of everyday life do not always hold good in +diplomatic dealings, but it is instructive to state the case in the +terms of everyday affairs. Mr. A. (Austria) informs Mr. B. (Serbia) that +he has a quarrel to settle with him and states his demands. Mr. C. +(Russia) who is a relation, patron and friend of B.'s, interferes to see +fair play. Whereupon Mr. D. (Germany), a friend and relation of A.'s, +informs C. in unmistakable fashion that he must neither speak nor act in +the affair or he will be immediately thrashed. Messrs. A. and D. are +unanimous in this view and repeat the threat in mutual form. Meanwhile +A. attacks B. Mr. C, seeing that they will not accord him a hearing, +takes steps to compel them to hear him, at which point Mr. D. fulfils +his threat and falls upon C. + +It is not yet clear whether Austria would have permitted Russia to take +over the rôle of adviser and second to Serbia in her unequal struggle +with Austria. But from the moment Germany appeared on the scene the +situation becomes perfectly simple: Russia has absolutely no right +either to speak or move in the matter. On this rock of immovable +Germanic obstinacy the Russian ship of State, was intended to meet with +diplomatic shipwreck. Should Russia attempt to avoid this fate, then the +German sword could be trusted to arrange matters in the way desired by +Germany. + +The German language contains a very expressive phrase, +_Stimmungsmacherei_, which means creating or preparing a certain frame +of mind. How Germany's public opinion was tuned to the war melody is +seen by a study of the German newspapers published between July 25th and +August 1st. A great part of the German nation had welcomed Austria's +expressed determination to compel Serbia "to lick her shoes," as a +London paper put it at the time. Only the Social Democratic Party +persisted in asserting that Austria was the provocative and guilty party +down to the evening of July 28th. + +But three days earlier the process of educating public opinion against +Russia commenced. In fact, it required little tuning to arouse a +national chorus, which was swelled subsequently by the Social Democratic +voices, demanding that Russia too must bite the dust. + +At the psychological moment the terms of the alliance between Germany +and Austria were launched in the Press. One paper[8] wrote: "It is +interesting at the present moment to call to mind how the treaty +existing between Germany and Austria regulates the question of mutual +support." Then the various paragraphs are cited, and the article +concludes: "That is to say: (1.) Assuming Austria attacks Serbia, and +Russia as a precautionary measure sends troops to the Austrian frontier +without commencing hostilities against the latter, then Germany is under +no obligation to intervene. (2.) Assuming that Serbia is the attacking +party, and Russia gives her support by military measures which threaten +Austria, then the German Empire must immediately assist the Hapsburg +monarchy with the whole of her military forces. + +[Footnote 8: _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, July 27th.] + +"Hence it all depends upon who attacks; the interpretation of 'attack,' +however, is debatable both in politics and international law. Again and +again it has been asserted that that Power which declares war is not the +attacker, but the one which makes a continuance of peaceful relations +impossible." + +Innumerable notices of Russia's alleged mobilization appeared and, +probably with a view to encouraging Germans to stand fast, ghastly +pictures of the weakness and unpreparedness of the Russian army, in a +word Russian rottenness and corruption. Persistent rumours of +revolutions in Russia were current. + +A Vienna telegram published in Berlin[9] informed the German public +that: "News received from Warsaw deny the rumours that a revolution has +broken out in Russian-Poland, but it is true that yesterday the entire +citadel in Warsaw was blown up. Official Russian reports endeavour to +prove that the explosion was caused by lightning. The extent of the +damage is not yet known, but in any case it amounts to hundreds of +thousands of roubles. It is also not certain whether any or how many +lives were lost." + +[Footnote 9: _Vossische Zeitung_, July 29th.] + +A few days later the German official organ _Norddeutsche Allgemeine +Zeitung_ and the semi-official _Kölnische Zeitung_ published the +following report of the explosion. "According to the statement of the +Governor of Warsaw it was caused by revolutionaries. No proof of this +was forthcoming, therefore it was ascribed to lightning, and as nobody +believed this explanation--there was not a cloud on the sky at the +time--the guilt remained finally with the revolutionaries. + +"Now it has been proved, not to the satisfaction of the Russian +authorities of course, that Russian officers of high rank blew the +magazine up, because they would have to supply the troops with +ammunition after the mobilization--and the ammunition was not there. The +money for the same had found its way into the officers' pockets." + +On July 30th the _Vossische Zeitung_ announced: "To-day even more +alarming news has been in the air than in the last few days. The _Lokal +Anzeiger_ stated during the afternoon that an order for the mobilization +of the army and navy had been signed by the Kaiser. On making inquiries +in official quarters, we were informed that the 'news' is false. At +three o'clock Wolff's Bureau issued an official _dementi_: 'We have +received an official statement to the effect that the news published in +an extra edition of the _Berliner Lokal Anzeiger_ that the Kaiser had +ordered the general mobilization is untrue.' Great excitement was caused +by the _Lokal Anzeiger's_ announcement, and the public visibly +disquieted." + +The above report refers, of course, to incidents which happened on the +preceding day. The 30th of July was marked by the suppression of three +Berlin papers, including the _Berliner Neuester Nachrichten_, for +divulging the fact that the 1st, 5th and 17th Army Corps had been +mobilized. An account of this _faux pas_ appeared on July 31st in the +_Kreuz Zeitung_ and concluded, after denying the truth of the +mobilization, with the following paragraph: "If bodies of troops have +been moved to various points of our Eastern frontier, then it only means +the so-called frontier protection (_Grenzschutz_), which has been made +necessary by our Eastern neighbour strengthening his customary frontier +guards by troops of the line. Frontier protection is not generally +intended to prevent a serious attack, but means rather a kind of police +action." + +Two other passages will suffice to illuminate the mobilization question. +"Yesterday Russia gave official notification in Vienna and Berlin of +mobilization against Austria. Is it to be wondered at that a feeling of +disquietude is spreading throughout all classes of the nation. By delay +on our side, valuable military advantages may be lost if the people once +suspect that there is an absence of that firmness and joy of +responsibility (_Verantwortungsfreudigkeit_) which marked the action of +the Austrian Government and was hailed with jubilation by the German +nation. + +"_Summa summarum_: The German Government has taken honest pains during +the last week in showing its peace-loving disposition and in seeking a +peaceful solution to the crisis. Nevertheless the political situation on +all sides and in every respect, has become worse from day to day through +the fault and according to the intention of the Triple Entente."[10] + +[Footnote 10: _Kreuz Zeitung_, July 31st.] + +"The others are mobilizing. We--issue denials. We deny everything which +might mean mobilization or look like preparation for that step. It is +done for the sake of 'peace,' so that Russia, who is gathering her +national strength together in masses, may not be offended. Are we being +led? We look to the Kaiser. The Peace Societies and some of Germany's +enemies are looking to him. + +"Can we remain indifferent in our hour of dread need, when the gleaming +promise of a bright future appears in the distance, if the inability to +resolve and dare has made Berlin its headquarters. All efforts are for +'peace' with honour. But in politics one must be able to recognize when +it is impossible to continue at peace; when peace is at the cost of our +friends, our own security, and the future of European peace. In view of +this one must be able to act."[11] + +[Footnote 11: _Deutsche Zeitung_, July 31st.] + +The internal tactics of the German Government had been successful all +along the line. Insignificant Serbia had dropped out of the reckoning. +Russia must be humbled. The German nation, believing itself entirely +peaceful, and convinced that its leaders had done everything possible +for peace, now demanded in no unmistakable voice--action! mobilization! +war! + +Announcements of mobilization on all sides (Switzerland, Holland, +Belgium) doubtless added to the popular belief that Germany desired +above all things--peace. Still, in spite of the warlike spirit of the +nation and the burning desire to settle off Russia once and for all, +there was an undercurrent of overstrained nervousness. A Dresden paper +of July 30th relates that between the hours of two and four on the +preceding afternoon a Berlin newspaper had been asked thirty-seven +different questions on the telephone relating to rumours of +assassinations, mobilization, etc. + +The process of inspiring national confidence, however, had by no means +suffered through neglect. France was represented as being unprepared +and, together with England, desiring only peace. As early as July 27th +in the _Tägliche Rundschau_ the public had been told that Italy, had +officially declared herself ready and willing to stand by the Central +Powers as an ally. + +Even Japan was used to stiffen Teutonic courage. The _Deutscher Kurier_ +told its readers in a telegram from New York (?) that Americans fully +expected Japan to attack Russia in the back and Japanese ministers were +holding conferences all day and night. According to the _Weser Zeitung_, +August 1st, Japan was arming for war, while the _München-Augsburger +Zeitung_ published details of an alliance concluded between Austria and +Japan in Vienna on the afternoon of July 30th. According to this source +Japan had pledged herself to support Austria in case the latter was +attacked by Russia, while Austria declared her absolute +disinterestedness in the Far East. On August 1st the _Berliner +Tageblatt_ repeated this legend; but advised its readers to exercise +reserve in accepting it. + +"During the evening (August 2nd) the news spread in the streets of +Berlin that Japan was mobilizing and had already declared war on Russia. +Huge crowds flocked to the Japanese Embassy and spent hours in cheering +Japan, Germany, and the Triple Alliance."[12] + +[Footnote 12: _Der Montag_, August 3rd.] + +Meanwhile Russia, having failed to get her simple rights recognized and +knowing that Germany had made extensive military preparations, decided +on July 31st to mobilize her entire forces. The German Ambassador +immediately informed his Government of this step, and the Kaiser placed +Germany under martial law. On the same day the Emperor proceeded from +Potsdam to the Imperial Palace in Berlin. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE DOGS LET LOOSE + + +"Just after three o'clock a company, at war strength, from the +'Alexander' regiment marched under the command of a young lieutenant, +down Unter den Linden. Drums were beaten; a huge crowd listened in +solemn silence as the lieutenant read the articles placing the German +Empire under martial law. The crowd was fully alive to the awful +sternness of this historic moment. + +"After the proclamation was ended a deep silence ensued, then a loud +voice cried: 'The Kaiser! Hurrah!' Three times the shout rang to the +heavens. 'The German army! Hurrah!' Once more the caps were swung three +times. The boy-like lieutenant, with head erect, sword in hand, +commands: 'Attention! Slope arms!' The regular beat of marching men +follows as they proceed in the direction of the Imperial Residence. +Berlin is under martial law!"[13] + +[Footnote 13: _Deutscher Kurier_, July 31st.] + +"During the afternoon enormous masses of people collected in the streets +and open spaces of Berlin. Unter den Linden, in expectation of the +Kaiser's return, was overfilled with excited, waiting throngs. Just +before a quarter to four a great movement was seen from the direction of +the Brandenburger Tor, which spread like a wave along the street. +Everybody rushed on to the road, and the police were pushed aside. Then +the suppressed excitement of the last few days gave vent to a hurricane +of hurrahs as the populace greeted their monarch. The Emperor was +wearing the uniform of the _Garde-Kürassiere_; beside him sat the +Empress. His countenance was overshadowed by deep gravity as he returned +the welcome of his subjects. At a quarter to four the Kaiser was in the +royal castle, and immediately the Imperial Standard was fluttering +aloft."[14] + +[Footnote 14: _Vossische Zeitung_, July 31st.] + +The next twenty-four hours are so full of fateful events that they seem +one big blur on the memory. Although everyone was convinced that an +appeal to the sword was inevitable, there was still a tense feeling of +dread expectation hanging like a cloud over the land. During the whole +of that long night the author was an observer from an overcrowded train +which left Nuremberg at 9 p.m. and rumbled dismally into Cologne the +next morning at ten o'clock. Every station, great and small, was crowded +with anxious, expectant crowds; the smaller stations full of spectators +and relatives bidding farewell to departing soldiers, and the greater +ones crowded with fleeing tourists. + +On the platforms at Frankfort and Cologne many tons of luggage were +stacked in huge piles. It would be interesting to know what became of +them.[15] Few Germans could have slept that night; the anxiety was too +great. The whole railway line was guarded by patrols, many of whom were +in civilian attire. Here and there a "field-grey" uniform was visible. +On many stations armed guards awaited the arrival of reservists and gave +them conduct to the barracks. + +[Footnote 15: The _Königsberger Hartungsche Zeitung_ contained a +paragraph on August 7th to the effect that 120,000 trunks and +portmanteaux had been collected on Berlin stations alone.] + +The Kaiser spoke words of cheer from a window of the royal palace on +Friday evening, after which the restless crowd thronged to the official +residence of the Chancellor to receive as a watchword the words which +Prince Friedrich Karl had spoken on a memorable occasion to his +Brandenburger troops: "Let your hearts beat to God, and your blows on +the enemy." + +An ultimatum was despatched to St. Petersburg and presented at midnight +to the Russian Government. The latter was requested to cancel all +mobilization orders within twelve hours, or war would ensue. +Simultaneously the French Government was asked what its attitude would +be in case of a Russo-German war. In these measures it is safe to +conclude that the German nation was heart and soul behind the +Government, otherwise the tremendous outbreak of national enthusiasm +throughout the length and breadth of the land would be entirely +inexplicable. + +Throughout the day the nation awaited, under tense strain, an answer +from Russia. "At five o'clock the excitement of the masses in Unter den +Linden had increased to a degree almost beyond endurance. The crowd +surged from side to side when a court carriage or an officer drove by in +a motor-car. Everyone felt that the fateful decision might fall at any +minute, when the German nation would know its fate. + +"Suddenly motor-cars full of officers appeared from the gates of the +royal residence. They shouted to the excited crowd that the general +mobilization had been ordered. One officer waved his drawn sword, +another his handkerchief, while others stood up and waved their caps. +Then an indescribable scene of jubilation followed; the parole +'mobilization' was passed on by the police, and in less time than it +takes to write, the hundreds of thousands of human beings surging to and +fro between the monument to 'Old Fritz' and the Lustgarten, knew that +Germany would now speak with her sword."[16] + +[Footnote 16: _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 2nd.] + +"Our hour of destiny has struck! Germany, the strongest and most +peaceful nation on earth, appeals to the sword. The last call which we +sent across the Eastern frontier has remained unanswered. The enemy is +mute. Now Germany speaks! + +"The Kaiser calls the Empire to arms! Our King will lead Bavaria's +armies to him. The nation is ready, armed to the teeth. Challenged by a +dishonest opponent who envies us the fruit of our peaceful toil, the +hands of German men leave their work and grasp the sword. Our enemy +shall learn to his terrible cost, what it means to summon a nation in +arms to the battlefield. The German army goes out to fight for our +country, in a cause which is more stainless and pure than the light of +the sun. The disgraceful Muscovite conspiracy, creeping in the footsteps +of Serbian murderers, believes the moment has arrived in which they will +be able to fall upon, overthrow and plunder us; Russia desires to kindle +a world war. + +"We believe that he will not succeed; but should it thus fall out, we +Germans will defend not only our land and ourselves; but, in this war +which has been forced upon us in the basest manner possible, we shall +defend the civilization of the world, the culture of the earth, against +debased 'unculture' and the spreading roots of decay. This is a lofty +and tremendous task. If we are victorious, as we confidently trust, then +the ever-increasing number of civilized peoples honestly toiling in the +blessings of peace, will thank us for centuries to come. + +"Brothers! Sisters! such an hour has come that the history of the world +has never witnessed before. In the struggle which now begins--a deadly +grapple frivolously conjured up by Russia's monarch--the whole earth +will groan. The German people, however, will prove that it is worthy to +retain and develop its leading place in the intellectual and cultural +progress of the world. Our enemy envies us this position because in his +land, stupidity and confusion reign supreme; his own uncivilization and +barbarism cannot be rooted out. + +"We will prevent him from throwing Europe back to the conditions in +which he and his likes dwell. May God grant that the civilized peoples +of Europe may have true understanding for this historic hour, just as +their heroic ancestors understood the danger when they hurled themselves +against the invasions of the Mongols. + +"First of all the German nation will march against the armies of the +East, and, hand in hand with our ally, we hope will so grip the enemy +that he will lose all desire ever to attack us again."[17] + +[Footnote 17: _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, August 2nd.] + +The last lines of this perfervid article, give an instructive clue. A +mere quibble had arisen between the Central Powers and Russia. The +former immediately adopted an arrogant, even threatening, attitude which +thoughtful Germans condemned. Russia's willingness to submit the +question to an arbitration conference consisting of four neutral +ambassadors seems only to have intensified Teutonic lust to humiliate +the opponent. In any case, it is interesting to note that between July +24th and 31st the whole German nation had been converted to the +uncompromising attitude of the Government. + +Further, it is evident that the German people believed they were about +to march against Russia. The very last remark which I heard from German +lips as we entered the train to leave Erlangen on July 31st was: "Jetzt +werden die Russen abgeklöpft." ("Now the Russians will get a +whacking.")[18] + +[Footnote 18: We left Erlangen at 3.30 p.m. Martial law had been +proclaimed some time previous to that. But the proclamation in Berlin +occurred at 3.30 p.m. on the same day. The _Berliner Abendblatt_ +published on the same evening states that the Kaiser had been waiting +and hoping for a peaceful answer from Russia. The Bavarian authorities +could not have taken so serious a step without an order from the Highest +War Lord, which leads to the conclusion that it was a device to get +military preparation well under way.] + +The Berlin cabinet mobilized Germany's armed strength, as they alleged, +against Russia, and the Government succeeded in arousing and enlisting +national enthusiasm against the Eastern neighbour. Yet when the time +came to strike, Germany's might was hurled against neutral Belgium and +unwilling France, while Russia was left free to overrun the Eastern part +of Germany. The blood-guilt rests in the first place with the Kaiser and +his Government, and in the second place (although in no less a degree) +with the German people, because they condoned the crime and acquiesced +in the duplicity. + +While the war fury seethed through the nation the cry echoed on all +sides: "We want peace! We have worked for a peaceful solution!" Yet a +study of the workings of the national mind as revealed in the German +Press, and of diplomatic doings as shown in the German White Book, +affords not a single instance--excepting the Socialists' +demonstrations--of any tangible, concrete effort made either by the +German people or its representative diplomacy to avoid a catastrophe. On +the other hand it must be said that the latter (German diplomacy) +deliberately baulked the only practical proposal (Sir Edward Grey's) +which could have brought about a solution. The German nation _did_ +desire peace, but only on the condition that their opponents granted +Germany and Austria's arrogant claims down to the smallest tittle. + +Exactly at six minutes to one (midday) on August 1st, a telegram left +Berlin instructing the German Ambassador in St. Petersburg to declare +war on Russia at 5 p.m. if the latter State had not given a satisfactory +answer to Germany's ultimatum by that time. Count Pourtalès performed +this duty, and therewith the sands of fate ran out. + +On the previous day summonses had been issued calling a meeting of the +Reichstag for Tuesday, August 4th. The opening ceremony took place at 1 +p.m. and all the political parties were present, except the Social +Democrats, who, according to their traditions, did not appear, and thus +escaped the famous hand-shaking scene. The Kaiser and two of his sons +appeared in field-grey uniform. His theatrical appeal for the leaders of +each party to swear fidelity to the national cause by shaking hands with +him, as well as his saying that "Now there are only Germans," may have +been spontaneous; but it is far more probable that they were meant to be +a diplomatic appeal to the sentimental vanity of the German nation. + +It would be superfluous to deal with the speech from the throne in this +place, but at the close of the ceremony an incident occurred which +deserves mention. "After taking leave of the Reichstag's representatives +the Kaiser stretched out his hand to the famous professor of +jurisprudence in Strasbourg University, Dr. van Calker. The Kaiser +looked steadily at Professor van Calker for a moment, then, after the +handshake, clenched his fist and struck downwards uttering these words: +'Nun aber wollen wir sie dreschen!'[19] ('Now we will jolly well thrash +them!'); nodded to the professor and walked away."[20] + +[Footnote 19: This utterance has since become a common theme for +composition exercises in German schools.] + +[Footnote 20: _Tägliche Rundschau_, August 5th.] + +The sitting in the Reichstag was a solemn event. On that occasion the +Chancellor expressed himself at length in defining Germany's position. + +"A tremendous fate has fallen upon Europe. While we have endeavoured to +maintain the prestige of the German Empire in the eyes of the world, we +have lived for forty-four years in peace and protected European peace. +In this work of peace we have become strong and mighty--therefore we are +envied. We have suffered with long-enduring patience; while in the East +and West, under the excuse that Germany is lusting for war, hatred for +us has been nourished and fetters wrought where-with to bind us. The +wind which blows there has now become a storm. + +"We desired nothing but to live on in peaceful toil, content with an +unspoken oath that was echoed from the Emperor down to the youngest +recruit. Our sword shall only leap from its sheath in defence of a just +cause. (Loud applause.) The day on which we must draw it, has dawned +against our will and contrary to our honest endeavours. Russia has set a +burning torch to the house of peace. (Loud cries of 'Quite true.') We +stand to-day in a forced war with Russia and France. + +"Gentlemen, a number of documents, collected in the haste caused by +these overwhelming events, have been laid before you. Permit me to +emphasize the facts which characterize our attitude. + +"From the moment that the Austrian conflict broke out we have striven +and worked to limit the quarrel to Austria-Hungary and Serbia. All the +cabinets, in particular England, accept this view; only Russia has +declared that in the settlement of this conflict, she must be allowed to +express her wishes. Therewith the danger of European complications +raised its threatening countenance. + +"As soon as the first certain news of Russian military preparations +reached us, we caused it to be made known in St. Petersburg, in a +friendly but unmistakable manner, that warlike measures and military +preparations would compel us also to take corresponding steps. But +mobilization is next to war. Russia assured us in a friendly tone (cries +of indignation) that she was making no military preparations against us. + +"Meanwhile England tried to mediate between Vienna and St. Petersburg +and was warmly supported by us. On July 28th the Kaiser telegraphed to +the Czar begging him to remember that it was Austria-Hungary's right and +duty to stop the Greater-Serbian agitation, as this threatened to +undermine Austria's existence. (Cries of indignation.) The Kaiser +pointed out to the Czar the gulf between monarchical interests and the +outrage at Serajewo; he begged him to give his personal support to the +Kaiser's endeavour to smooth out the antithesis between Vienna and St. +Petersburg. + +"Just before this telegram came into the Czar's hands, the Czar, on his +side, begged the Kaiser for his help: the Kaiser should advise Vienna to +be more moderate. The Kaiser undertook the task of mediator, but the +action ordered by him was hardly in motion, when Russia began to +mobilize all her forces against Austria-Hungary. (Excited shouts of +indignation and disgust.) But Austria had only mobilized certain army +corps against Serbia, besides which she had only two corps, and these +were far from the Russian frontier. + +"At this juncture the Kaiser informed the Czar that the mobilization of +his armies against Austria would increase the difficulties of mediation, +a task which he had undertaken at the Czar's express wish, and perhaps +render it impossible. Nevertheless, we continued our mediatory action in +Berlin, and indeed in a form which went to the limits permitted by our +alliance. (Great excitement.) During this time Russia renewed her +assurances that she was taking no military measures against us. + +"We come to July 3ist. In Vienna a decision was to be arrived at on that +day. By our representations we had already brought it about that Vienna, +which for a time was not in direct communication with St. Petersburg, +had commenced direct discussion again. But before Vienna could come to a +final decision, the news came that Russia was mobilizing--_i.e._, +against us too--her whole forces. (Cries of indignation.) The Russian +Government, although fully aware from our repeated representations what +a mobilization on our frontiers means, did not notify this step to us, +and gave us no explanations concerning it. + +"As late as the afternoon of July 31st a telegram came from the Czar to +the Kaiser in which the former pledged himself that his army should take +up no provocative attitude against us. (Great excitement.) But the +hostile mobilization on the Russian frontier was in full swing during +the night July 30th-31st. While we were mediating in Berlin the Russian +armies appeared on our long and almost entirely open frontier. France +was not yet mobilizing, but, as she admits, was already taking +precautionary measures. + +"And we? Up till then we had not--the Imperial Chancellor spoke with +great emotion and repeatedly struck the table while uttering these +words--called up a single reservist, out of a loving regard for the +peace of Europe. (Loud cries of 'Bravo!') Were we then to wait on in +patience till the Powers between which we are wedged should choose their +moment to strike? (A hurricane of voices, 'No!') To expose Germany to +this danger would be a crime. (Stormy, general and long continued cries +of 'Quite true!' and 'Bravo!' in which the Social Democrats joined too.) + +"Therefore on July 31st we requested Russia to demobilize as the only +measure which could save the European peace. (Loud applause.) The +Imperial Ambassador in St. Petersburg further received instructions to +inform the Russian Government, that in case our demand was rejected, we +should consider ourselves in a state of war with Russia. The Imperial +Ambassador has carried out these instructions. + +"What answer Russia accorded to our demand for demobilization we do not +know even to-day. Telegraphic announcements on this point have not +reached us, although matters of far less importance have been sent over +the wires. Hence, long after the expiration of the stated time, the +Kaiser saw himself compelled to mobilize our forces at 5 o'clock on +August 1st. + +"Simultaneously, it was necessary for us to inquire regarding France's +attitude. In answer to our definite question whether, in case of a +Russo-German war, France would remain neutral, the French Government has +replied that they will act as their interests dictate. (Laughter.) This +was at least an evasion, if not a negative answer to our question. + +"In spite of this, the Kaiser ordered that the French frontier should be +respected. This order was strictly obeyed with one single exception. +France, who mobilized at the same time as ourselves, declared that she +would respect a ten-kilometre zone along her frontiers. (Cries of +indignation.) And what happened in reality? Their airmen have thrown +bombs, cavalry patrols have violated our territory, and companies have +broken into Alsace-Lorraine. (Indignation.) Therewith, France, although +war has not yet been declared, has attacked our territories. + +"As regards the single exception which I have referred, I have received +the following report from the Chief of the General Staff: In respect to +French complaints of violations of her frontiers, only one case is +admitted. Against express orders an officer with a patrol from the 14th +Army Corps crossed the French frontier on August 2nd. Apparently they +were shot down; only one man has returned. But long before this single +instance occurred, French airmen had penetrated into Southern Germany +and dropped bombs, and French troops had attacked our +frontier-protection-troops in the Schlucht Pass. Up till now our +soldiers have confined themselves entirely to protecting the frontier. + +"So far the report from the Chief of the General Staff. + +"We are now in a position of self-defence, and necessity knows no +law![21] (Cries of 'Quite right!') Our troops have occupied Luxembourg, +perhaps they have already entered Belgium. (Loud applause.) That is a +breach of international law. The French Government, it is true, had +declared in Brussels that they would respect Belgian neutrality so long +as their opponent respected it. But we knew that France stood ready to +invade it. (Cries of indignation.) + +[Footnote 21: This sentence seems so important that I give the original: +"Wir sind jetzt in der Notwehr, und Not kennt kein Gebot!"] + +"France could wait, we could not; and a French attack in our flank on +the Lower Rhine might have been disastrous for us. Thus we were +compelled to ignore the protests of the Luxembourg and Belgian +Governments. + +"The injustice which we commit thereby, we shall try to make good again +as soon as our military goal is attained. Anyone who fights for the +highest, as we do now, may only think of how he may hack his way +through. (Hurricanes of applause; long continued hand-clapping in the +whole house and on the tribune.) + +"Gentlemen, we are standing shoulder to shoulder with Austria-Hungary. +Concerning England's attitude, the declaration made by Sir Edward Grey +in the House of Commons yesterday has made the standpoint which the +English Government takes up quite clear. + +"We have declared to the English Government that as long as England +remains neutral, our fleet shall not attack the North Coast of France. +Further, that we shall not disturb the integrity and independence of +Belgium. I repeat this declaration before the whole world and I may add +that if England will remain neutral, we are prepared--assuming mutual +treatment--to undertake no hostile operations against France's +commercial marine. (Applause.) + +"Gentlemen, so much for events up till now! I repeat the words of the +Kaiser: 'We enter the struggle with a clear conscience!' (Great +enthusiasm.) We are fighting for the fruits of our labours in peace, for +the heritage of a great past, and for our future. The fifty years are +not yet ended within which Moltke said we should stand at arms to defend +the heritage and the achievements of 1870. The hour of great trial has +struck for our nation. But we look forward to it with absolute +confidence. (Tremendous applause.) + +"Our army is in the field, our fleet is ready, and behind them the +entire German nation (roars of never-ending applause and hand-clapping +in the whole house)--the whole German nation! (These words were +accompanied by a gesture towards the Social Democrats.--Renewed outburst +of applause, in which the Social Democrats also joined.) + +"Gentlemen, you know your duty in its entirety. The vote of credit +requires no further argument, I beg you to pass it quickly. (Loud +applause.)"[22] + +[Footnote 22: _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 5th.] + +Unfortunately this eloquent exposition of Germany's case contains +inaccuracies which can only be described as conscious untruths. I have +already made myself responsible for the statement: "Lying has always +been the foundation stone of German policy."[23] Earl Cromer, in +commenting on this, gives additional evidence of its veracity.[24] + +[Footnote 23: "Soul of Germany," p. 192.] + +[Footnote 24: _The Spectator_, August 7th, 1915, p. 169.] + +The German Chancellor, when he justified his policy by the dictum: +"Necessity knows no law," evidently meant that necessity also recognizes +no law of truth. In any case, he remained faithful to the traditions of +his country. Although the German Press is both venal and supine, we +shall see that it has done the world a service and played its own +Government a foul trick. (Der deutschen Regierung einen bösen Streich +gespielt.) + +When Bethmann-Hollweg was thumping the table before him, and assuring +his immediate hearers and the world in general that the Berlin cabinet +had not called up a single reservist before five o'clock on Saturday, +August 1st, he was guilty of a deliberate falsehood. On July 31st, I +left Erlangen by the 3.31 train for Nuremberg; travelling in the same +train was Dr. Haack, professor of the history of art in Erlangen +University. He was accompanied by his wife and various colleagues, +including Professor Busch, who bade him farewell on the platform. Dr. +Haack is an artillery reserve officer, and he was then going to join his +regiment. At 8.30 p.m. on the same day, we spoke to Frau Haack on +Nuremberg station. The lady's face was very tear-stained and she was +about to return to Erlangen alone. She told us in a broken voice that +her husband had been called up. + +In "The Soul of Germany" I have given names and dates of other cases. I +do not propose to disgrace my word of honour by playing it off against +the German Chancellor. But acting on the principle of "Set a thief to +catch a thief," I shall adduce some instances from German newspapers. + +The Paris correspondent of the _Kölnische Zeitung_ travelled home via +Brussels; his adventures are related at length in the _K.Z._ for August +4th. On August 1st he was in Brussels and complained bitterly, in his +article, about the hotel service, and excuses it by writing: "The German +waiters had all left Brussels the day before (July 31st) to join the +army." + +An article dated Strasbourg, August 3rd, was published in the +_Frankfurter Zeitung_ on the 6th of the same month. The writer describes +the martial scenes which he had witnessed during the preceding week, and +mentions that the officers in the garrison had received a special order +to send their wives and children away from the city several days before +martial law was proclaimed. Friday, presumably, the order came for the +garrison to march to the French frontier, for on Saturday the regiments +were entrained and left Strasbourg. Our good German friend describes the +scene in the streets: "Alongside the ranks were the wives and children +of the called-up reservists, trying to keep step with the quickly moving +troops. Before sunset the regiments, all on a war-footing, had left the +city." + +Every layman knows that a reservist cannot enter a barracks in civilian +attire, and emerge five minutes later in full war-kit ready for the +march. The German Imperial Chancellor affirms that not one of them had +been called up before five o'clock in the afternoon of that day. It is +true that neither the age of miracles nor the age of lies has passed +away. Perhaps Herr Bethmann-Hollweg could explain why it was impossible +to send trunk-messages on Germany's telephone system during the last +three days of July, 1914. At least, the local papers in Bavaria asserted +that that was the case. + +The _Elbinger Zeitung_, August 13th, contained a reservist's letter with +this illuminating passage: "During the last few days everybody was in +readiness; our linen, etc., had been packed and sent off in advance. On +Friday, July 31st, the order arrived that I should present myself; +mobilization had begun. With feelings of joy I changed into my uniform +and rushed to join my company. The streets were full of frightened +people with tears in their eyes. We officers pressed each others' hands +and with ardent glances exclaimed: 'At last it has come!'" + +The Chancellor based his assertion that French troops had crossed the +German frontier, on the report from the Chief of the General Staff. This +authority admitted that German soldiers on August 2nd (Sunday) had +violated the French frontier and continues with these words: "But long +before that French airmen had dropped bombs in Southern Germany, and +French soldiers had attacked our frontier-guards in the Schlucht Pass." + +The _Frankfurter Zeitung_, July 31st, gives Bethmann-Hollweg and the +Chief of the General Staff the lie direct. The paragraph is dated July +30th, Kolmar, and runs: "The Schlucht Pass has just been barricaded by +German frontier guards. This is to prevent motor-lorries and such-like +vehicles from entering French territory without our permission. Several +papers have announced the alleged occupation of the Schlucht (gorge) by +French troops. The report is an absolute invention. (Die Meldung ist +völlig aus der Luft gegriffen.) I have taken the trouble to look round, +and may say that the usual tourist traffic is going on as usual." + +The remainder of the charge is that "long before August 2nd," French +airmen had dropped bombs on South German towns. The towns in question +are Frankfort and Nuremberg. The _Kölnische Zeitung_ contained this +paragraph on August 2nd: "A military report has just come in, stating +that French airmen dropped bombs in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg this +morning. As war has not yet been declared between France and Germany, +this is a breach of international law." + +Two remarks are necessary to supplement the above "news." Firstly, in +the Reichstag, the Chancellor said this attack had occurred "long before +August 2nd." Secondly, the _Cologne Gazette_ received the report from +the _military authorities_. That betrays the source from which all these +lies emanated. + +The author has in his possession a Nuremberg paper (_Fränkische +Tagepost_) for the whole of August, 1914. It contains absolutely no +mention of any air raid on or near Nuremberg. If bombs had been dropped +in the vicinity, it is quite unthinkable that the local papers should +contain no report of the affair. + +President Poincaré, on July 15th, 1915, declared the Nuremberg flight to +be a fable. The _Fränkischer Kurier_ (a Nuremberg newspaper) on August +1st, 1915, contains an article which states that the news of these +alleged airmen, whom nobody saw, was spread throughout the length and +breadth of the German Empire. This same paper ridicules the whole +affair. + +Another extract gives the key to the whole mystery. "Yesterday (Monday, +August 3rd), at 8 p.m., the following official announcement was given +out for publication. + +"Up till now, the German troops, in obedience to orders given, have not +crossed the French frontier. In contrast to this _since_ yesterday +(August 2nd) French troops have attacked our frontier posts without any +declaration of war. They have crossed the German frontier at several +points, although only a few days ago the French Government assured us +that they would keep a zone ten kilometres wide free from their troops. +_Since_ last night French troops hold German places in occupation. +_Since_ yesterday bomb-dropping airmen have come into Baden and Bavaria; +further, by violating Belgian neutrality, they have fled over Belgian +territory into the Rhine province and tried to destroy our railways. +Thus France has begun an attack upon us, and thereby created a state of +war. The safety of the Empire compels us to take defensive measures. The +Kaiser has given the necessary orders. The German Ambassador in Paris +has been instructed to demand his passports."[25] + +[Footnote 25: From the _Berliner Lokal Anzeiger_ of August 4th.] + +Germany had no earthly excuse to begin war on France, and imitating the +noble example of Bismarck in forging the notorious Ems telegram which +precipitated the 1870 war, the German military authorities forged the +"news" of alleged attacks by French airmen and French troops. The German +Official Press Bureau completed this vile, criminal work. + +Although the point is proved, a few more examples of the "airmen" legend +will be of interest. "Berlin, August 2nd. _Last night_ a hostile airship +was observed flying from Kerprich to Andernach. Hostile aeroplanes were +observed flying from Düren to Cologne. A French aeroplane was shot down +by Wesel." (From the _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, August 3rd.) + +The _Frankfurter Zeitung_, August 4th, contains three separate detailed +accounts of French airmen dropping bombs on Frankfort railway station +during the previous night. The third account will suffice. + +"The military authorities in Frankfort were informed last night that a +hostile airman was flying in the direction from Darmstadt to Frankfort. +At ten minutes past one the noise of the propellers as well as bursting +bombs was heard by those standing on the command-bridge of the Central +Station. In the dark night it was impossible to see the flying-machine. +As it approached the station, where all lights were out, fifty to sixty +soldiers stationed on the command-bridge fired at the aeroplane, which +soon moved off in the direction of the Southern Station. There, too, it +came under a heavy fire from soldiers and policemen. Nothing whatever +has been found on the ground or at the station, not even parts of the +bombs. It is assumed that the hand-bombs exploded in the air."[26] + +[Footnote 26: Yes, they burst in the air, _aus der sie gegriffen worden +sind!_ Author.] + +In peace times no German editor would dare to refuse any contribution +sent to him by the military authorities. The above airman-story +sufficiently illustrates the state of affairs in war time. + +"Chemnitz, August 4th. During the past night, between 3 and 4 a.m., a +French airman dropped bombs on Chemnitz. Bombs exploded in the streets +without, however, doing any damage. Apparently the shots fired at the +aeroplane were unfortunately without result." _Magdeburgische Zeitung_, +August 5th. + +This is an excellent example of how the Press trick is worked. A lying +report is published in a city hundreds of miles away from the scene of +the alleged occurrence. The extract where it was alleged that a French +airman was shot down at Wesel, on the Dutch frontier, was published in a +Munich paper, four hundred miles away. + +The last and supreme lie in Bethmann-Hollweg's speech is the most +insidious of all. The Chancellor sketched a truly moving picture of +Germany beseeching Austria to find a _modus vivendi_ between herself and +Russia. Germany claims that up to the last minute of the last fatal week +she was working for peace. Bethmann-Hollweg insinuates that on July 31st +a last decision was to have fallen in Vienna; he does not tell us what +that decision would have been, but he maintains that Russia's military +preparations forestalled it and so the decision was never arrived at. +Thus Russia destroyed the last hope of peace; the Chancellor falsely led +his hearers to believe that it was a certain hope and that the European +peace would have been saved. + +It is useless to choose one's words in writing of German diplomacy. This +is a base lie. Austria arrived at her decision previous to sending her +ultimatum to Serbia. This momentous decision was, that Russia had no +right to intervene in the quarrel, which means, in other words, that +Russia had absolutely no right to speak or use her influence in a crisis +affecting the destiny of the Slavonic peoples, neither had Russia any +right to move in a crisis which would disturb the balance of power in +the Balkans and in Europe. It was merely these rights which Russia +throughout the crisis endeavoured to establish; if they had been +recognized there would have been no war. + +In order to prove what the Austro-German standpoint was, and that from +first to last never changed, reference must be made to the Austrian Red +Book.[27] On page 24: Sir Edward Grey was informed by Count Mensdorf on +July 24th, "and I (Mensdorf) repeated to him (Grey) many times, that we +should stick to that view." + +[Footnote 27: Oesterreichisch-ungarisches Rotbuch. Vienna, 1915.] + +Page 25. Count Czécsen in Paris informed French Minister: "It is a +question which can only be settled between Serbia and ourselves," on +July 24th. + +On the same day the Austrian Ambassador emphasized the same point in an +interview with the Russian Foreign Minister--pp. 27-8. + +During the evening Monsieur Sasonow had interviews with both the German +and Austrian Ambassadors. The latter telegraphed to Vienna: "My German +colleague at once pointed out to M. Sasonow that Austria would not +accept any interference in her differences with Serbia and that Germany +would also not permit it."--p. 29. + +That gives the situation in its simplest form, and without making +further quotations, it will suffice to cite the dates on which it was +re-emphasized: + + July 25th in St. Petersburg, p. 89 + " 27th " " " p. 101 + " 28th " Berlin by Germany, p. 116 + " " " London by Austria, p. 123 + " 29th " St. Petersburg, " p. 128 + " 30th " Berlin, " p. 130 + " 30th " St. Petersburg, " p. 131 + " 31st " Vienna, " p. 133 + August 1st " St. Petersburg, " p. 136 + +Moreover, no less a personage than the Kaiser's brother confirmed this +view. In Prince Heinrich's telegram to the King of England, July 30th, +the following passage occurs: "If you really and sincerely wish to +prevent this terrible misfortune (a European war), may I propose that +you should exercise your influence on France and Russia to keep them +both neutral (in the Austro-Serbian quarrel). In my opinion this would +be of the greatest service. I consider this a certain means and perhaps +_the only possibility of preserving European peace_." + +Prince Heinrich expressed no hope that Austria could be persuaded to +make any concession, but merely requested King George to exercise his +influence to get Russia to accept a position impossible to herself and +incompatible with the balance of power in Europe. + +The rock of Germanic obstinacy was seated in Vienna, whether Germany was +the prime mover in erecting it remains to be proved. Germany knew full +well that European peace would be shattered on that rock, yet there is +no fragment of evidence to show that she tried to remove it; but there +is overwhelming proof that she encouraged Austria to stand by it, thus +causing a European conflagration. + +And as if the above were insufficient to prove that the German Imperial +Chancellor was guilty of conscious falsification, Austria put one more +nail in the coffin of European peace on September 24th, 1914, when it +issued an official communication to the Press, reiterating that Austria +had never dreamed of departing from the attitude which she first took +up.[28] + +[Footnote 28: "Die Schuld am Weltkriege" ("The Guilt for the World +War"), by an Austrian. Vienna, 1915, p. 59.] + +Germany's aim was to employ the Serajewo crime as a lever to put Russia, +as a vital force, out of the domain of European politics. In spite of +denials, there is reason to believe that Austria was inclined to listen +to reason, but Germany forestalled and prevented this by despatching an +ultimatum to Russia and then declaring war. + +A few other points in Bethmann-Hollweg's speech deserve brief notice. He +quotes Germany's threats, but not one word from the peaceful overtures +which were so often mentioned. He fails to cite any single point which +Austria had yielded at Germany's advice. Further, no proof of Germany's +vaunted "mediatory action" is discoverable either in the speech or the +diplomatic documents published by the Central Powers. + +In regard to his justification of the violation of Belgian neutrality, +the civilized world has already passed judgment, and in this place it +only remains to point out that the four hundred members of the Reichstag +cheered the Chancellor's announcement. This alone is a sufficiently +severe comment on the conceptions of right and justice which direct the +proceedings of Germany's highest legislative body. + +It evidently did not occur to the Reichstag or Germany's Imperial +Chancellor that, if necessity knows no law which respects a neutrality +guaranteed by Germany, then at a later date necessity would also +recognize no law which protected Belgian territory after Germany had +conquered it. A lamb in the jaws of a lion is in a truly dangerous +position, and although the outlook may be black, it is still wiser for +the lamb to try and avoid the lion's jaws. + +Bethmann-Hollweg saw the mote of Greater-Serbianism in Serbia's eye, but +he was peculiarly anxious not to perceive the beam of Pan-Germanism +which has blinded Germany's vision for a generation, and is the one and +only cause for the rapid increase in European armaments. + +Before consigning the German Chancellor's Pecksniffian oration to +well-deserved oblivion, there is one other fact to state, because it is +of immediate interest to Great Britain. In the person of +Bethmann-Hollweg the German Government stood before the world on August +4th, 1914, and endeavoured to prove that Germany was attacked, and that +her conscience was clear. There are even Britons who have got stuck in +Bethmann-Hollweg's peace-lime. Yet it would be interesting if the German +Government would explain why the civilian population was ordered to +leave Heligoland on the afternoon of Friday, July 31st. They were +allowed twenty-four hours within which to leave the island, and one who +was in the exodus describes the scene in the _Leipziger Neueste +Nachrichten_ for August 12th. Early on Saturday morning the civilians +proceeded on to the landing-stage, where several steamers were waiting. +"Suddenly the _Königin Luise_ started off without taking any passengers +on board, and soon disappeared under full steam." + +This was the boat which laid mines round the mouth of the Thames. +Although the German Chancellor protested his desire for peace with +England as late as August 4th, it seems quite evident from the events in +Heligoland that war with this country had been decided upon on July +31st. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +MOBILIZATION + + +"Munich.--Evening after evening masses of people thronged the streets. +The heavy, oppressive atmosphere weighed upon the spirit--a leaden +pressure which increased with every hour. Then came the stirring events +on the evening of July 3ist, when the drums beat 'general march' on the +Marienplatz, and a commissioner read the articles of war to a crowd +numbered by thousands. Thirty drummers and commissioners in motors +rushed through the streets of the city. + +"On Saturday evening, August 1st, the general order for mobilization was +proclaimed from the offices of the _Münchener Neuesten Nachrichten_. A +deep solemnity fell upon the masses of spectators and the crowd fell +into rank to march to the Royal Palace, from a window of which King +Ludwig spoke words of comfort and inspiration. Still singing the 'Wacht +am Rhein,' this river of humanity flowed on to the 'Englischen Garten,' +at the corner of which stands the Austrian Legation. A gentleman +addressed the representative of our beloved ally, who sounded in his +reply the note of 'faithfulness unto death.' + +"And now from out the stifling depression of the leaden weight of the +previous days there arose a terrible, united will, a single mighty +thought. The whole of a great and powerful people was aroused, fired by +one solemn resolve--to act; advance on the enemy, and smash him to the +earth! + +"Dresden.--I was sitting in the garden of a suburban restaurant; above +me were the dark masses of chestnut trees, while before us, above the +railway, was a long strip of bright, summer-night sky. There seemed to +be something gloomy and uncanny in the air; the lamps blinked +maliciously; a spirit of still expectation rested on the people; furtive +glances were cast from time to time at the near embankment. Military +trains were expected, and we listened nervously to the noises of the +night. The first troop-transports; where were they going--against Russia +or to the French frontier? It was whispered that the troops would only +be transported by night. + +"At last a pounding thud came through the stillness of the night, and +soon two colossal engines were silhouetted against the sky, like +fire-spitting monsters. Their roar seemed more sinister than usual. +Heavy forebodings rumbled out in the rocking and rolling of the endless +coaches--the clang of a future, pregnant with death and pain. Suddenly +the tables were empty; everyone rushed towards the lighted compartments +of the train, and a scene of indescribable jubilation followed as train +after train of armed men rushed by into the night. + +"Sometimes a troubled father was heard to exclaim: 'If only the first +battles were fought and won!' Yet calm confidence prevailed from the +very beginning. But the sight of the quiet, machine-like completion of +the mobilization strengthened our trust, even though a justifiable +indignation and rage filled our hearts at Europe's dastardly attack on +the Central States. Hate flamed highest, however, when England declared +war against us. + +"There are several reasons for this. In the north of Germany, the +Englishman is looked upon as the European who stands nearest the German, +and with whom we have the most sympathy. His personal reliability and +the manly firmness of his bearing, the culture of English social life, +English art and style, have given Imperial Germany many points of +contact and grounds for sympathy. Our historical interests have never +collided. Then we suddenly became aware that this country, under the +mask of friendship, had egged on the whole of Europe to attack us. Not +because we had injured English feelings or interests, but solely to +destroy a competitor and divide his coat of many colours. + +"No political necessity compelled modern Carthage to declare war on us, +but merely the avowed aim to do a good piece of business by the war. +Without England's intrigues Europe would never have dared to attack us. +In our case, therefore, hate has sprung out of disappointed love. +England has become our mortal enemy, just as Russia is Austria's. In a +word, the two Central Powers are inspired by moral superiority over +their enemies, and are determined to wage war on them to the last drop +of blood, and if fate permits it, to settle them off and settle up with +them once for all. + +"At the commencement of the mobilization the railway time-tables in +force were cancelled; railway traffic ceased, and only slow local-trains +ran, stopping at every station to pick up the men. During the nights a +gigantic transport of troops went on to the frontiers. From that moment +the sale of alcohol on the stations was prohibited. The publication of +news concerning troop movements was suppressed, in order to veil our +objective and to keep secret our strength on the various frontiers. + +"The trains in the Tyrol were decked with wreaths and flowers. They bore +Germans from the most southerly corners of our neutral ally--Italy. +Members of the _Wehrkraftverein_ (Boy Scouts) inspected the trains at +every station, and it is said that a Serb was found bound fast +underneath one of the carriages. Serbian scoundrels were found on all +sides; if one of them had succeeded in destroying the Brenner line the +whole plan of mobilization would have been disturbed. Therefore +sentinels were placed along the whole line and strong guards protected +every tunnel. At night all lights were put out and those on the engines +covered up; even the stations were not illuminated--everywhere darkness. + +"Slowly feeling its way, the train crept over the Brenner--it took +twelve hours; in Innsbruck the station was crowded with Germans to +welcome the warriors, and the ancient hills echoed again and again the +'Wacht am Rhein.' The solemnity which had marked the first days in +Munich had given place to boisterous joy. Thousands of men in mountain +costume had flocked into Munich to offer themselves as volunteers, and +the streets and station rang with their _jodeln_! (the peculiar cry of +Alpine herdsmen). + +"Outside the station lay vast quantities of materials for the Flying +Corps, and innumerable motor-cars. A regiment of artillery was just +leaving, while a band was in the centre of the station; the rhythm of +the kettle-drums rolled mightily, and the music clashed in the huge +central hall; thousands of voices joined in, then helmets, hats, caps, +rifles and swords were waved and the train moved off amid shouts: 'Go +for them! Cut them down!' ('Drauf auf die Kerle! Haut sie +zusammen!')"[29] + +[Footnote 29: Colonel Frobenius: "Durch Not und Tod" ("Through Distress +and Death"). Leipzig, 1915, p. 12 et seq.] + +"If I live to be a hundred I shall never forget these days. They are the +greatest in our history. We never dreamed that anything so overwhelming +could be experienced on earth. Only three weeks ago and we should have +been quite incapable of imagining its like. The feeling that we have +experienced something overpowering, something which we cannot utter, +overwhelms us all. We see it in each other's faces and feel it in the +pressure of a hand. Words are too weak, so each is silent about what he +feels. We are conscious of one thing alone: Germany's heart has appeared +to us! + +"At last we see each other as we are, and that is the indescribable +something--the birth of this great time. Never have we been so earnest +and never so glad. Every other thought, every other feeling has gone. +What we have thought and felt before was all unreality, mere ghosts; day +has dawned and they have fled. The whole land bristles with arms and +every German heart is filled with trust. If we were always as we are +to-day--one heart and one voice--then the whole world would have to bow +before us. But we no longer knew ourselves, we had forgotten our real +nature. We were so many and so divided, and each wanted only to be +himself. How was it that such madness could have blinded us, and discord +weakened us? + +"Now we realize our strength and see what we can achieve, for in spite +of all we have retained our integrity; we have suffered no injury to the +soul. Germany's soul had slept awhile and now awakes like a giant +refreshed, and we can hardly recollect what it was all like only three +weeks ago, when each lived for himself, when we were at best only +parties, not a people. Each knew not the other, because he knew not +himself. In unholy egoism everyone had forgotten his highest will. Now +each has found his true will again, and that is proved--for we have only +one. + +"In all German hearts flames the same holy wrath. A sacred wrath which +sanctifies and heals. Every wound heals; we are again healthy and whole. +Praise be to God for this war which delivered us on the first day from +German quarrelsomeness! When the days of peace return we must prove that +we deserve to have lived through this holy German war. Then no word must +be spoken, no deed done on German soil which would be unworthy of these +sublime days. + +"Groups stand at the street corners reading the latest news. One counts +aloud how many enemies we have: there are already six. A silence ensues, +till someone says: 'Many enemies, great honour, and we shall win, for +our cause is just!' Such utterances can be heard every day. That is +German faith; human might does not decide, but God's justice! That is +the Supreme blessing of this great time; we put our trust in the spirit. +Modern Germans have never breathed before so pure an atmosphere, for +Germany's soul has appeared to us. + + * * * * * + +"I am going to pronounce a blessing on this war, the blessing which is +on all lips, for we Germans, no matter in what part of the world we are, +all bless, bless and bless again this world war. I do not intend to +become lyrical. Lyric is so far from me that in all these three months I +have not composed a single war poem. No, I shall endeavour to count up +quite calmly, unlyrically, what we have seen during these three months: +point for point, the whole list of surprises, for they have all been +surprises, one after the other. + +"Only a few days ago a high State official said to me: 'Let us confess +at once that in all Europe nobody believed in this war; everybody had +prepared for it, but nobody thought it possible--not even those who +wanted war.' + +"All thinking men considered that the interwoven economic dependence on +each other among the nations, was so strong that none dare commit +suicide by commencing a war. Thus we spoke to each other, and that +seemed an axiom. Further, it seemed to be true that even if a madman let +loose the dogs of war, then it would be all over in a fortnight. The man +in the street imagined that it would be a kind of parade (_Aufmarsch_), +a mobilization test, and the power which succeeded best would be the +victor, for no country in the world was strong enough to stand the +enormous cost for longer than three weeks. + +"Now three months have gone, and we have stood the strain, and we can +bear it for another three, six months, a year, or as many years as it +must be. The calculation was wrong, all the calculations were wrong: the +reality of this war surpasses everything which we had imagined, and it +has been glorious to experience on so grand a scale that reality always +surpasses the conception. Even that is not true which we learned in all +the schools and read in all the books--that every war is an awful +misfortune. Even this war is horrible; yes, but our salvation. It seems +so to us, and so it has appeared to us from the very first day onwards. + +"That first day will remain in our memories for ever; never in all our +lives had we experienced anything so grand, and we had never believed it +possible to experience anything so magnificent. Word for word Bismarck's +prophecy (1888) has come true: 'It must be a war to which the whole +nation gives its assent; it must be a national war, conducted with an +enthusiasm like that of 1870, when we were ruthlessly attacked. Then all +Germany from the Memel to Lake Constance will blaze up like a +powder-mine and the whole land bristle with bayonets.' The war which +Bismarck prophesied was this war, and what he foretold came to pass, and +we saw it with our eyes. We saw the German mobilization with eyes which +since then have been consecrate. + +"All enthusiasm is splendid, even in an individual, be he who he may and +for whatever cause you like. In enthusiasm everything good in a man +appears, while the common and vulgar in him sinks away. Any enthusiasm +either of groups or societies in which the individual ego loses itself +is grand, but the mighty enthusiasm of a powerful people is +overwhelming. This was, however, an enthusiasm of a peculiar sort--it +was well disciplined, an enthusiasm combined with and controlled by the +highest order. + +"In this the fundamental secret of German power was revealed: to remain +calm in enthusiasm, cold amidst fire and still obedient to duty in a +tornado of passion. Then we were all inspired by the thought and +feeling: 'Nobody can achieve that, for in order to be able to do it we +have had to perform a huge intellectual and spiritual task. It is not +alone the result of the last century and a half; no, that work has been +going on for nearly a thousand years.' + +"What is the spirit of our German mysticism, the spirit of Eckhart and +Tauler, except: Drunkenness of the soul in a waking condition? The +accepted law on which all great German deeds rest, is: to dovetail +enthusiasm with discipline and order. From our Gothic, through German +_barock_ to Frederick the Great and Kant, on to the classical +period--what does all that mean if it is not the architecture of one +huge feeling? The soul runs riot in its imaginings and therewith the +intellect builds. The ravings of the soul provide the materials with +which the mind builds. + +"What is German music from Bach to Beethoven and from Beethoven to +Wagner--yes, even to Richard Strauss--but enthusiasm with discipline? +German music has been our mobilization; it has gone on just as in a +_partitur_ by Richard Wagner--absolute rapture with perfect precision! + +"Hence when we saw the miracle of this mobilization--all Germany's +military manhood packed in railway trains, rolling through the land, day +by day and night after night, never a minute late and never a question +for which the right answer was not ready and waiting--when we saw all +this, we were not astonished, because it was no miracle; it was nothing +other than a natural result of a thousand years of work and preparation; +it was the net profit of the whole of German history. + +"At the German mobilization not only our brave soldiers, reserves and +militia (_Landwehrmänner und Landstürmler_) entered the field, but the +whole of Germany's historic past marched with them. It was this which +inspired the unshakable confidence which has endured from the first day +of war. In truth, the dear Fatherland has every reason to be calm. + +"In the meantime something more has happened: all in a moment we became +Germans! We held our breaths when the Kaiser uttered these words. This +too arose out of the deepest depths of Germany's yearnings; it sounded +like an eagle-cry of our most ancient longings. Germany's soul has long +pined to tear itself from its narrow confines (_verwerden_, as Eckhart, +or _sich entselbsten_, as Goethe put it), to lay aside self-will and +sacrifice itself, to be absorbed in the whole, and yet still to serve +(Wagner). And this eternal German yearning had never reached fulfilment, +but self-interest and egoism have always been stronger; every German has +been at war with all the others. 'For every man to go his own way,' said +Goethe, 'is the peculiar characteristic of the German race. I have never +seen them united except in their hate for Napoleon. I am curious to see +what they will do when he is banished to the other side of the Rhine.' +And Goethe was right: no sooner was the land freed from the oppressor, +than each began again to think and act only for himself. Hence, when we +first learned of the Kaiser's words we felt almost a joyous fear. If it +were only true that now there were only Germans! But on the very next +day our eyes saw and our ears heard that at last there were only +Germans, and with that, all pain and fear was forgotten. If war is +awful, even a just war, a holy war--even for the victor too, we will +endure all that, for it is as nothing; no sacrifice is too great for +this prize--that we are all only Germans. + +"Since the Emperor spoke those words three months have passed, and there +have only been Germans in the land. These three months have brought much +sorrow to German hearts, for there is hardly a home which does not +lament a father, a son, or a brother. Nevertheless, one may say that +since our existence as a nation, Germany has never been more joyous, in +the best sense of the word, than in this time of suffering. Through our +tears the noblest joy has shone; not alone at the success of our arms; +it is not from pride at fighting against a world of enemies; it is not +the fact that we are now assured of a future which in July last we could +not have imagined; it is not the feeling of power, of which even we +ourselves did not know. That shining joy springs from deeper reasons. We +are glad because we have found each other; we did not know each other +before. Indeed, no one knew himself. Now we know each other, and above +all, each knows himself. + +"It was Bismarck who uttered these terrible words: 'When the unoccupied +German must give up the struggle and strife which has become dear to +him, and offer the hand of reconciliation, then he loses all joy in +life. Civil war is always the most terrible thing which any land can +have. But with us Germans it is still more terrible, because it is +fought out by us with more love for the strife than any other war.' + +"Does it not sound truly horrible for the greatest benefactor of a +nation, which has to thank him for having realized its century-old dream +of unity, to say in all calm and as something quite obvious, that his +own nation engages in a civil war 'with more love' than any other war? +And wherever we look in Bismarck's speeches, the same complaint is found +which had been the eternal lamentation of Goethe--the lament over the +lack of faith and will of the Germans. + +"How will it be this time? Will it be as after the Seven Years' War, +after the War of Liberation, after 1870? Will it be again all in vain? +As soon as the Fatherland is secure, will every German once again cease +to be a German in order to become some kind of -crat or -ist or -er? +This time it will be more difficult, for from this war he will return no +more into the same Fatherland. It will have expanded; the German +Fatherland will be greater. Arndt's poems must be written over again: no +longer merely 'as far as the German tongue is spoken.' Germany will +stretch beyond that limit, and in it the German will have work to do. + +"In his speech Bismarck spoke of the 'unoccupied'; but in all +probability after this war, for years to come, there will be no +'unoccupied' Germans. They will be fully occupied with the new +organization. What the sword has won, we shall keep. 'The pike in the +European carp-pond,' said Bismarck once, 'prevent us from becoming carp. +They compel us to exertions which voluntarily we should hardly be +willing to make. They compel us to hold together, which is in direct +contradiction to our innermost nature.' + +"As we cannot change our nature, it will be good if we take over for +good and all a number--a very considerable number,--of these European +pike. That will occupy the German peasant and give an outlet to his +superfluous energies. There will be no leisure-energy to discharge +itself in party strife. Further, we must build Europe up again. It stood +on rotten foundations, and now it has fallen to pieces. We shall erect +it again on a German basis, and there will be work enough."[30] + +[Footnote 30: Hermann Bahr: "Kriegssegen" ("The Blessings of War"). +Published in Munich, 1915, p. 5 _et seq_.] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS + + +It would be more than human if the German nation had actually realized +the lyrical picture painted by two well-known writers in the preceding +chapter. German newspapers, it is true, prove that the national unity so +loudly acclaimed was no empty word; moreover, they show conclusively +that grumblers and half-hearted enthusiasts were not lacking. It would +probably be more correct to describe them as "sober-minded patriots." +These elements had, however, to use a colloquialism, an "exceedingly +rough time." + +The author has already contended that the German is innately brutal, and +in proof thereof quoted the awful statistics of brutal crimes published +by the Imperial Statistic Office, Berlin. The present work will contain +a picture of the natural unfolding of this "innate brutality" in Germany +itself during war time, and on the battlefields of Belgium and France. + +There is no doubt whatever that a systematic, officially-organized press +campaign was carried on to madden the people and arouse blood-lust, +successively against Russians, Belgians, French and English. One is +almost inclined to exclaim: Providence caused some of the fruits of this +blood-lashing to be reaped in Germany! + +"Yesterday evening in the Riebeckbräu another free fight took place, and +quieter guests who refused to take part in the patriotic screaming of +the students and other mob elements were badly ill-treated. +Beer-glasses, ash-trays, chairs and other missiles were thrown about +freely. One man was struck on the back of the head with a beer-glass, +causing the blood to flow in streams. Helpless women, too, were beaten +and threatened."[31] + +[Footnote 31: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 1st, 1914.] + +Three days later the same journal contained a public appeal from the +Mayor of Leipzig, begging the inhabitants to preserve public order: "If +the disturbances in the streets, public houses, etc., should--contrary +to our expectations--continue, then we shall be compelled to take severe +steps to suppress them." + +On the same page there is another report of similar scenes, in one of +which a workman was "horribly ill-treated" by eight others. The army +authorities were compelled to issue a still more drastic warning on +August 6th. + +A victim reported his adventures in another Leipzig paper[32]: "I have +just read your article admonishing the 'hot-heads' to keep cool. The +General commanding Leipzig has also warned members of the public not to +allow excitement to lead them to 'deeds of brutality and crime.' I am a +good German patriot, and yet nearly lost my life at the hands of my own +countrymen." + +[Footnote 32: _Leipziger Neuesten Nachrichten_, August 9th.] + +The "good patriot" then relates that during the week he had spent an +evening at a concert in a beer-garden. Patriotic music was the order of +the day, and as each national song was sung he stood up with the rest of +the company. Towards the close of the evening he felt unwell and +remained sitting, an indiscretion which he truthfully says "nearly cost +him his life." Three skull wounds several inches long, his body beaten +black and blue, and ruined clothes, was the punishment for not joining +in with the "hurrah-patriots." + +Dozens of similar instances might be cited, but for the sake of +impartiality it is preferable to allow a German to generalize: "The rage +of the populace has found vent not only against foreigners, but also +against good German patriots, indeed even against German officers."[33] + +[Footnote 33: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 12th.] + +Probably one of the most glaring instances of German indifference to +brutality is afforded by the following incident. A commercial traveller +named Lüderitz, aged twenty-three, murdered his sweetheart in a Leipzig +hotel by strangling her with his necktie. He alleged that he had killed +the girl at her wish, and the judge sentenced him to three years, six +months' imprisonment--not even penal servitude! The report +concludes[34]: "As the accused has been called up to serve in the army, +he was allowed to go free for the present." Which means that if he +survives the war he may be called upon to undergo his sentence. + +[Footnote 34: Ibid., August 28th.] + +A South German newspaper[35] advised "German wives and maidens to avoid +wearing striking costumes, dresses and hats. Such restrictions are not +only desirable in the serious time through which our dear Fatherland is +passing, but such precautions are urgently necessary in the interests of +personal safety. For amidst the excitement which has unfortunately taken +possession of our people, ladies are not safe, either from insult or +assault, in spite of the fact that the police do their best to protect +them." + +[Footnote 35: _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, August 5th.] + +These are the bare facts, in a very limited selection, as regards German +brutality towards Germans. In the light of these events the question +suggests itself: How did foreigners fare in the midst of this +_Kulturvolk_? The answer is simple and expressive: "Not half has ever +been told;" yet the German newspapers contain more than sufficient +materials to prove that the floodgates of barbarism were opened wide. + +When martial law was proclaimed the Berlin Government caused official +announcements to be issued throughout the whole country, requesting the +public to assist in preventing tunnels, bridges, railways, etc., from +being destroyed by foreign agents and spies. The whole country at once +became a detective office of madmen! + +Ample proof is at hand to show that this lashing of the public mind into +brutal fury was the calculated work of the German authorities. "We are +now absolutely dependent upon reports issued by the authorities; we do +not know whether they are correct or whether they are merely intended to +inflame public opinion. Thus reports have been officially circulated of +Russian patrols crossing our frontiers, and from Nuremberg of French +airmen dropping bombs on the railways in that neighbourhood, whereupon +diplomatic relations with both countries were broken off."[36] + +[Footnote 36: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 3rd.] + +The whole Press, with the exception of at least some Social Democratic +organs, joined in a chorus of hatred and suspicion against Russians +residing in Germany. In bitterness towards the Russian State the +Socialist journals were solid in their hostility, but the author has +only discovered expressions of abhorrence in their columns concerning +the ill-treatment, even murder, of innocent foreigners in Germany. This +fact must be recorded to their honour. + +"Certain circles of Leipzig's population are at present possessed by +patriotic delirium and at the same time by a spy-mania which luxuriates +like tropical vegetation. In reality, love of Fatherland is something +quite other than those feelings which find expression in the present +noisy and disgusting scenes. These mob patriots must remember that in +their mad attacks on 'Serbs' and 'Russians'--that is to say, everybody +who has black hair and a beard, whom they at once conclude must belong +to those nations--they are endangering the lives of hundreds of +thousands of Germans in France and Russia."[37] + +[Footnote 37: Ibid., August 4th.] + +On the following day the same journal contained another detailed report: +"In spite of official appeals to the public to display self-possession +in these serious times, the nationalist mob continues to behave in the +most scandalous manner, both in the streets and public restaurants, etc. +The wildest outbreaks of brutal passions occur, and no one with black +hair and dark complexion is secure from outbursts of rage on the part of +the fanatics. Shortly before 5 p.m. yesterday a gentleman in the uniform +of a German artillery officer was sitting with a lady in the Café +Felsche; apparently somebody 'denounced' him for a Russian officer in +disguise. The police accompanied by army officers arrested and led him +into the street, where they were received by a yelling crowd. The +enraged mob forced its way past the guards and beat the 'spy' with +sticks, umbrellas, etc., till streams of blood ran down his face, his +uniform being torn to shreds. The officers and police guarding him drew +their weapons, but were unable to protect him from further brutal +treatment; indeed, it was with the greatest difficulty that they +succeeded in bringing him to a place of safety."[38] + +[Footnote 38: The unfortunate suspect was in truth a German officer.] + +On the last page of the same edition there is an advertisement which +helps to explain why the appeals for cool blood were useless. + + "APPEAL!" + + "Among the foreigners in our country, especially Russians, there are a + large number who, it is to be feared, are guilty of espionage and + attempts to disturb our mobilization. While the Russians engaged in + work on our farms may be allowed to continue their work in peace, it + is necessary to watch carefully those who are studying here, or are + permanent residents. + + "I call upon the inhabitants to take part in the task of observation, + and when strong suspicion is aroused to see to it that the suspects + are arrested and handed over to the civil authorities. + + "The protection of our railway lines and stations, telegraph wires, + etc., demands the most careful attention during the next few days. + + "VON LAFFERT, + "General in Command. + "Leipzig, August 4th." + +An interesting contrast to the above is a police order, issued by the +Director of the Stuttgart police.[39] + +[Footnote 39: _Leipziger Neuesten Nachrichten_, August 9th.] + + "Policemen! The populace is going absolutely mad. The streets are + crowded with old women of both sexes who have nothing else to do but + disgrace themselves. Each sees in his neighbour a Russian or French + spy, and imagines that it is his duty to thrash both him _and_ the + policeman who intervenes, till the blood flows; if not that, then at + least to cause an enormous crowd to gather in giving the alleged spy + over to the police. Clouds become hostile airmen, stars are mistaken + for airships and the cross-bars of bicycles are thought to be bombs; + bridges have been blown up, telegraph and telephone wires cut in the + middle of Stuttgart; spies have been shot and water supplies poisoned! + It is impossible to imagine what will happen when serious events + really come. + + "It has been proved that up till now there has not been the slightest + reason for all this alarm; but yet, judging by appearances, we are + living in a huge lunatic asylum. Everyone, if he is not a coward or a + dangerous idler, should be quietly doing his duty, for the times are + already serious enough. + + "Policemen! continue to keep your heads cool. Be men as you were + formerly, and not women. Do not allow yourselves to be frightened at + straws; keep your eyes open and do your duty! + + "BILLINGER, + + "Director of Police. + + "Stuttgart." + +It is not surprising that this humorous police commander expressed his +indignation in the forceful Swabian manner. Here are a few telegrams +which had been sent to Berlin from Stuttgart, or still more probable, +manufactured by the official Press Bureau in Berlin. + +"A considerable number of Russians and French--including several +women--have been arrested in Stuttgart to-day under the suspicion of +practising espionage. One of these arrests was made in the top-floor of +the Central Post Office, where the apparatus connected with the +telegraph office are to be found. + +"More arrests are about to be made in the environs. It has been +established that numerous attempts have been made during the last few +days to blow up the railway bridges. In Freudenstadt a gypsy's wagon was +seized which contained a quantity of explosives."[40] + +[Footnote 40: _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 3rd.] + +"Some of our contemporaries (Oh, shade of Pecksniff!--Author) announced +yesterday that in Stuttgart eighty, according to other reports, ninety +millions in French gold had been seized. In answer to our inquiry at the +principal office of the Würtemberg State Railways we were informed that +the statements are pure inventions."[41] + +[Footnote 41: _Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger_, August 4th.] + +Another Socialist paper which denounced this campaign of lies in its +columns deserves quotation. "The spy-mania luxuriates; every Russian is +in danger of assault by over-heated patriots. The nation, however, ought +to know that the Russians in our midst are labourers, students, +travellers and business men; it is exceeding rare for one of this class, +to sell himself to the scoundrels who follow the dirty practices of +espionage. + +"Civilization and good-breeding demand that everyone should respect the +dictates of international law, and treat the peaceful citizens of a land +with which we are at war, with decency. + +"Especially those wretches deserve to have their knuckles rapped who +circulate such infamous bear-baiting news as the alleged attempt on the +Crown Prince's life by Russian students."[42] + +[Footnote 42: _Vorwärts_, August 7th.] + +"The General commanding the Leipzig district has issued the following +reply in answer to an inquiry by the civil authorities: We know nothing +at all of an alleged attempt on the life of the Kaiser or the Crown +Prince. The commanding General von Laffert has never uttered the words +ascribed to him, that the Kaiser had been murdered. These reports must +be contradicted with the greatest energy."[43] + +[Footnote 43: _Leipziger Tageblatt_, August 3rd.] + +The following extracts are of the greatest importance, for they prove +beyond doubt the source of these lies, and the cold-blooded, calculated +manner in which they were circulated by the German authorities: + +"The decision as to what may be published in newspapers, is now in the +hands of the military commander in each district. + +"The regulations issued by the military authorities, force certain +restrictions upon us and threaten the existence of our journals. As +regards our principles and convictions no change has taken place."[44] + +[Footnote 44: The editor of the _Vorwärts_ to his readers on August +1st.] + +"Berlin, August 10th.--Major Nicolai, director of the Press department +of the General Staff, received representatives of the Press to-day and +communicated to them, _inter alia_, the following details: Our army +commanders decline to enter into competition with the lie-factories +abroad. They will convince the world that truth is on our side, and that +we spread neither lies nor coloured reports. We hope in a short time to +be able to prove how much our enemies have sinned against the truth. + +"What have we achieved up till now? The dreaded invasion of Russian +cavalry was broken up by our frontier guards alone. Indeed, in many +cases only the Landwehr was needed to throw back the invaders. What +about the destruction of important buildings, railways, bridges and such +like? Nothing at all has happened."[45] + +[Footnote 45: Condensed translation of the report in the _Leipziger +Volkszeitung_, August 11th.] + +On another page of the same issue a long official army order to the +Press is given in which this paragraph occurs: "All news given out by +Wolff's Telegraph-Bureau may only be quoted literally as they stand and +the source named by the initials W.T.-B." + +It is thus clear that the news-agency mentioned performs two separate +functions, although the German army authorities do not draw this +distinction. First, the circulation of reports issued by the Army +Headquarters in the field, for the truth of which the Berlin General +Staff guarantees. Secondly, the spreading of their own news, and +information supplied to them by other German Government departments. All +news published by the agency has thus received the stamp of official +authority, and the German public is too ignorant to recognize the +palpable fraud. + +"Metz, August 3rd.--A French doctor, accompanied by two officers in +disguise, was caught yesterday while trying to infect the water supply +with cholera bacilli. He was at once shot under military law."[46] + +[Footnote 46: _Deutsche Tageszeitung_, August 3rd.] + +"The report of the Metz water supply being infected, which was given out +by Wolff's Bureau yesterday, proves to be a pure invention. The agency +informs us that there is no ground for uneasiness, but the state of +affairs at present makes it imperative to exercise great care."[47] + +[Footnote 47: _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 4th.] + +"Coblence, August 2nd.--The Government-president in Düsseldorf reports +that twelve motor-cars containing eighty French officers in Prussian +uniforms tried this morning to cross the Prussian frontier by Walbeck, +west of Geldern. The attempt failed."[48] + +[Footnote 48: Ibid., August 3rd.] + +Referring to this episode another paper wrote: "The alleged attempt of +whole caravans of French officers, masquerading as German lieutenants, +to enter the Rhine province as spies is too adventurous to be believed. +Especially as it is known that the Dutch frontier is very strictly +guarded. + +"But Wolff's Bureau, which at present takes every precaution, circulated +the news. Hence we have here an instance of France violating Dutch +neutrality."[49] + +[Footnote 49: _Kölnische Volkszeitung_, August 3rd.] + +As far as the author is aware, the German Government has not yet +protested to the Dutch authorities for this breach of their neutrality. + +The poisoned-water-supplies lie deserves further attention. It was +scattered broadcast throughout the land, and millions of credulous +Germans reduced to a state of absolute panic and--what was intended by +those who spread the lie--blind hate against Germany's opponents. I have +before me a number of descriptions of scares in various parts of the +Fatherland. A few notices will suffice as illustrations. + +"A most terrifying report spread like wild-fire through the town last +Monday morning, and reached to the farthest suburbs. The waters of the +Mangfall had been poisoned by Russian spies, and everyone's life was in +danger. It is hardly possible to conceive the effect of this terrible +rumour. Messengers of despair rushed from house to house, knocking at +strangers' doors in order to spread the warning. 'That is a devilish +deed!' stammered the white lips of women. 'Only barbarians wage war in +this manner!' hissed the men, trembling with rage and hate."[50] + +[Footnote 50: The full report of this Munich scare occupies more than a +column in the _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, August 10th.] + +The _Breslauer-Morgenzeitung_ for August 10th contains an announcement +from the Breslau municipality warning the inhabitants that the waters of +the Oder have possibly been poisoned, and appealing for every precaution +to be taken before drinking from the town supply, till a fresh supply +can be provided. + +"The authorities in Danzig have declared the waters of the Weichsel to +be under suspicion of having been infected with cholera bacilli. It is +presumed that cholera is raging on the upper Weichsel in Russia, and +that the Russians have not allowed this to become known. Water from the +river must not be used for any purposes connected with human food or +drink."[51] + +[Footnote 51: _Leipziger Neuesten Nachrichten_, August 20th. A lying +report put in circulation hundreds of miles away from Danzig.] + +Finally the originator of these rumours piously contradicts them all and +announces, "lieb Vaterland magst ruhig sein," in the following words: + +"Wolff's Bureau reports: There is absolutely no reason for anxiety on +account of the alleged poisoning and infection of rivers, water supplies +and springs which have been reported unauthoritatively from all parts of +the country, and published in the Press. These rumours, which have +caused grave anxiety, on closer investigation have all proved to be +utterly unfounded."[52] + +[Footnote 52: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 27th.] + +The war had lasted for four weeks, and although no rivers had been +poisoned, the same could not be said of the currents of popular opinion. + +"While I was walking down a street in Breslau a tram suddenly stopped, +loud cries proceeding from within it. The occupants had discovered a +Russian, dragged him out and handed him over to a policeman who led the +man away. But the official was unable to protect him, and blows with +fists and sticks literally rained on the defenceless fellow. The couple, +surrounded by a howling crowd, had just moved away, when a nun attracted +the attention of the crowd. On account of a report that a Russian spy +disguised as a nun had been arrested the same morning, the people +imagined the nun to be a man in disguise. + +"Smiling at the ridiculous supposition and the maddened howls of the +ever-increasing throng, the lady endeavoured to enter a tram. Men placed +themselves in front of the car, others dragged the frightened woman out +again and with blows and kicks she was driven before them to the next +police station. But the saddest part of these excesses--and I am only +describing a few of which I was accidentally a witness--is that members +of the so-called educated classes participated in them."[53] + +[Footnote 53: A special correspondent in the _Frankfurter Zeitung_, +August 7th.] + +"On one of the most frequented open places in Breslau a soldier +approached a lady and looked searchingly into her face. She understood +him, and remarked with a smile: 'I am not a spy!' The man replied: 'But +you have short hair. I am sorry, you must come with me.' + +"She at once recognized that the wisest plan was to accompany him, and +turned to do so. The movement worked like a signal; the bystanders +immediately threw themselves in blind rage upon the defenceless woman. +In vain the single soldier tried to protect her, and equally in vain was +the assistance of two policemen who had come up. Her cries to be taken +into a neighbouring house for safety met with no response. + +"Her garments were literally torn from her body, a spectacle which +finally proved to her persecutors that she actually was a woman, but +that fact no longer protects her. Brutal instincts, once let loose, are +mad and unrestrained. Blows continue to fall on her head and kicks rain +against her body. She only tries to shield her eyes. 'Take her to the +police station' was shouted, but that is some distance away. And any +second may mean death--a horrible, disgraceful death. + +"Having arrived in the guard-room the officials are soon convinced that +they have to do with an absolutely innocent woman. Outside the throngs +yelled in triumph."[54] + +[Footnote 54: _Breslauer Generalanzeiger_, August 6th.] + +A German officer wrote the following account to the _Berliner Zeitung am +Mittag_ (August 5th): "May I supplement your article 'Spies and +Spy-hunting' with a few facts from my own personal knowledge. On August +3rd no fewer than sixty-four spies (?) were brought into the police +station at the Potsdamer Railway Station (Berlin). Not one was kept in +arrest, for the simple fact that they were all innocent German citizens. + +"Among others who were 'captured' and threatened with death by the +raging crowd on the Potsdamer Platz were: A pensioned Prussian major, +who was waiting for his son; a surgeon in the Landwehr; a high official +from the Courts of Justice; and lastly, a pensioned Bavarian army +officer who, on account of his stature, was thought to be a Russian. A +drunken shop-assistant egged on the crowd against this last suspect, so +that his life was really in danger. He was rescued by four Prussian +officers, who pretended to arrest their Bavarian colleague, and were in +this way able to lead him into safety." + +This twentieth-century reign of terror is not, however, without a ray of +humour. The semi-official _Kölnische Zeitung_ (August 4th) contained a +legend which set all Germany hunting for French motor-cars. "Several +motor-cars with ladies in them, taking gold to Russia, are on their way +across Germany. They must be stopped and a communication sent to the +nearest military or police station." + +"The occupants of the motor-cars carrying gold to Russia are said to +have transferred the precious metal to cyclists dressed as +bricklayers."[55] + +[Footnote 55: _Das Kleine Journal_ (Berlin), August 5th.] + +"The official announcement that French and Russian motor-cars had been +seen on our country roads has aroused the otherwise leaden, heavy +imaginations of the country people to the most incredible delirium. We +will limit ourselves to a single instance. One of our cars met a peasant +with a hand-waggon near Nerchau. As soon as he perceived the motor he +bolted in mad fright into a neighbouring corn-field. + +"Our man called in a friendly voice: 'My good fellow, what are you +running away for?' Then the hero answered in a trembling voice: 'I +thought it was a French motor!'"[56] + +[Footnote 56: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 6th.] + +On August 6th every important paper in the German Empire contained the +following paragraph issued by the "Army Direction" in Berlin: + +"The hunt for alleged hostile motor-cars must stop. It endangers the +motor-car communications so necessary to our armies." + +This warning was repeated in stronger terms on the following day, and +the roll of murdered victims began to leak out. "Unfortunately through +this hunt several persons have been wrongfully shot. In Leipzig a doctor +and his chauffeur have been shot, while between Berlin and Koepenick a +company of armed civilians on the look-out for Russian motor-cars tried +to stop a car. The chauffeur was compelled to put the brakes on so +suddenly that the motor dashed into a tree, with the result that the +occupants--several persons connected with the army--were hurled on to +the road and received dangerous injuries. + +"In Munich a chauffeur was shot dead by a sentinel because he did not +stop soon enough. Even children are not spared in this degrading fear of +spies. + +"Near Büren (Westphalia) the twelve-year-old daughter of Town Councillor +Buddeberg in Bielefeld was returning with her mother from Marburg in a +motor. Somebody must have telephoned that the car was suspect, for the +Landwehr Society placed armed sentinels at various points on the road. +They cried 'Halt!' to the chauffeur; just as the car was stopping, shots +were fired, and the girl sank dead in the arms of her mother. + +"Even the nationalist journals have expressed their astonishment that a +civilian society is permitted to hold the public highways with armed +guards. At Coblence a teacher and organist named Ritter was shot by a +sentinel."[57] + +[Footnote 57: _Leifziger Volkszeitung_, Supplement I., August 7th. Here +we have proof that Germany allowed armed civilians to murder supposed +Frenchmen, a fact to be remembered when weighing Germany's accusations +against Belgian civilians. The German Government has published a White +Book (328 quarto pages) during the summer, 1915, indicting Belgian +civilians with all kinds of atrocities. Waiving the point that if +Germany first laid aside international law she had no right to expect +Belgium to respect its dictates, it may be safely assumed that the +evidence cited by the Germans is of little or no value. The oath which +German soldiers are compelled to take precludes the possibility that +they would or could give evidence which reflected on the conduct of the +German army either in peace or war, even if the evidence is absolutely +true. "In the interests of military discipline" the truth must be +suppressed. The same oath is, however, proof that the German soldier +must be prepared to lay down either his life _or his honour_ in defence +of the army, and in a later chapter irrefutable evidence from German +sources will be adduced to show that the White Book in question contains +"sworn lies" emanating from members of the German army.] + +In its issue for August 11th the same newspaper gave the names of four +more victims who had been shot in Westphalia. Among them was a poor +woman of weak intellect; she was near a bridge, and failing to comply +with a sentry's challenge, was shot. The bullet passed through her leg +and killed a little girl who was working near her. + +Wolff's Bureau in Berlin reports: "In spite of the most urgent appeals +which the Army Direction has issued during the last few days, begging +the public not to place hindrances in the way of motor-cars, blundering +mistakes are still being made every hour in all parts of Germany, +accompanied by the most serious consequences. + +"The morning papers again contain reports of gold-motors having been +captured. There are neither gold-motors nor foreign motors in Germany. +Anyone who interferes with motor traffic is committing a sin against the +army."[58] + +[Footnote 58: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 10th.] + +Another warning appeared in all the papers of August 12th in a still +more imperative form. Yet a section of the public seemed to find a +source of humour in this tragic hunt. A correspondent of the _Berliner +Tageblatt_ gave an interesting report of his motor-ride (joy-ride?) from +Lindau to Munich. + +"We were hardly two kilometres out of Lindau when we were stopped by a +barricade of hay-wagons. On each side peasants stood with threatening +mien, armed with pitchforks, revolvers and ancient carbines at +full-cock. 'Hands up!' First visitation; we show our papers, everything +in order. Off again. + +"About every two kilometres this scene was repeated: road jammed with +huge, long wagons, the same excitement, the same discussion, but now and +then somewhat sharper. In some villages the duty to defend the +Fatherland has turned into madness. + +"'Here, get out! Where was this paper stamped? Yes, it is possible to +forge!' They refuse to believe anything; not even a passport from the +Chief in Command, nor papers proving me to be a German and my companion +a German officer. When I tell them that I am an author and journalist +from Berlin, they parry with a 'What the devil is that?' + +"These brave peasants defend their Fatherland well. Once we had to wait +half an hour till a _gendarme_ came and ended the comedy with a few +short words. Then we are allowed to get in again, and as I turn round a +peasant shouts a last greeting: 'Really, I took you for a common hussy +in disguise!' + +"They threaten us from the houses. Now and then the trigger of a gun +clicks as it is levelled at us from a window. The roads are lined with +peasants armed with all sorts of weapons, iron spikes, dung-forks, +clubs, scythes, and old swords from the time of our great-grandfathers. + +"Up to the suburbs of Munich they stand at every village by day and by +night to see that nothing happens to the Fatherland! And even if we were +stopped twenty-eight times in this short distance; even if we did have +to put up with hard words and black looks--we suffered all this gladly. +We rejoiced to see with our own eyes how valiantly our peasants defend +the frontiers of their Fatherland."[59] + +[Footnote 59: Edmund Edel in the _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 9th.] + +In due time the bloodthirsty Pecksniff who had set the avalanche in +motion appeared to express his holy indignation. + +"Wolff's Bureau has circulated the following warning. Berlin, August +14th. This fatal hunt for motor-cars has claimed yet another victim. +Recently an Austrian countess was shot while working for the Red Cross, +and now a cavalry captain and his chauffeur have been killed by a +forest-keeper on the look-out for Russian _automobile_. + +"The General Staff has again and again issued the most urgent demands +that this unhappy hunt for foreign motorists--which has already caused +the death of several good Germans--should cease. + +"It is unadulterated madness (_es ist heller Wahnsinn_) to search for +enemy motors in our land. Neither enemy officers, nor cars loaded with +gold, are driving around in Germany. Would that our people would stop +this horrible murder of their own countrymen and lend an ear to the +warning voice of our Army Direction. Our Fatherland needs every single +man in this serious hour."[60] + +[Footnote 60: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 15th.] + +Only one more nail requires to be driven home to prove the blood-guilt +of the German authorities for the murder of their own citizens. + +"Innumerable reports are in circulation about the capture of spies and +the prevention of plots against persons and buildings. In spite of the +fact that the military authorities have repeatedly and urgently appealed +for the exercise of the greatest discretion in publishing such reports, +the nationalist Press exploits every opportunity to disquiet the +masses and excite them to senseless delirium. + +"It is obvious that we shall not join in this game. We exercise our most +careful judgment before publishing anything; in these serious times we +must decline to speculate in the thirst for sensation which has been +bred in the public. Rather, on the contrary, we must beg our readers +always to accept all news, WHICH NOW EMANATE ALMOST ENTIRELY FROM +OFFICIAL SOURCES,[61] with the necessary reserve."[62] + +[Footnote 61: The emphasis is mine. Author.] + +[Footnote 62: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 7th.] + +The author has ventured to lead his readers on a mad-brained chase after +non-existent motor-cars and mythical French gold. He hopes that his +readers' patience has not been exhausted, because the ride may prove an +instructive education in German methods and the standards of truth +accepted in a country where only might is right. + +The object in view, in submitting these modern fairy-tales to the +British public, is to lay bare the pillars of truth which support the +Fatherland. During the first month of the war there was an outbreak of +brutality in Germany; contemporaneously with these horrors some million +members of the same nation flooded Belgium with dread deeds of an +indescribable nature. This is a noteworthy coincidence. + +We have seen how Germans treat Germans, which makes it easier to +comprehend how Germans treated Belgians. The present chapter gives a +picture of how the German Press is worked, how popular opinion is +created and blood-lust awakened. When dealing with Germany's defence of +her Belgian horrors, we shall find that her entire case rests alone upon +the utterances of her oracles of truth: Wolff's Telegraphic Bureau and +Germany's venal, lying newspapers. + +That was the reason for this mad joy-ride from end to end of the German +Empire, and that is the only apology which the author has to make for +introducing the latest contributions to Germanic mythology into an +otherwise serious work. + +Incidentally we have observed that German civilians were permitted to +bear arms and did not hesitate to use them "in defence of the +Fatherland," as Edmund Edel put it. The civilians were doubtless +inspired by the noble desire to grab French gold. Yet when Belgian +civilians--as Wolff's Bureau alleges--dared to defend their homes, wives +and children against the most treacherous and dastardly invasion in the +world's history--then, of course, Germany was perfectly justified in +murdering all and sundry, burning towns and hamlets and laying waste a +fertile land. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE DÉBÂCLE OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS + + +In the second paragraph of the Social Democratic programme published +after the Halle Congress in 1890, we read: "The German workmen's +socialistic party, although working for the present on national lines, +is aware of the international character of the workmen's movement, and +is determined to fulfil all duties accruing thereby to the working +classes, in order to make the brotherhood of all men a reality." + +At that meeting--the first to be held after the repeal of Bismarck's +anti-socialist law--the president claimed that they had secured more +votes at the Reichstag election than any other party; they were the +strongest political party in Germany. + +Since that year they have consistently increased their power, till in +the present Reichstag they have no fewer than one hundred and eleven +members, giving them almost an absolute majority. + +It seems an irony of fate that at Halle in 1890 one of the speakers who +dilated on international brotherhood and the inseparable bonds which +bound Belgian and German workmen--was a Belgian delegate! Singer, in +reporting on the doings of the representatives in the Reichstag, said: +"We consider peace among the nations to be an indispensable preliminary +for the improvement of social conditions. We vote against expenditure +for military purposes, because we are convinced that this continuous +arming, accompanied by the constant improvement of murderous weapons, +must be ended. It is contradictory to the civilizing task of the nations +for them to be armed to the teeth, lying in wait for the moment when +they can devour each other. + +"Militarism is an evil for the nations; its burdens cannot be borne for +ever, and even to-day the nations are collapsing under them. Modern +conditions are unbearable; out of them spring ever-increasing armaments, +and at last a time will come when war must break out, because the state +of modern armed peace will one day have become impossible." + +Another authoritative pronouncement from the report[63] of the Social +Democratic Congress in Erfurt, 1891, deserves mention. It is a passage +from a speech delivered by the elder Liebknecht in the Reichstag: "As +regards the defence of the Fatherland all parties will be united when it +is necessary to meet an outside enemy. In that moment no party will +shirk its duty." + +[Footnote 63: "Protokoll über die Verhandlungen des Parteitags der Soz. +Dem. Partei Deutschlands zu Erfurt, 1891."] + +This is an instance of what Germans call _Rückversicherung_, or a +covering insurance. Having pledged themselves never to leave the +Fatherland in the lurch--and the pledge was repeated on many +occasions--they were free to babble to French, English and Italian +Socialists about the blessings of internationalism, general strikes, and +eternal peace. But there is no single instance on record to show that +German Socialists considered any other benefits of internationalism, +except those which served the purposes of their own nationalism. + +At Halle, 1890, Liebknecht said: "These ideas are indisputably correct. +Nobody,[64] no matter how enthusiastic he may be for the international +cause, will dare to maintain that we have no national duties. National +and international are not opposing principles. The word 'national' must +be rightly understood. It includes only a certain, limited portion of +international humanity. The part belongs to the whole, and international +merely means going beyond the boundary-posts of the nation, the narrower +limits of the native land; to extend one's horizon to include the whole; +to consider humanity as one family and the world as a home." + +[Footnote 64: Liebknecht was wrong. There are dupes who hold that their +international obligations come before their national duties, and +unfortunately in the ranks of these traitors, English M.P.'s may be +found, who receive £400 per annum from the British State, presumably to +aid them in injuring the British cause.] + +The error into which British Socialists have fallen--or been led--is +their attitude towards militarism. German Democrats have never denounced +the bearing of arms; they have admitted that arms will always be +necessary, pre-supposing that the world continues along the same lines +of development as heretofore. + +They have only objected to the existing _form_[65] of militarism, but +otherwise they have always been unanimous that military training should +be compulsory and universal. Their British _Genossen_ (comrades) have +either misunderstood or wilfully perverted these teachings. German +Socialists have unswervingly insisted upon every man learning the use of +arms, while their British followers have preached absolute disarmament +and done their utmost to betray this country into weakening herself +below the minimum necessary to guard the land, and to maintain the +country's pledges to the world. + +[Footnote 65: Kautsky: "Die Internationalität und der Krieg" (Vorwärts +Publishing House, Berlin, 1915), p. 26. "We have fought against the +military system not to make the land defenceless, but in order to +introduce another system in its place, which will give us the necessary +guarantees that the army will always be the tool of the civil +authorities and never their master. When the latter is the case we call +such a condition 'militarism,' and it is against that alone that we +fight." Seeing that military power is absolutely subordinated to the +civil authorities in the case of Great Britain (Mutiny Acts), then +according to the principles of German Socialists their British +colleagues were wrong in all the efforts which they have made against +the armed powers of these islands.] + +In Halle, Herr Bebel made this statement: "I have already made it clear +that I consider the efforts of the so-called peace friends towards +disarmament to be useless (_aussichtslos_), because it is unthinkable +that the rival States would agree to legal restrictions concerning +disarmament. If such were made, each would endeavour by secret +preparations to out-do the other. War and national enmity are necessary +products of society, and the existing class distinctions." + +The Germans were quite logical in this matter; in effect they said--the +existing States and forms of government make militarism necessary, and +war inevitable. Therefore we declare war to the knife on every existing +government, including Russian Czarism, British constitutionalism, German +autocracy and American republicanism. They are one and all rotten, +unjust and inhuman. Our programme includes their complete overthrow and +the erection in their stead of a _Volksstaat_ (People's State). + +The position is perfectly simple, and to those who are sufficiently +ignorant and naïve this programme promises an universal salvation, as +delirious in its joy as that expected by African races when bending the +knee before images of wood and stone. German Socialists are pledged just +as irrevocably to the doctrines of brute force as are the Junker and +military powers in the German Fatherland. What is their industrial and +class warfare but an attempt to enforce the doctrine of might is right? + +In the official programme drawn up at Erfurt, 1891, there is a paragraph +stating a claim for _uneingeschränktes Koalitionsrecht_ (absolute and +unlimited right of coalition), which means that the masses may unite to +enforce what they will, and annihilate whom they please. The same rights +of coalition are denied to anyone else, and in the coal-strikes in South +Wales[66] we have a lurid example--such instances could not be found in +Germany--of the absolute and unlimited right of coalition at the risk of +undoing any and every other right. + +[Footnote 66: The strikes during the present war.--Author.] + +The point is this: German Socialists have declared their intention to +give no allegiance to any existing form of government and to overthrow +them at the earliest possible moment. Do British Socialists accept this +part of the programme? + +Throughout German Social Democratic literature we find Mr. Ramsay +Macdonald referred to as _Genosse_ Ramsay Macdonald, which means that he +is considered a full member of the brotherhood. If that is really the +case, and if he accepts their programme as one to be followed here he +would be favouring the substitution of the _volksstaat_ for the British +constitutional monarchy. + +In face of this it may be asked why do British members of the Socialist +party take an oath on entering the House of Commons, and why do they +accept £400 per annum to support a national State, if they have pledged +themselves internationally to overthrow it? + +The author admits his inability to solve the riddle, but during the +years 1902-1914 he has heard members of all non-Socialist German parties +assert that the German Socialists do not recognize any religious oath, +and sections of the Socialists admit this position. As a party they are +professedly atheistic; therefore when the might of the German State +compels them to take an oath--they take it with an inward +_Rückversicherung_. + +In a word, false-swearing is permitted, when one is obliged by +circumstances, to take an oath to authorities whose right and might the +oath-taker does not admit. So long ago as 1892 the Social Democrats were +publicly charged with condoning perjury in order to rescue fellow +members from the results of breaches of the law. Judge Schmidt in a +court at Breslau said in that year: "Social Democrats have never +concealed the fact that they are hostile to any religious form of oath. +For them the religious importance and responsibility of an oath has no +meaning whatever." Numerous German judges and authors have expressed +themselves in a similar strain. + +Readers who are interested in the point are referred to the report[67] +of the Socialist Congress held in Berlin, October, 1892. The party +leaders endeavoured to gloss the matter over with righteous indignation +and ambiguous phrases, but it nevertheless remains a fact that the +desire to counteract effectively, a tendency to perjury among Socialists +led the German Government a few years later to make perjury punishable +by penal servitude up to ten years. + +[Footnote 67: All these reports may be seen in the British Museum +Reading Room. Press mark is: 08072d.] + +Before leaving the _Volksstaat_ the author only wishes to state that it +lays the axe on every conception of morality, religion and social order +which we esteem. In the place of existing conditions, it would erect a +mob tyranny more degrading to the individual than Czarism or +Republicanism. The mines of Siberia and the tinned-meat factories of +Chicago may enslave the body, but the _Volksstaat_, as portrayed by +Socialist writers and speakers, promises an intellectual +tyranny--hopeless alike to body and soul; and those who have had an +opportunity to observe the brutal tyranny called "party discipline" +which rules the German Social Democrats, will bear the present writer +out in saying that its like, could only be found inside the German army. + +The strongest, best organized and most thoroughly disciplined political +party in the world has repeatedly expressed its unalterable +determination to place national before international interests, whenever +these two should seem to be at variance. In the light of these +declarations, the action of German Socialists in giving unreserved +support to the German Government in this war, is not altogether +surprising. + +Furthermore, this foundation-stone in their policy ought never to have +been left out of consideration when pondering over their ecstatic +utterances on peace and internationalism. + +The communistic manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, first +published in London in the German language in 1847, contains the +following: "Men say that we Communists wish to destroy the nationality +of the native land. Workmen have no Fatherland. It is impossible to take +away what they do not possess. The Communists scorn to conceal their +views and intentions. We declare openly, that their aims can only be +attained by the violent overthrow of all existing social orders. Let the +ruling classes tremble before a communistic revolution. The proletarians +have nothing but their chains to lose, while they have a world to +gain."[68] + +[Footnote 68: "Envy and greed are the two powerful levers by which the +Social Democrats are endeavouring to lift the world off its hinges. They +live by the destruction of every ideal." Treitschke in the "Preussische +Jahrbücher," vol. 34.] + +German Socialists have incorporated these principles _in theory_ in +their programme, but _in practice_ they do not hold them, especially if +their own skins are endangered, together with the Government which is +threatened by "violent overthrow." That is the sum total of their +extensive defence--literature published _since_ the outbreak of the +present war. In its naked reality that is what the guarantee-insurance +policy covered. So long as no danger threatened their own lives, goods +and chattels, such eloquence as the following extracts were shouted into +the world; but when they personally stood face to face with the Moloch +upon which for years they had heaped contemptuous abuse, then national +(_i.e._, personal) interests came first. + +Herr Fischer, in his capacity as president of the Socialist Congress in +Berlin, 1892, said: + +"The reception of French delegates at Halle, and of Liebknecht at +Marseilles, have proved incontrovertibly that the struggling French +proletarians are of one mind and heart with German Social Democracy. Let +the chauvinists, burning with hate on this and that side the Rhine, urge +us on to war; let the diplomats and Governments of both countries +sacrifice the well-being of the two nations to militarism and the +war-bogey. The working-men in the two countries stretch out their hands +to each other over the frontiers as pioneers of true culture and +morality. They are convinced that there is only one enemy which +separates them, and that it is their common task to fight against and +annihilate this one enemy--capitalism." + +"Now as ever, we Social Democrats reply to the Government's military and +economic policy this parole: Not a man and not a farthing will be voted +for this system!"[69] + +[Footnote 69: Social Democrat members of the Reichstag in their report +to the annual congress held in Cologne, 1893.] + +These quotations have been intentionally taken from speeches, etc., +published in the early nineties of the last century. If necessary, it +would be an easy matter to fill several volumes of similar matter from +the annual congress reports down to 1913; from the vast mass of German +Social Democratic literature published between 1890 and 1914; and from +the hundred party newspapers and reviews circulated in the Fatherland, +Yet in the face of all these assurances it seemed to us that the German +Socialists had shamefully betrayed their principles on August 4th, 1914, +by giving their unreserved support to "Germany's Holy War."[70] + +[Footnote 70: In all Germany, and among all classes, this has become the +popular designation of the European war: "_Unser_ heiliger Krieg."] + +Probably the betrayal was not so shameful as it seemed, because the fact +was not made known in this country that the German Socialists had but +imitated Bismarck's policy with Russia and Austria. (Bismarck concluded +a treaty, with the one Power, then behind that Power's back he concluded +a _Rückversicherungsvertrag_ with the other, _i.e._, a covering +insurance policy intended to protect him against all risks.) + +During a quarter of a century, German Social Democrats have been the +most ardent and insistent pioneers of internationalism and +anti-militarism. But it has not been so generally known that they too +have protected their rear by a _Rückversicherung:_ (1.) They have +consistently taught that every man must learn to bear arms, and that +both man and woman must be prepared to make any sacrifice for their +Fatherland. (2.) They have always held that national interests must be +considered before international palaver. + +In Chapter I. we have seen that up till July 28th, 1914, the German +Social Democratic Party considered Austria and Germany to be entirely +responsible for the European crisis. They had then no shadow of doubt, +that Austria alone was guilty for bringing the danger of a European war +to their very doors; from that point we again take up the story.[71] + +[Footnote 71: In all the mass of literature published by German +Socialists during the war I have found only one mention of their first +attitude to the war danger. On the first anniversary of the ultimatum to +Serbia (July 23rd, 1915) the _Leipziger Volkszeitung_ contains these +lines in a leading article: "To-day we may not repeat that which we +wrote about the ultimatum in our issue of July 24th, 1914. But there was +no doubt in any section of the Press, that Europe stood on the brink of +war from the moment that ultimatum was despatched."] + +Three days later they tacitly agreed that Russia was the guilty party +and acquiesced in the mobilization of the German army. On August 1st +this proclamation occupied the front page of their seventy-seven daily +papers: + + "PARTEIGENOSSEN! Military law has been proclaimed. Any hour may bring + with it the outbreak of the world war. Thereby the severest trials + will be imposed upon, not only our nation, but upon the whole of our + continent. + + "Up till the last minute the internationalists have done their duty, + and on the other side of our frontiers every nerve is being strained + to preserve peace and to make war impossible. + + "If our earnest protests, our repeated endeavours have been without + success, it is because the conditions under which we live have once + again proved stronger than our will, and the will of our workmen + brothers. Hence, whatever comes, we must now face it with firmness. + + "The horrible self-laceration of the European peoples, is the cruel + confirmation of our warnings to the ruling classes for more than a + generation; we have spoken admonishingly and in vain. + + "_Parteigenossen_ (comrades), we shall not live through coming events + in fatalistic indifference; we shall remain true to our cause; we + shall hold firmly together, permeated by the sublime greatness of our + cultural mission. + + "The women, on whom the burden of events presses two and threefold, + have above all, in these serious times, the task of working in the + spirit of Socialism for the high ideals of humanity, so that a + repetition of this dreadful catastrophe may be averted, and this war + may be the last. + + "The stern regulations of martial law strike the workmen's movement + with terrible force. Imprudent actions, useless and falsely-conceived + sacrifices, damage in this moment not only the individual, but also + our cause. + + "Comrades, we appeal to you to persevere in the unshakable confidence + that the future belongs, in spite of all, to nation-binding Socialism, + to justice and humanity. + + "DER PARTEIVORSTAND. + (The leaders of the party.) + + "Berlin, July 3ist, 1914." + +With these words, millions of German Socialists, represented by four and +a quarter million voters and a hundred and eleven members of the +Reichstag, tacitly denied their previous protestations, that Austrian +Imperialism was letting loose the war-fury on Europe. There are rumours +of a secret consultation with the German Chancellor, but that is of +little import in this place. The leaders of this huge party proclaimed +on July 25th that Austria was the blood-guilty power and maintained this +attitude in spite of bloodshed till 11 p.m. on July 28th. By what +lightning-change Austria's original guilt was transferred to Russia by +July 31st is not recorded. + +With regard to the text of the above proclamation, there are variations +to be noted. In the _Vorwärts_ it runs "within and without our +frontiers" in the second paragraph; the text as I have given it is taken +from the _Leipziger Volkszeitung_. In the fifth paragraph the Nuremberg +_Fränkische Tagespost_ gives "capitalistic" for "fatalistic." + +A few extracts from Socialist newspapers will suffice to illustrate the +complete change of front which happened in three days: + +"We Social Democrats in this solemn hour are at one with the whole +German nation, without distinction of party or creed, in accepting the +fight forced upon us by Russian barbarism, and we are ready to fight +till the last drop of blood for Germany's national independence, fame +and greatness." _Der Folksfreund_ (Karlsruhe), August 1st. + +"We desired peace and we have done everything humanly possible to secure +that end. But when war is forced upon us by Russian Czarism, then, +whatever the final decision may be, we must drop all class distinctions +and differences of every kind, to form a single, determined people, +prepared to defend Germany's independence and greatness against the +enemy--even to the last drop of blood." _Volksstimme_ (Mannheim), July +31st. + +"A defeat would mean collapse, annihilation and horrors most dreadful +for all of us.[72] Our imaginations revolt at such a possibility. Our +representatives in the Reichstag have unanimously declared on +innumerable occasions that the Social Democrats could not leave their +Fatherland in the lurch when the hour of destiny strikes; the workmen +will now redeem the promise given by their representatives. The +'Fatherlandless fellows'[73] will do their duty, and in doing it, will +allow themselves to be surpassed in no wise by the patriots," _Münchener +Post_, August 1st. + +[Footnote 72: These sentiments did not occur to this journalist when +Germany began a ruthless war of invasion on Belgium.--Author.] + +[Footnote 73: A phrase of contempt employed by the Kaiser when speaking +of the Social Democrats in 1889, and which became proverbial.] + +"Whatever our opponents have done to us, at this moment we all feel the +duty to fight against Russian knout-rule. Our women and children shall +not be sacrificed to Russian bestiality, nor the German people become a +booty for the Cossacks." _Die Volksstimme_ (Chemnitz), August 2nd. + +It is possible that even at the end of the war no explanation will be +forthcoming for this astounding change of attitude. Some have suggested +that the Russian or Slavonic danger caused it. Yet just these journals, +and this party, had maintained, so long as any degree of free speech was +permitted, that Austria had provoked the danger, and they were fully +aware that the German Government had from first to last approved of and +openly assisted in provoking, nay challenging, Russia on a question +which involved the latter's prestige and diplomatic existence. + +Bethmann-Hollweg gave the alleged Russian mobilization as the immediate +cause of the war, but doubtless the Social Democrats knew full well that +for several days before Russia's mobilization was announced, Germany had +been secretly mobilizing her army. From July 26th till July 30th German +papers contained many reports that Russia was mobilizing; they may have +been true or not, but the diplomatic correspondence published by Austria +and discussed on page 63 shows conclusively that the Central Powers were +baiting Russia into taking that step, and when the greatest Slavonic +power had made the desired move, Germany replied with an ultimatum which +brought about the war, so ardently desired by the great majority of +Germany's warlike tribes. + +Britishers who sympathize with German Social Democracy may advance the +plea: If Germany's military preparations were secret, how could the +Social Democrats know of these proceedings? The answer is direct and +simple: Every individual Social Democrat--and men, women, and children, +they number some twenty millions--has for years past been a spy and +informer in the interests of the _Umsturzpartei_ (overthrow-party). All +the happenings of the workshop, barracks, farmyard, shop and office have +been systematically reported to the local Press, and local committees of +the Democratic Party; the ammunitions thus obtained have been just as +systematically employed to fire insidious paragraphs and Press articles +at governments, local authorities, employers, officers, and even the +employers of servant-girls. Of late years it has been dangerous to have +a difference even with a maid-servant; a few days later the inevitable +insidious, anonymous attack would certainly appear in one or other of +the S.D. journals. + +One instance will suffice to illustrate the everyday routine of the +class-war (_Klassenkampf_) in which the whole energies of the Social +Democrats have been absorbed for a quarter of a century. An acquaintance +of the author's, Major Schub, in the 19th Infantry Regiment, stationed +in Erlangen, dared some years ago to send his orderly with a she-goat to +a peasant in the district who kept the indispensable he-goat. Two days +later he was pilloried in a Furth paper for calling upon a private +soldier to fulfil such a degrading office. German workmen do not read +the _Vorwärts_ (its circulation is well under 100,000), but they read +one or other of the seventy purveyors of filth and class hatred which +form the stock-in-trade of the Social Democratic Party. + +The author of this work, knew as early as July 25th, that reserve +officers had been warned to hold themselves in readiness; on succeeding +days he saw tangible evidence that mobilization was proceeding +stealthily, and it would be ridiculous for him to claim greater +knowledge than the hundred and eleven S.D. members of the Reichstag, and +the seventy-seven editors of their party papers--especially when these +have an army of millions of spies at their command. + +In order to obtain a correct judgment of the motives which actuated +German Social Democrats in their complete support of the German +Government it is necessary to consult the works published by them during +the war. Karl Kautsky writes:[74] "That which under these circumstances, +was most immediate and pressing in determining the attitude to war, not +only for the masses, but also many of our leaders, was the fear of a +hostile invasion, the urgent necessity to keep the enemy out of our +territory, no matter what the causes, object or results of the war may +be. This fear was never greater and more justified than on this +occasion; never have the devastating results of invasion been more +terrible. Belgium and East Prussia speak plainly. + +[Footnote 74: "Die Internationalität und der Krieg." Berlin, 1915; p. +32.] + +"The increased size of the armies greatly extends the unavoidable +desolation of war, and in addition to this a second strongly-working +popular motive decides the attitude of a nation to war, viz., the +interest of the entire people in the fate of an army in which every +family is represented." + +It thus becomes evident that no motives of justice, right or wrong, or +politics played any part in the decision arrived at, but merely a great +fear which impelled the Social Democrats to consider first and foremost +how to save their own skins. + +All protest meetings were cancelled on August 1st, and the Press +restricted itself to chronicling rumours and events. The sitting of the +Reichstag was awaited with impatience as that was expected to bring more +light on the crisis. The effect which Bethmann-Hollweg produced upon his +hearers was to convince them that Russia alone was to blame. "The +question of supporting the war by voting a loan was all the easier for +us to decide, because the provocation had come, not from France or +England, but from Russia. I admit openly that while I was travelling to +Berlin to the Reichstag I had very little time to hunt for precedents in +the party's history to determine my vote. For me the force of +circumstances alone was decisive; the material interests of the working +classes and the entire nation; common sense and the realization of a +practical policy."[75] + +[Footnote 75: "Die Kriegssitzung des deutschen Reichstags" ("The War +Sitting of the Reichstag"), by Karl Hildenbrand, Member for Stuttgart. +Published 1915; p. 13.] + +"At the time of voting on August 4th, we were not in a position to take +England into consideration, because at the moment she had not yet +declared war. But by England's intervention our attitude on August 4th +has been still more emphatically justified."[76] + +[Footnote 76: Ibid., p. 16.] + +This statement is a gross distortion of the truth. It is true that +England had not yet declared war, but Sir Edward Grey had made England's +attitude quite clear on the previous day. His speech had been published +in the Berlin papers. Furthermore, the Chancellor informed the Reichstag +that England's position was perfectly clear, although he suppressed the +fact that Germany had begun preparations for war with this country five +days before, by ordering civilians to leave Heligoland, and despatching +the _Königin Luise_ to lay mines on our coasts. + +In any case, the action of the Social Democrats on that occasion is an +example of unfaithfulness to principles. Accepting the invasion fear as +a ground for voting a loan for a war of defence, there is still no +evident reason why they should vote funds for a war of aggression +against Belgium. On the surface, there is no explanation for their +cheers when Bethmann-Hollweg announced the invasion of two neutral +States by Germany's armies. + +Had they been tricked into supporting an alleged defensive war, there +was still time to protest against German hordes overrunning two weak +neighbouring countries. In spite of their terror that they personally +might suffer through the horrors of war, their vaunted humanitarianism +led to no outcry against those same horrors being wilfully and +ruthlessly forced upon their Belgian _Genossen_. + +The only anxiety which the speech of their chosen spokesman, Herr Haase, +betrays, is the anxiety to avoid responsibility. "In the name of my +party I am empowered to make the following declaration: We are standing +in an hour of solemn destiny. The consequences of the imperialistic +policy--which brought about an era of armaments and made international +difficulties more acute--have now fallen upon Europe like a storm-flood. + +"The responsibility for this recoils upon the leaders of that policy; we +decline to accept it. Social Democracy has fought against this ominous +development with all the forces at its command. Up to the very last hour +we have worked for the maintenance of peace through mighty +demonstrations in every land, especially in intimate cooperation with +our French brothers. (Applause from the Social Democrats.) Our efforts +have been in vain. + +"Now we are face to face with the stern reality of war. We are +threatened by the terrors of a hostile invasion. To-day we have not to +decide either for or against war, but only concerning the necessary +means for the defence of our country. Now we have to think of the +millions of our _Genossen_ who are innocently swept into this fate. They +will suffer most through the devastations of war. Our ardent wishes +accompany also our brothers who are called to the flag without +distinction of party. (Loud applause.) + +"We think, too, of the mothers who must give their sons and of the women +and children who are robbed of their bread-winners, and to whose fear +for their loved ones is added the dread of hunger. Tens of thousands of +wounded and mutilated warriors will soon be added to these. We consider +it our most compelling duty to help them, to lighten their burdens and +relieve their distress.[77] (Loud applause.) + +[Footnote 77: There is every reason to believe that the party has worked +hard to keep this promise.--Author.] + +"In case of a victory for Russian despotism, which is already stained +with the blood of Russia's best sons, much--if not everything--is at +stake for our people and our free future. It is a question of averting +this danger, and of securing the culture and independence of our own +country. (Loud applause.) + +"Now we will redeem our oft repeated pledge: In the hour of danger we +shall not leave our Fatherland in the lurch. (Loud applause.) Thereby, +we feel ourselves in unison with the principles of internationalism +which have always admitted the right of each single people to national +independence and national defence. We condemn, as internationalism does, +every war of conquest. + +"We demand, that, as soon as the goal of security has been attained and +our enemies are inclined to make peace, the war shall end by a peace +that will make friendship with neighbouring countries possible. We +demand this, not only in the interests of the international solidarity +for which we have uniformly fought, but also in the interests of the +German nation. + +"We hope that the cruel school of war's sufferings will awaken a horror +for war in new millions, and win them over to the socialistic ideal and +international peace. Guided by these principles we vote in favour of the +war loan. (Loud applause.)"[78] + +[Footnote 78: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 5th.] + +A short historical comparison will assist in making the Social +Democratic action still clearer. In 1870, when Bismarck asked the +Reichstag for a war credit to prosecute the campaign against France, the +Socialists were few and helpless. Yet Liebknecht and Bebel refused to +vote in its favour. "Their moral demonstration was in itself perfectly +logical, for Bismarck's and Napoleon III.'s intrigues equally deserved +condemnation."[79] + +[Footnote 79: Kautsky: "Die Internationalitat und der Krieg," p. 19.] + +Apparently it did not occur to the Democrats in 1914, that probably +Germany had again been guilty of intrigues. It is noteworthy, however, +that the small party in 1870 protested when a national issue was at +stake, while the mighty party of 1914 made no protest whatever, +although, as they had previously announced and denounced, the issue had +been raised by the unjust actions and vile intrigues of Austrian +imperialism. + +The campaign against Russia conducted by the nationalist Press up till +August 1st was taken up by the organs representing Social Democracy, +immediately war broke out. Their papers were flooded with appalling +pictures of Russian (generally termed Asiatic) barbarism, tyranny and +misrule. Passages from the speeches and writings of Bebel, Liebknecht +and others were quoted to show the fiendishness of Russian policy, and +the justice of every German doing his utmost to smash Czarism and +deliver millions of fellow workmen from its thrall. Even a +blood-and-thunder story of the Russian police was turned on as a serial +story in their daily papers.[80] In short, nothing was omitted which +goes to make _Stimmung_. + +[Footnote 80: "Der Polizeimeister, ein russischer Polizeiroman," by +Gabryela Zapolska. The story commenced in the Nuremberg party organ on +August 11th, and in Kautsky's _Leipztger Volkszeitung_ on August 18th.] + +Had they been honestly impartial a still blacker picture of Austria, +painted by one of the founders of the workmen's movement, might have +been quoted, yet it might have been indiscreet to tell Germans what +Lassalle wrote. "Austria? Russia is a mammoth, barbarian Empire which +its despotic rulers endeavour to civilize, just so far as suits their +despotic interests. In that country barbarism is excusable, because it +is a national element. But the case is very different with Austria. +There it is the government which represents the barbaric principle and +crushes beneath it by artifice and violence, the civilized peoples under +its rule."[81] + +[Footnote 81: Bernstein's edition of Lassalle's "Reden und Schriften," +vol. I., p. 306.] + +With the exception of a few Britishers, the Socialists of all countries +have unanimously condemned the attitude of the German party. Not the +least interesting is the condemnation expressed by the Italian section. +Dr. Südekum, Reichstag member for Nuremberg, was sent to Italy to +discuss the situation with Italian Socialists and justify their own +action in supporting the war. The following account of the meeting +appeared in the _Vorwärts_ for September 12th: "The meeting lasted from +3.30 p.m. till 7 p.m. Südekum declared that he had come to inform their +Italian comrades of the situation in which the German Socialists found +themselves, and in order to learn whether the Italians had taken any +steps to keep up communications with Democrats in other lands. + +"We hold firmly to the contention that the German Socialists could have +done nothing except what they did. My presence here is a proof that we +Germans are aware of our duties towards internationalism.[82] We +believed that the German Government had given proof of its peaceful +tendencies and was forced into war against its will. Therefore, the +Social Democratic Party supported it. + +[Footnote 82: There is no evidence to show that Südekum's Italian visit +had any other purpose than winning over the sympathies of Italian +Socialists and with them, the whole Italian nation for the purposes of +German nationalism.--Author.] + +"Delia Seta answered that this was no justification for giving their +support. The Italian Socialists would not have given their assistance +under the same circumstances, just as they had refused to vote in favour +of the Libyan war. + +"Dr. Südekum replied that the German Socialists were compelled to defend +their Fatherland against Czarism. Further, he repeated Haase's +declaration in the Reichstag and continued: 'I am astonished that the +Italian Socialists are able to believe, that so strong a party as the +German Democrats, had denied their ideals, and been untrue to their +task. You must admit that no other way was open to us, except to grant +the credit demanded.' + +"After this, he asserted the nationalist Press of France and Italy was +working against Germany, and it seemed as if the Italian comrades were +in agreement with Italian nationalists in endeavouring to maintain the +existing condition of affairs[83] in Italy. + +[Footnote 83: "The existing condition of affairs" seems to mean Italian +neutrality.--Author.] + +"Finally Südekum concluded by pointing out that the German Democrats had +neither the intention, nor the right, to influence the attitude of the +Italian Socialists, but were merely endeavouring to link up hearty +international intercourse again. + +"In reply Delia Seta said he found it remarkable that the German +Socialists had appealed to their Italian comrades in this solemn hour, +all the more remarkable because intentions might easily be ascribed to +this intervention. 'This is a serious motive which impels us to state +our opinions with unreserved frankness.' + +"He continued: 'Your defence does not convince us. You speak of France +being allied with us, and of England, Germany's enemy. But we speak of +our France, revolutionary France, Jauré's France. The French Socialists +opposed the military preparations made by France, you Germans did not do +the same in your country, or at least, only up to the point where the +imperialistic feelings of the Kaiser and his party might be hurt. + +"'The point of view of German Democrats coincides with that of German +imperialism. German predominance means for us a far greater danger than +Czarism, because Czarism prevents the German army from marching on +Paris, and thus protects the banner of France, which in spite of all +mistakes and errors, is still the most revolutionary. + +"'Germany's motto is: _Deutschland über alles_ and you have not opposed +it; but you have published in the _Vorwärts_ an appreciation of the +Kaiser alleging that he had worked during twenty-five years for peace. + +"'You speak of German civilization being in danger. But in this +civilization we can find no trace of culture, when you attack and +torture neutral Belgium, and complete the destruction of Louvain. Taken +as a whole, German Socialists are just as plausible and use the same +excuses as the Ministers of the German Government.[84] + +[Footnote 84: Might not this also be said of Messrs. Morel, Macdonald, +Bernard Shaw, etc., and the _Labour Leader_, whose writings on the war +have been scattered broadcast throughout Germany during the last six +months?] + +"'We are enraged at the terrible fact that Germany has violated +Belgium's neutrality, and you have not even protested. We tell you quite +openly that we honour and weep for devastated Belgium, and tremblingly +follow the fate of France.'" + +Südekum had no words with which to answer this terrible indictment, and +the _Vorwärts_ could only add the following comment: + +"We consider the judgment of our Italian comrades to be one-sided, but +for reasons easy to understand, desist from discussing it in the present +situation. Unfortunately we must recognize the fact, however, that the +Italian view is widespread among the Socialists of other neutral +countries." + +Germany's revolutionary party lost no time in hoisting the banner of "no +annexations." The _Leipziger Folkszeitung_, second in importance only to +the _Vorwärts_ nailed down a phrase in the Kaiser's speech from the +throne, which stated: "We are inspired by no desire for conquest." In +commenting on this phrase, Kautsky's organ said: + +"The part of the speech which excites most sympathy in us is the +admission that Germany cherishes no lust for conquest. At the proper +time we shall refer to that again. + +"It is with sincere regret that we see the French Government on the side +of the criminal Powers, which have enslaved and robbed the Russian +people. If Germany, in a delirium of victory, should raise claims which +mean annexation, then we shall--that must be repeated again--recall the +speech from the throne of the German Kaiser on August 4th, 1914."[85] + +[Footnote 85: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 4th.] + +During the first year of war a split among the Social Democrats has +become evident, and it appears certain that it is the annexation +question which is causing the cleavage. In December last Liebknecht +abstained from voting when the second war loan was granted by the +Reichstag. Evidently doubts have arisen in a small section of the party +either as to the origin of the war, or in regard to the objects which +the German Government hopes to attain. + +On August 20th, 1915, Dr. Liebknecht put this question in the Reichstag: +"Is the Government prepared to enter into immediate peace negotiations +on the basis that Germany renounces all annexation claims and assuming +that the other Powers in question are willing to negotiate?" Von Jagow +replied: "I believe the great majority of the members will agree with +me, when I refuse to answer the question, as being at present beside the +purpose." + +The reply evoked a hurricane of "bravos." + +A parallel may be found in the year 1870. The central committee of +German Social Democrats passed a resolution that: "It is absolutely +necessary for the party to organize simultaneously in all parts of the +country great popular demonstrations against the annexation of +Alsace-Lorraine, and pass resolutions in favour of an honourable peace +with the French republic." + +Nothing came of the movement, for on September 9th the committee was +placed under arrest and prosecuted. If Germany should be victorious in +this war, it is to be assumed that the Socialists would again prove +powerless to prevent annexation. What the allies cannot hinder, the +Social Democrats would be still more helpless to prevent; especially as +the great majority of them are unreservedly on the side of the Kaiser +and his Government. When in need, the latter flattered and persuaded the +Democrats to vote for an alleged war of defence; but should German arms +be victorious the German Government would neither seek, nor accept +advice on her national projects, from her quondam internationalists. + +There are grounds for suspicion that the party is playing a game desired +by the Berlin Government. For some months past they have tried every +means possible to arrange personal interviews with the leaders of the +corresponding party in France--the French "comrades" have refused to +meet them. The _Leipziger Volkszeitung_ for July 16th, 1915, contains +more than a column about "We and the French," in which the German party +spreads the usual Teutonic lime of sophistry and empty phrases. + +One passage betrays the entire intrigue. They wish their "French +brothers" to agree to a peace without annexations, which means, in so +many words, that the French Socialists are to renounce Alsace-Lorraine +for ever. Had they been, or should they be in the future, so foolish as +to enter this German mouse-trap, then before the war has reached a +decisive conclusion, a large section of the French nation would be +pledged to renounce the lost provinces even in case of a German defeat. +This is an excellent instance of the manner in which German Social +Democracy works in an enemy country to assist its own Government. In +like manner, the Independent Labour Party and Union of Democratic +Control are forces exceedingly sensitive to German influence, and in a +decisive moment can be set in motion by the German "comrades." + +The hundred and eleven Social Democrats in the Reichstag have no real +power in Germany. If they possess any degree of power, then fear for +their own skins, prevents them from risking its exercise. Their real +opinion concerning Alsace-Lorraine appeared in the same journal four +days later. "According to our opinion it would be a crime, if France +made the return of these provinces a condition of peace." In the same +article an accusation of one-sidedness is made against the Socialists in +France for supporting the French Government. After which, it is not +surprising that every time the names of the _Genossen_ Macdonald, +Snowden, Hardie and Newbold occur in the _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, they +are mentioned with awe and reverence. + +"Besides Ramsay Macdonald and Philip Snowden, our friend J.T. Walton +Newbold has got on the nerves of the English patriots."[86] These +gentlemen invariably receive polite mention, but French Socialists are +evidently in disfavour--presumably because they know too well the German +game. + +[Footnote 86: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, July 23rd, 1915.] + +The peace programme of the German Socialists has been published. An +official declaration of the party which appeared on August 23rd, 1915, +gives the following conditions. + +"While caring for the national interests and rights of our own people, +and at the same time respecting the vital interests of all nations, +German Social Democracy strives for a peace which bears the guarantee of +permanence, and will bring the European States closer together in +matters of justice, culture, and commerce. In this sense we have drawn +up the following scheme: + +"I. The security of German independence and the entirety of the German +Empire, which implies the rejection of all annexation plans on the part +of our opponents. That includes the French plan to re-incorporate +Alsace-Lorraine with France, no matter in what form that end may be +sought. + +"II. In order to secure free economic development for the German nation, +we demand: + +"(_a_) The 'open door,' _i.e._, equal rights for commercial and +such-like activities in all colonial territories. + +"(_b_) The inclusion of the most-favoured-nation clause in the articles +of peace of all the nations now at war. + +"(_c_) The furthering of an economic entente by abolishing tariffs, +etc., as far as possible. + +"(_d_) The equalization and improvement of the social-political +institutions according to ideals aimed at by the workmen's international +party. + +"(_e_) The freedom of the seas is to be guaranteed by an international +treaty. To this end the right of capture at sea must be abolished, and +all straits and narrows of importance for world commerce, must be +internationalized. + +"III. In the interests of Germany's security and the free exercise of +commercial and economic efforts in South-Eastern Europe, we reject all +the warlike aims of the Quadruple Alliance to weaken or disintegrate +Austria-Hungary and Turkey. + +"IV.--In consideration of the fact that the annexation of territories +inhabited by another race transgresses the rights of nations to govern +themselves; furthermore because thereby, the unity and strength of +Germany would be weakened and her foreign relations seriously and +permanently injured, we oppose the plans in that direction cherished by +shortsighted conquest-politicians.[87] + +[Footnote 87: There are two and a half lines of dots at this point. +Probably the German censor has cut out a sentence.] + +"V.--The terrible destruction and sufferings brought upon humanity by +this war have won over millions of hearts to the ideal of a world peace, +permanently secured by an international court of justice. The attainment +of this end must be recognized as the highest moral duty of all those +who are appointed to the work of framing a peace. Therefore we demand +that an international arbitration court shall be created which shall +settle all future difference between the nations."[88] + +[Footnote 88: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 23rd, 1915.] + +This imaginary peace-treaty is what Germans would call a _Zankapfel_ +(apple of discord). It may represent the serious opinions of Germany's +greatest political party, but the German Government will welcome it +because it will give Germany's sympathizers in France, England, Italy +and Russia an excellent weapon with which they can attack their +respective Governments, and hamper them in protecting their national +interests. It will doubtless be an inspiration to the members of the +I.L.P. and the U.D.C.[89] + +[Footnote 89: Above prophecy written end of August; fulfilled in the +_Labour Leader_ October 28th.--Author.] + +If the German Government seriously formulated such proposals, the author +believes that all Britishers worthy of the name would simply answer: +"Fight on!" On this assumption the proposals deserve no discussion. + +Yet the document is interesting as revealing the mind of Social +Democratic Germany. These sublime Pharisees are unconscious of Belgium's +wrongs and Germany's crimes. The former deserve no compensation and the +latter no penalty. Here we are on the bed-rock of their ideas of justice +and humanitarianism. Still we are not altogether surprised, because the +Democratic newspaper organs have openly defended and justified the +atrocities committed by German soldiers, and whenever any particularly +damning evidence has been produced their parole has consistently been: +"At any rate, now is not the time to discuss it." According to their +comprehension the only time for discussion is when Europe is under the +German heel. They are willing to discuss--when discussion can no longer +injure the Fatherland, when Germany has gained all she wants. + +The most remarkable metamorphosis which the German Democrats have +undergone, is shown in their changed attitude to England. This country +gave a home to Marx and Engels; the former is buried in Highgate +cemetery. For many decades the party professed enthusiastic admiration +of British institutions and our ideals of personal freedom. Their +admiration for England was not always convenient to the German +Government, and was certainly a thorn in the side of the Kaiser. + +In 1898 the party published a "Handbook for Social Democratic Voters," +which contains lengthy explanations of their entire policy. Therein they +justify their opposition to German naval expansion, and while conceding +that naval supremacy is vital and indispensable to England, continue: +"Boundless plans are veiled beneath the Navy Bill (1897). The hotspurs +among the water-patriots dream of a first-class navy which might rival, +yes, even surpass the British fleet. + +"For the water-patriots the Navy Bill means an instrument to further +their unlimited _Weltpolitik_ and schemes of conquest; a weapon with +which to realize their mad imaginings of a greater Germany. They desire +to employ it as a tool for their absolutist plans and adventurous world +enterprises. + +"It increases the risk of foreign conflicts. At the same time it +brightens the prospects of success of those influential circles +which--impelled by an overpowering impulse to deeds, and inspired by a +diseased longing for prestige--press on from excitement to excitement, +from daring to daring, and from crisis to crisis." + +This remarkable prophecy has been verified by history, but with its +realization, the party which made it has been converted to the side of +their former opponents. To-day the Social Democrats are just as hearty +in the desire to see Britain overthrown and British naval supremacy +smashed as is the Kaiser's Government. + +No impartial thinker dare deny that the British fleet has been the +principal factor in preventing Europe's subjugation to German autocracy, +and the world to German militarism. Yet the so-called party of freedom +prays earnestly that this fleet may be destroyed. This represents the +tone of their daily Press, and the change of attitude has been proved to +be scientifically correct in various books published by their leaders +during the present year. One of these works will be quoted at +considerable length, because of its importance in showing what the +"pioneers of liberty" wish, may be the end of the "home of liberty." The +work bears the title, "German Social Democracy and the World War;"[90] +its author is a Socialist member of the Reichstag. + +[Footnote 90: "Die deutsche Sozialdemokratie und der Weltkrieg," by Dr. +Paul Lensch, published by the Vorwärts Publishing House. Berlin, 1915.] + +In dealing with England he refers to their former admiration for this +country and proceeds to prove that it was wrong--wrong in the interests +of Germany, and the world. England's fight against Napoleon for European +freedom Dr. Lensch disposes of in a sentence: "Consumed by greed, +England took the long-yearned-for opportunity and fell upon her rival, +France" (p. 16). + +He informs his readers that England and Russia are two beasts of prey. +England's disarmament proposals were only intended to secure her naval +supremacy, because Germany seemed to be escaping from the strangulation +cord which. England had drawn tight round her throat. Therefore three +problems present themselves to Dr. Lensch, which the war must solve: + +(1.) Shall the German people continue to exist as an independent nation? + +(2.) Shall the danger of Czarism continue to threaten West European +culture? + +(3.) Shall Britain's naval supremacy be eternalized or overthrown, +seeing that Britain only allows other nations to develop, so far as they +are compatible with her national interests? (p. 15). + +"England's oft-praised freedom is based upon the enslavement of the +world; the peoples now recognize that England's wealth, freedom, and +greatness are merely the corollary to their poverty, slavery and +wretchedness (p. 20). + +"International Socialism has not the slightest interest in helping to +bolster up this supremacy (p. 22). + +"When this monopoly is broken the English working classes will lose +their present privileged position. They will be reduced to the same +level as the workmen of other lands. Then Socialism will flourish in +England (p. 23).[91] + +[Footnote 91: The author had fondly imagined that the British workman +stood foremost as the result of his own battles. In any case, it is to +be hoped that British Socialists will be grateful for "Genosse" Lensch's +prayers for their downfall.] + +"No party stands to lose more by a British victory than Social +Democracy. The overthrow of England's world-position would clear the way +for the continuation of the world's progress on the right historical +lines, and its economic development (p. 25). + +"In the present world war the interests of the internationalists are +bound up in a German victory. Hence a German victory would be a victory +for Marx's internationalism, and only then, would the hearts and heads +of English workmen be open to the intellectual schooling of the +Socialistic idea (p. 27). + +"As early as the eighties in the last century, Friedrich Engels proved +that the ruin of England's industrial monopoly had begun. What the +scientist had foretold, became evident to all eyes two decades later. +The social system of the greatest, world-ruling industrial State was +shaken to its foundations. International Socialists had every reason to +welcome this peaceful downfall of England's world power" (pp. 21-22). + +"Marx once wrote that war is like a locomotive in the history of the +world. May this war have that effect and under full steam lead to a +finish the work which peaceful development had already commenced, +_i.e._, the downfall of English supremacy. If the war hastens and +concludes this process, then the sacrifices in blood and treasure will +not have been in vain. A great stumbling-block to human progress and +especially to the proletarian fight for freedom will have been hurled +out of the way" (pp. 27-8). + +Having failed during a peaceful fight of over forty years, to hurl +German autocracy and militarism out of the world, these hot-headed +pioneers of liberty (Kaiserdom?) wish to destroy the very State which +was their place of refuge when German "liberty" overwhelmed them with +its kindly attentions. + +Still we cannot be too grateful to Dr. Lensch for his lucid statement. +It is an effective reply to Germany's sympathizers in this country, and +if British workmen should ever see these lines, it will interest them to +know that German Socialists are anxious to pull them down a little, in +the belief that if British workmen are cut short in their luxuries they +will become better Socialists and Internationalists. + +Dr. Lensch has only one step more to take, and he will certainly gain +the highest German order--_pour le mérite_. The famous Communist +manifesto of Marx and Engels concludes with the words: "Proletarians of +all lands, unite!" It is much to be desired that Dr. Lensch should amend +this by adding to Marx's phrase a few words, so that the amended form +would run: + +"Proletarians of all lands, unite to sing 'Deutschland, Deutschland, +über alles.'" By this simple means the learned doctor would condense the +entire teachings of his book into a single sentence. + +"The position to-day is that the interests of freedom and democracy are +utterly at variance with a French victory (p. 42). + +"Greater Prussia was founded by the war of 1866, while the 1870 struggle +established a Little Germany. Through the present war Great Germany will +be created" (p. 46). + +On another page this Socialist-Chauvinist proclaims that "the freedom of +the oppressed must be the work of the oppressed themselves," which is a +principle that the I.L.P. and U.D.C., etc., would do well to note. "The +peculiarity of our situation is to be found in the fact that +extraordinarily advanced ideals have penetrated into our unripe +conditions."[92] + +[Footnote 92: Louis Bamberger in an essay on German Social Democracy in +the _Deutsche Rundschau_, vol. 14, p. 243.] + +It is to these "unripe conditions" that Lensch, Liebknecht, David, +Hildenbrand and the remaining leaders of German Social Democracy should +give their undivided attention. Last year the Berlin Government +published a record of crimes committed in Germany. It is the most awful +record of any nation in the world, and the above gentlemen would do well +to study Volume 267 of the _Vierteljahrshefte_. There were hundreds of +thousands of brutal crimes committed in Germany by German proletarians +during the year 1912. + +For half a century Marx, Lassalle, Bebel, Liebknecht and their +successors have been busily engaged in intellectualizing Germany's +proletarians; now it is advisable for the Socialist party to begin the +work of humanizing them. Their efforts to internationalize the world +have resulted in a hopeless _débâcle_; let them now begin the task of +humanizing Germany. They have all evidently forgotten the German +proverb: _Kehr vor deiner eignen Tür!_ (Sweep first before your own +door.) + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +"NECESSITY KNOWS NO LAW" + + +On August 2nd, 1914, Belgium announced her neutrality in the European +war; France had already declared her intention to respect Belgian +neutrality at all costs. On the other hand we have Bethmann-Hollweg's +word that he knew French armies were standing ready to strike at Germany +through Belgium. This statement he has never supported by any proof, nor +even mentioned his authority for the same.[93] In view of the facts that +no military preparations had been made on the Franco-Belgian frontier, +and that the German armies first came into contact with French forces +long after the fall of Liége, we are compelled to declare the German +Chancellor's statement to be a pure invention. + +[Footnote 93: So-called "evidence" has been given by Richard Grasshoff +in his book "Belgien's Schuld" ("Belgium's Guilt"), pp. 14-20. Grasshoff +quotes the sworn statements of a German corporal who resided in +Boitsfort, near Brussels. The corporal states that he saw two French and +one English officer in Brussels on July 26th, and eight French soldiers +on July 29th. + +The statements of three French soldiers, prisoners of war in Germany, +are also cited; these men maintain that they entered Belgium on the 31st +of July and the 2nd of August. + +With regard to this "evidence," we must note that Grasshoff is a German +official, the corporal a German spy, and that the Frenchmen have made +these statements in a prisoners' camp, a place where they were exposed +to the temptation of German gold and the influence of Teutonic bullying. +Lastly, the Berlin General Staff has recorded that the German armies +first came in touch with French troops on August 19th, near Namur.] + +Moreover Germany's excuse for invading Belgium is given in the title of +this chapter. Had Germany possessed any proof that French officers in +disguise were organizing preparations in Belgium, or that French airmen +had crossed the latter's territories in order to drop bombs by Wesel, +etc., then Bethmann-Hollweg would have had no reason to admit in the +Reichstag that his country was committing a breach of international law. +Under such circumstances Belgian neutrality would no longer have +existed; the Chancellor, instead of "necessity," could have pleaded +justification and the world could scarcely have withheld its approval. + +In the early hours of August 4th the Germans crossed the Belgian +frontier, although the _Cologne Gazette_ had published a notice three +days before announcing that Germany had no intention whatever of taking +the step, and that no German troops were near the frontier. + +General von Emmich immediately issued this proclamation in French: "To +my great regret German troops have been compelled to enter Belgian +territory. They are acting under the compulsion of unavoidable +necessity, for French officers in disguise have already violated Belgian +neutrality by trying to reach Germany, via Belgium, in motor-cars.[94] + +[Footnote 94: One wonders what military purpose these officers had in +view. They would have been inevitably arrested at the German frontier. +The fable was made public by Wolff's Agency, and has been ridiculed even +by the German Press, _vide_ pp. 96-7.] + +"Belgians! it is my most ardent desire that it may yet be possible to +avoid a struggle between two peoples which up till now, have been +friends, formerly even allies. Remember the glorious days of La Belle +Alliance, when German arms helped to found the independence and future +of your Fatherland. + +"Now we must have a free way. The destruction of tunnels, bridges and +railways will be considered hostile actions. Belgians! you have to +choose. The German army does not intend to fight against you, but seeks +a free path against the enemy who wishes to attack us. That is all we +desire. + +"Herewith I give the Belgian people an official pledge that they will +not have to suffer under the terrors of war; that we will pay ready +money for all necessaries which we may have to requisition; that our +soldiers will show themselves the best friends of a nation for which we +have the highest esteem and ardent affection. It depends upon your +prudence and your patriotism whether your land shall be spared the +horrors of war." (Appeared in the _Cologne Gazette_, August 6th.) + +A Dresden paper of the same date contains an illuminating statement. "We +have just received official information that the German General Staff +had been informed by an absolutely reliable source that the French +intended to march through the valley of the Meuse into Belgium. The +execution of this plan had already commenced, therefore France was by no +means prepared to respect Belgian neutrality." + +"For years past the King of Belgium has conspired with England behind +the backs of his ministers, to damage German interests. His telegram to +the King of England was a trick planned long ago. These facts will soon +be supplemented by a large number of documentary proofs; from this the +necessity has arisen to direct Germany's advance through Belgium +irrespective of neutrality considerations."[95] + +[Footnote 95: _Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten_, August 9th.] + +Here we have the first clumsy attempts to prove that Belgian neutrality +did not exist. These after-thoughts have grown during the past year into +no inconsiderable literature. Probably the two motives which have +inspired Germany--official and unofficial--to print many volumes on +Belgian neutrality have been the indignation aroused in neutral +countries and the fact that a complete German victory was not obtained +in three months of war. + +German newspapers again betray the plot against Belgium, and a search +through their files reveals in the clearest manner possible how Wolff's +Bureau was again the source of a widespread campaign to prove that +Germany was right, and simultaneously to lash public opinion into hatred +for the Belgian "barbarians and beasts." + +In the first few days of August the Press was filled with reports +concerning the murder and ill treatment of Germans in Belgium, before +any act of war had taken place. No doubt a justified fear for the +mighty, brutal neighbour existed in the popular imagination, and fear +may be the father of ill-considered deeds. Nevertheless, there is no +proof that mob law prevailed in Belgium, as it did in Germany. Moreover, +the latter country outlawed herself when she proclaimed the law of +necessity. In the light of this consideration the German outcry that the +Belgians were breaking both the laws of humanity and international +jurisprudence lacks sincerity and remains unconvincing. + +A country which announces her intention to ignore existing laws and +"hack a way through at all costs," should surely be the last to declaim +on the alleged offences against the laws of war by a small, weak, +unprepared neighbour. If these considerations are insufficient, there +remains the fact that Germany herself began war against unarmed Belgian +civilians. + +During the night following the unsuccessful _coup de main_ against +Liége, a Zeppelin attacked the town and dropped bombs. "On Thursday, +August 6th, at 3.30 a.m. Z6 returned from an air-cruise over Belgium. +The airship took a conspicuous part in the attack on Liége, and was able +to intervene in a markedly successful manner. Our first bomb was dropped +from a height of 1,800 feet, but failed to explode. The ship then sank +to 900 feet above the city, and a non-commissioned officer dropped +twelve more bombs, all of which exploded, setting the city ablaze in +several places."[96] + +[Footnote 96: German official report in the _Berliner Tageblatt_, August +10th.] + +An Austrian who was in the town afterwards described the attack in the +_Grazer Tagespost_. According to this witness it was already daylight +when the airship appeared, and the effect of the bombs was truly awful. +In view of the circumstance that it was already light, Germany cannot +put forward the defence that the bombs were intended for the twelve +forts which surround Liége at a distance of some miles. + +This is the earliest official record of an attack upon civilians--and it +came from the German side! The crew of Z6 were the recipients of a +tremendous ovation on their return, while the news of this dastardly +murder was received with jubilation throughout the German Empire. In +Lunéville fifteen civilians were killed by airship bombs two days +earlier; shortly afterwards followed the attack by airship on civilians +in Antwerp. + +The author has before him about one hundred different newspaper reports, +alleging the most awful barbarism on the part of the Belgians. Among the +numerous statements that Germans were murdered, only two names are +mentioned, and both these men are alive to-day; the one is Herr Weber, +proprietor of an hotel in Antwerp. + +"We have now received full details of the murder of the German, Weber. +He had fled from his pursuers and hidden himself in a cellar. As the +raging mob could not find him they burnt sulphur in the house, which +caused Weber to break into a violent fit of coughing. This betrayed his +hiding-place; he was dragged out and murdered."[97] + +[Footnote 97: _Hamburger Fremdenblatt_, August 12th, and simultaneously +in many other journals. On the following day the _Vorwärts_ announced +that Herr Weber had returned to Germany in the company of their own +correspondent.] + +"The German pork-butcher, Deckel, who had a large business in Brussels, +was attacked in his house by a crowd of Belgian beasts because he had +refused to hang a Belgian flag before his shop; with axes and hatchets +the mob cut off his head and hewed his corpse in pieces."[98] + +[Footnote 98: _Kölnische Volkszeitung_, August 10th.] + +A few days later the _Berliner Tageblatt_ informed its readers that Herr +Deckel was residing in Rotterdam, and had suffered no harm whatever. + +Readers who are acquainted with the official record of brutal crimes +committed year by year in Germany and the haughty contempt for civilian +rights which the whole German army has consistently shown in the +Fatherland, during the orderly times of peace, will require little +imagination to conceive that this same army would show still less +consideration for civilians in a country which they were wrongfully +invading. + +The German Press during the last thirty years, as well as many books +published in the Fatherland, contains ample proof of German brutality at +home, and above all, of the legal brutality of German non-commissioned +and commissioned officers. How can Germany expect the world to believe, +that these same men, were transformed into decent human beings by the +mere act of stepping over the Belgian frontier? + +Granted that vulgar elements of the Belgian population did transgress, +there still remains incontrovertible evidence that almost unheard-of +kindness was shown to the invading army, and that Germans had displayed +brutal insolence to Belgians before a state of war had been declared. +Nearly every single letter from soldiers, published in German papers, +records the fact that in the villages through which they passed they +were given water, wine and food, while payment was in many cases +refused. + +It is part of Germany's policy to blacken Belgium's character in order +to justify her own ruthlessness--naturally Wolff's Agency was one of the +principal tools to that end. + +"Much as we condemn the excesses of the Belgians, still we must not +wreak vengeance on the whole nation as a section of our Press demands. +Have not harmless and defenceless foreigners been terribly ill-treated +in Germany without distinction of sex? Have not shops and restaurants +been demolished in hundreds, wherever a French word was to be met? And +the rage of the German masses has found an outlet not only against +foreigners, but against good German patriots and even German +officers."[99] + +[Footnote 99: _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 12th. This journal as +well as the _Fränkische Tagespost_ names Wolff's Agency as their +authority in more than one issue.] + +The same journal on the preceding day deplored that "we ourselves are +not free from guilt." It recounts how German reservists, when leaving +Antwerp and Brussels, had sung their national songs in a loud, +provocative manner, and taunted the bystanders with such remarks as: "In +three days we shall be here again!" + +According to the same authority German residents had insulted the +populace by displaying their national flag; and German employers had +been among the first to discharge employees of their own nationality, +without salary in lieu of notice, thus increasing the difficulties of +German residents in Belgium. + +German official pronouncements are much more reticent in their judgment +on these allegations of Belgian cruelties. None the less the Berlin +Government must be held responsible for them being scattered throughout +the land. After Germany's official representative had returned from +Brussels to Berlin he made a statement to the Press. Considering that +von Below was in the Belgian capital at the time, his views are +instructive. + +He expressed his great astonishment that such things should have +happened, and asserted that up till the very last minute he had been +treated with the greatest kindness and politeness. Neither he nor any of +his Legation Staff had experienced the slightest unpleasantness. +Further, von Below expressed the conviction that only single instances +of such excesses had occurred and these were a result of the quarrelsome +Walloon character. No village _fête_ passes off among them without such +outbreaks, accompanied by bloodshed.[100] + +[Footnote 100: This may be true, but von Below could have said the same +with absolute truth of German village fairs, _Kirmesse_, etc.--Author.] + +German papers of August 15th reported this official version, and four +days later a proclamation was issued by State Secretary Dr. Delbrück, +calling upon all persons who had been ill-treated in Belgium to report +themselves, so that the "numerous" newspaper reports could be confirmed +or refuted. The result of the inquiry has never been published. + +From a number of witnesses who testified whole-heartedly to Belgian +kindness, one will suffice. A lady reported her adventures in the +_Vorwärts_ of September 6th, from which the following sentences have +been gleaned. "Even if it is true that Germans were subjected to +inconsideration and ill-treatment during their flight from Belgium, +still there are hundreds of Germans who, like myself, met with generous +sympathy and unstinted help. + +"A Flemish servant refused her month's wages, saying that her employers +would need it on the journey. Many Germans were offered homes in Belgian +families till the war was over. My own landlord in Brussels placed an +empty flat at my disposal for German refugees. At parting he and his +wife were as deeply moved as we, and when I began to make excuses for +being unable to pay the rent, she at once prevented me from speaking +another word. My husband was provided with a hat which looked less +'German;' they filled our pockets with provisions for the journey, and +after his wife had embraced me and my child we left the house in +silence. + +"German refugees whom I met afterwards, related hundreds of similar acts +of kindness. When such severe accusations are raised against the entire +Belgian people, justice demands this statement that Belgians in hundreds +of cases, uninfluenced by the prevailing bitterness, showed themselves +kindly, helpful and humane towards the Germans." + +In the second month of the war two representatives of the Social +Democratic Party received special permission from the General Staff to +visit Belgium and the theatre of war in Northern France. Their report +has been issued by the Vorwärts Publishing House.[101] + +[Footnote 101: "Kriegsfahrten durch Belgien und Nordfrankreich" +("Journeys in War Time through Belgium, etc."), by Dr. Adolph Koester +and G. Noske.] + +"Concerning the events and conditions in Belgium many false reports have +been spread abroad. That is especially the case in regard to the +terrible persecutions of Germans immediately before the outbreak of war. +The civil authorities (German) are now permitting full investigation in +those parts of Belgium occupied by our troops, and it is already obvious +that many exaggerations were circulated by German newspapers. Without +doubt beer-houses and business houses were wrecked, but the Tartar +stories which were reported in Germany and Belgium, Herr von Sandt, +Chief of the Civil Administration, puts down to hysterics, and the +desire of some people to make themselves important."[102] + +[Footnote 102: Ibid., pp. 14-15.] + +No correct judgment on the apportionment of right and wrong between the +Belgian civilians and the German army is possible without taking into +consideration the status of militarism in each of these countries before +the war. As far as Belgium is concerned, the army was looked upon as a +necessary evil. The Social Democratic doctrines imported from Germany +had obtained such a hold upon the people that the Belgian Government +experienced ever-increasing difficulty in getting supplies voted in the +House of Deputies, for defence purposes. Belgian Socialists +unfortunately played into the hands of the German Government by doing +their utmost to prevent money from being spent for the defence of their +country. Consciously or unconsciously, German Socialists have rendered +the Kaiser and his army inestimable service. Their propaganda against +armaments has borne fruit in Belgium, England and France, but did not +prevent a single German battleship from being built, nor a single +regiment from being added to the German army. + +In Germany militarism is a gospel. All classes and all political parties +have been unanimous for years past, that every man should be a soldier. +The military ethos has ruled supreme, and whenever civilianism has +dared, merely to cherish thoughts contrary to the ideals of the ruling +caste, no time was lost in seeking an opportunity to challenge a quarrel +which invariably ended in humiliation for the civilian ethos. +Characteristically, therefore, the contemptuous phrase has become +current both in the German army and navy--"das Civil"--when speaking of +the non-military elements of the nation. + +Imbued with these traditions and inspired by this contempt for +everything civilian, the German armies invaded Belgium, and it may be +safely assumed that in a country where the civilian ethos predominated, +looks, words, and even deeds, expressed hostility. Such "provocation" +would certainly rouse the military ego to a revenge ten thousand-fold +greater than that taken at Zabern. German militarism brooks neither +contempt, criticism, nor opposition from German civilians, and much less +so from the civilians of another nation. + +When it is possible to obtain cool and clear accounts of the events in +Belgium, the author has no doubt whatever, that proofs of +civilian-baiting will be forthcoming in that unhappy country. The policy +of frightfulness was not only intended to drive an enemy into abject +submission and as a punishment for resistance to Germany's imperious +will, but it was the military ethos in strife with the civilian spirit. + +In order to hinder the march of the invaders the trees lining the roads +were cut down and formed into barriers, but the civilian population was +compelled at the bayonet's point to remove all obstacles and thus assist +in the conquest of their native country. + +"The magnificent tall fir-trees which are so characteristic of Belgian +roads, had been felled across the highways. But all the civilian +population which could be found, without regard to age, rank, or sex, +was forced by our advancing cavalry to clear it all away. One can +imagine the joy of the Belgians in performing this task!"[103] + +[Footnote 103: "Unser Vormarsch bis zur Marne" ("Our advance to the +Marne"), by a Saxon officer, p. 22.] + +This writer, too, chronicles many instances of kindness. "I was billeted +in a peasant's house at the western exit of the village. Three beautiful +children, trembling with fear, watched us come in, for besides me there +were twenty-four men. We had received emphatic warnings from +headquarters not to allow soldiers to be billeted alone. The woman gave +us everything she could find and it was almost necessary to use force to +get her to accept payment."[104] + +[Footnote 104: Ibid., p. 25.] + +"A load of shot struck the ground at the feet of my horse. Before I had +calmed the animal a N.C.O. marching at my side had finished off the +dirty Belgian scoundrel, who was now hanging dead from a roof window. + +"Foaming with rage, my field-greys surrounded the house, in which only a +few of the dogs were taken captive, the others were immediately +slaughtered. A boy hardly fifteen years old was dragged out of a wet +ditch with a gun in his hand. Before being brought to me, this youthful +swine had been thrashed from head to foot. Besides the men, two women +and a girl were taken. + +"Meanwhile a terrible hand-to-hand fight was going on throughout the +long, scattered village. Infantry and artillerists smashed the doors and +windows; no mercy was shown to anyone, and the houses were set alight. +An attempt to storm the church-tower failed because the occupants fired +from above. Bundles of straw were brought, paraffin poured on them, and +the tower set on fire. Above the roar of the flames we could distinctly +hear the shrieks of the murderers shut in there. + +"I gave orders to a squad to shoot our prisoners, but a deadly bullet +finished the career of the lying, scoundrelly priest as he was trying to +escape. Our losses were remarkably small, only two men being killed and +a number wounded."[105] + +[Footnote 105: Ibid., p. 43-4.] + +In all cases where German soldiers asked for water from the inhabitants, +the latter had to take a drink first. "Before tasting the water both man +and wife had to drink first, and as this scene was repeated on +innumerable occasions, it was delightful to observe the comic +desperation with which the people took their involuntary 'water +cure.'"[106] + +[Footnote 106: "Mit der Kluck'schen Armee nach Belgien" ("With von +Kluck's Army into Belgium"), by Dr. Jos. Risse, p. 17.] + +Dr. Risse's interesting diary contains one or two important passages +illustrating the relation between conquerors and conquered. Like many +other German writers, he saw no hostile act on the part of the civilian +population, but they came to him as rumours. "That night we slept in a +barn. Here we heard that a village near Dahlem had been burned down +because the inhabitants had cut the throat of a sleeping ambulance +attendant. + +"On continuing our march we suddenly entered a wide vale. The horizon +was blood-red and huge clouds of smoke drifted heavenwards. On all sides +the villages were in flames. In the last village before Louvain the +sight was terrible in the extreme; houses ablaze; pools of blood in the +street; here and there a dead civilian; pieces of Belgian equipment, +haversacks, boots and trousers lay around; while the inhabitants stood +about with their hands raised above their heads. + +"It was said that hostile cavalry had hidden in the village and together +with a part of the inhabitants had fired on our troops. We only saw the +consequences. + +"After a long rest before Louvain we entered the town at 7 p.m. Our +artillery had taken up a semi-circular position on the heights around +and directed their cannon on to the town."[107] + +[Footnote 107: Ibid., pp. 22-3.] + +The above events occurred on August 19th, exactly six days before the +sack of Louvain. It strikes one as remarkable that the German cannon +were even on that day directed against an unfortified city. + +Risse was among the first German troops to enter Brussels. "Our route +took us through some of the principal streets, and various splendid +buildings including the Royal palace. Joy shone in our faces and a +feeling of pride swelled our breasts at being the first to enter +Belgium's capital. These feelings found expression in our talk and +shouts. The man behind me shouted to every bewildered, staring Belgian +whom we passed: 'Yes, young fellow, you are astonished, you blockhead!' +On we marched with the air of victors. + +"The inhabitants were exceedingly kind, so that one had not at all the +feeling of being in the capital of an enemy. They brought us water, +lemonade, beer, cigars, cigarettes, etc., without asking for any +payment."[108] + +[Footnote 108: Ibid., pp. 26-7.] + +The same writer refers to similar hospitality in various parts of his +book. After passing through Brussels he continues his diary: "Sunday, +August 23rd. Nothing came of our hopes for a rest-day. Shortly after 5 +a.m. we were ready for the march. A fine rain was falling as we passed +through village after village. We saw the villagers with frightened +faces hurrying to church, carrying prayer-books. Notices from the +Belgian Government were placarded on the houses, warning the people to +avoid every kind of hostility towards the Germans."[109] + +[Footnote 109: Ibid., p. 31.] + +From the last sentence it is evident that the Belgian authorities did +not incite the civilian population to resistance. Other German +war-writers state that the Belgian and French Governments had organized +a _franc-tireur_ warfare long before, and this accusation is one of the +pillars of Germany's defence for the destruction of Louvain. + +"Soon after crossing the frontier we saw the first ruined house. Our +route led us down the same road on which a few days before the violent +and bitter struggles had taken place between German troops and Belgian +soldiers, aided by the inhabitants. The Belgians have supported their +troops in a manner which can only be described as bestial and cruel. +From the houses they have shot at troops on the march, and of course +their homes have been reduced to ashes. + +"The road from Aix-la-Chapelle to Liége is one long, sad line of +desolation.[110] Otherwise the district is fertile; now, however, +sadness and devastation reign supreme. Nearly every second house is a +heap of ruins, while the houses which are still standing are empty and +deserted. + +[Footnote 110: On September 8th, 1914, the Kaiser sent a long telegram +to President Wilson, in which he defended the German armies against the +charges of ruthless atrocities. He euphemistically stated that "a few +villages have been destroyed."] + +"On every side signs of destruction; furniture and house utensils lie +around; not a pane of glass but what is broken. Still the inhabitants +themselves are to blame, for have they not shot at our poor, tired +soldiers?"[111] + +[Footnote 111: "Mit den Königin-Fusilieren durch Belgien" ("With the +Queen Fusiliers through Belgium"), by H. Knutz, p. 13.] + +That is the utmost sympathy which any German has expressed for Belgium. +The German public is fully informed of all that has been done, and +considers that _they_ have been brutally, wrongfully treated. Lord +Bryce's report as well as the French and Belgian official reports have +been dealt with at considerable length in the German Press, but receive +no credence whatever; they are lies, all lies invented to blacken the +character of poor, noble, generous Germany! + +Germans are well aware of the awful number of brutal crimes which their +men-folk commit year by year at home. Yet they are absolutely convinced +that these same men are immediately transformed into chivalrous knights +so soon as they don the Kaiser's uniform. They seem incapable of +conceiving that a race which debauches its own women, can hardly be +expected to show the crudest forms of respect to the women of an enemy +people. + +Herr Knutz--an elementary school-teacher in civilian attire, and a +non-commissioned officer when in the German army--seems to possess some +rays of human feeling. "Just as I was leaving the fort I saw seven or +eight Belgian civilians guarded by our men with fixed bayonets. They +were charged with firing on German soldiers. I must say that the +lamentations of these men--aged from 20 to 50--made a deep impression on +me. They had thrown themselves upon their knees, and with raised hands +were weeping and beseeching that their lives might be spared. + +"The villagers are exceedingly ignorant, and when their land is in +danger, believe themselves justified in seizing any old shot-gun or +revolver which lies at hand. Probably some of the more prudent are aware +that it is a mad enterprise, but the instinct of self-defence is so +innate in the simple country people that advice does not help in the +least." (Von Bethmann-Hollweg and von Tirpitz justify the use of gas, +the sinking of merchant vessels containing women and children, the +dropping of bombs on open towns, etc., etc., by the plea of +self-defence.--Author.) + +"But it is otherwise with regard to the atrocities on our wounded; these +are a stain on Belgium's national honour which will not easily be wiped +out. A German would never perpetrate such monstrous crimes,[112] and +that we can say without any overweening opinion of ourselves."[113] + +[Footnote 112: This is hypocrisy or ignorance.--Author.] + +[Footnote 113: Ibid., pp. 18-19.] + +Herr Knutz offers no proof of the alleged atrocities; he has heard of +them, believes and repeats the story. I have some fifty German books +describing the war in Belgium, and in all of them similar legends are +mentioned, but in no single instance is a case proved and nailed down. +No victim is named, and the scene of the alleged atrocity is never +given, hence it seems to be the usual German artifice to make +_Stimmung_, _i.e._, to raise feeling. + +One thumb-nail picture from the teacher's diary shows that the Germans +created only too well a _Stimmung_ of abject terror among the Belgians. + +"This morning, August 19th, we searched a small wood for Belgians, but +found none. On leaving the wood a touching picture met our eyes. Several +families were fleeing with their children, and the barest necessaries of +life, into a neighbouring village. An old woman on crutches was trying +in vain to keep up; a young mother with a sucking child was sobbing and +pressing the babe to her bosom. The boys were weeping bitterly and +holding their hands high to prove that they were harmless. We passed by +the ruins of Roosbeck, where civilians had shot on the 20th Artillery +Regiment, for which reason it was burnt down."[114] + +[Footnote 114: Ibid., p. 27.] + +Among the various interesting pictures of the Fatherland sketched by +German authors perhaps the following is the most naïve: "English, French +and Belgians, hand in hand; how nicely it was all thought out; Belgian +neutrality--so solemnly pledged by all the Powers--was nothing but a +screen behind which they wrought the most devilish plans against +Germany. It was a neutrality which had long since been betrayed and sold +by the Belgian Government. + +"But the German people--a pure fool-like Parsifal, who could not +conceive such treachery and knavery because it was incapable of such +things itself--toiled and worked day by day, enjoyed the blessings of +peace, was happy in its existence and ignorant of the looming clouds +gathering on its frontiers. All hail to our chosen leaders who kept +watch and ward over a dreaming people, and did not allow themselves to +be lulled into watchlessness by the lies of our enemies, who while +talking of peace intrigued for our annihilation."[115] + +[Footnote 115: "Von Lüttich bis Flandern" ("From Liége to Flanders"), by +Wilhelm Kotzde. Weimar, 1914; p. 5.] + +The same author's opinion of the Belgians coincides with that expressed +by many of his fellow countrymen. "What did our troops find by the +roadside? On all sides haversacks, straps, cartridges, caps, tunics and +rifles. To our soldiers this was a remarkable sign of flight, for they +are accustomed to military training of a different sort. In the forts, +it is true, they found among the soldiers also civilians wearing +patent-leather shoes. Indeed, the whole Belgian campaign has shown how +badly the army was prepared and equipped. + +"The lack of discipline and order is evident, however, in every +department of Belgium's national life, and these virtues they +endeavoured to replace by cunning and cruelty--at least among the +Walloons."[116] + +[Footnote 116: Ibid., pp. 61-2.] + +A Knight of the Order of St. John[117] is still more cynical in his +condemnation of the conquered enemy: "The greatest misfortune in this +land is unemployment; factories are inactive and shops closed. The +horrors of famine draw nearer, and we, as well as some neutral +countries, are endeavouring to relieve the tortures of want. But charity +only encourages the laziness of the inhabitants. Just as the refugees in +Holland, the Belgians who have remained in their land would like to put +their hands in their pockets and be fed. Of course, that is not +permissible, and the German Government does its best to rap these lazy +wretches on the fingers." + +[Footnote 117: "Kriegsfahrten eines Johanniters," by Fedor von +Zobeltitz, pp. 86-7.] + +"It was characteristic that the Belgians always placed their hopes on +foreign help and never dared to rely on the strength of their own army. +This alone is a serious symptom of national weakness. Still, the Belgian +army has fought bravely. It is true they had not the discipline and +preparation which distinguish the German troops, but everything which a +badly equipped and trained army could achieve they have done."[118] + +[Footnote 118: Wilhelm Kotzde: "Von Lüttich bis Flandern," p. 71.] + +It is not necessary for the author of this work to write a song of +glorification for Belgium; she has herself composed an epic of valour +and self-sacrifice written in immortal deeds. At present her only reward +seems to be a desolate land in the hands of the conqueror, and the +graves of her fallen sons. Germany's evident intention is the annexation +of that part of Belgium where Flemish is spoken. At the moment of +writing, Goliath has vanquished David. France and England have a supreme +duty to fulfil: they are called to avenge Belgium's wrongs, and thereby +establish the principle that even necessity must recognize law. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ATROCITIES + + +The question of Belgian atrocities is so important that no apology is +required for giving the British public every possible opportunity to +sift evidence, and above all, to hear the German side. + +In the interests of fair play we will allow a German lawyer[119] to +state the case against the Belgians. Herr Grasshoff is armed with two +doctorates and is in practice as an advocate in one of the higher courts +of law (_Kammergericht_). Chapter III of his work is entitled: "The +Belgian Outrages;" in the foregoing chapter he endeavours to show that +the Belgian Press had worked upon public opinion and lashed it into such +a state that atrocities and mutilations of Germans by Belgian men, +women, boys and girls were the natural consequences. + +[Footnote 119: Richard Grasshoff: "Belgien's Schuld" ("Belgium's +Guilt").] + +"That the goaded rage of the lower classes found expression in nameless +horrors is unfortunately a sorry truth. The proofs? We are not in a +position to satisfy the desire for sensation with a cabinet of horrors. +The equipment of the German army does not include either the jars or the +chemical fluids for preserving hacked-off limbs, hence it is impossible +to display exhibits as in a museum. Our hospitals do not admit the dead. + +"If Germany should be compelled to conduct a second campaign against the +cultured peoples of Western Europe, then she will not forget to add the +above articles to her equipment in any future war against such +opponents. Pitying mother earth covers the murdered victims." + +This eloquent lawyer has overlooked the aid which the art of photography +affords, and as the German army was well equipped with cameras, some +tangible proofs could still have been procured--assuming there were any +shred of truth in Germany's accusations. The Berlin Government has +circulated photographs of dum-dum bullets, _i.e.,_ English and French +bullets with the points cut off. It is true no statement is offered +regarding the time and place of the points being cut off, which leaves +us free to believe that captured ammunition was "doctored" in this +manner by the Germans themselves. "Necessity knows no law" is a +principle capable of the widest application. + +Grasshoff's work was only published a few months ago, so that he had +ample time to collect facts and proofs--the result is, six detailed +cases with the names of his German informants and their regiments. In +each case the "evidence" is of an exceedingly doubtful character; in +view of the gravity of the charges, the lack of corroboration (each case +is "proved" by one witness alone), and the partisanship of all +concerned, we may safely conclude that no court of justice would convict +on it. + +The same criticism applies to the official White Book, published in June +or July of the present year. Every witness had previously sworn an oath +to protect the German flag (_der Fahneneid_) which precludes the +probability of all impartiality in the witness and makes bias +(_Befangenheit_) his simple duty. Another important factor to be borne +in mind is the hysterical, morbid self-importance of the German nation +in general, which causes police and members of the German army to shoot +or cut down with the sword their own civilians for the most trivial +offences, even in times of peace. + +The White Book in question contains a six-page introduction stating the +charges against Belgian civilians, and three hundred and seventeen pages +of sworn evidence of German officers and soldiers taken for the most +part in Belgium and France. A few extracts from the introduction will +suffice to make the German side clear. + +"Finally, there is not the slightest doubt that Belgian civilians robbed +and killed German wounded; in short, mutilated them in a barbarous +manner; even women and young girls participated in these atrocities. +Hence German wounded have had their eyes gouged out, noses, ears, +fingers and genitals cut off and their bodies cut open; in other cases +German soldiers have been poisoned, hanged on trees, or had burning +liquids poured on them, causing death in a most terrible form. + +"This bestial behaviour on the part of the civilian population is a +breach of Article I., Convention of Geneva,[120] and the principles of +military law, as well as the principles of humanity" (p. 4). + +[Footnote 120: Self-proclaimed outlaws cite the law when it suits their +purpose!--Author.] + +"The guilt for these transgressions of international law lies largely at +the door of the Belgian Government. The latter has made an attempt to +rid itself of responsibility by ascribing the guilt to the rage for +destruction in the German troops, who are accused of proceeding to deeds +of violence without any reason or ground.[121] + +[Footnote 121: Certainly, just as in Germany in peace time.--Author.] + +"An examining commission has been appointed by the Belgian Government to +inquire into the alleged cruelties of German soldiers, and the evidence +thus obtained has been made the subject of diplomatic complaints. This +attempt to pervert the truth has absolutely failed. + +"The German army is accustomed to wage war against hostile troops, but +not against peaceful citizens.[122] Investigations conducted by any +examining commission whatsoever, can never dispose of the irrefutable +fact that German troops were forced by Belgium's native population to +take defensive measures in the interests of self-preservation. + +[Footnote 122: German non-commissioned officers are accustomed to kick +and beat German privates, and the behaviour of German soldiers to +fellow-subjects is aptly illustrated by Lieutenant Förster fighting a +pitched battle with a lame old cobbler in Zabern.--Author.] + +"The refugees' tales collected by the Belgian commission and declared by +them to be the result of an impartial investigation bear a stamp which +makes them unworthy of belief. According to the nature of things, the +commission is not in a position to test the veracity of such rumours or +to apprehend the association of events. Hence, their accusations against +the German army are nothing other than base slanders which are +completely invalidated by the accompanying documents" (pp. 5-6). + +It must be assumed that readers are acquainted with the official +publications of the Belgian and French Governments accusing the German +army with waging war in an atrocious manner, as well as the report of +Lord Bryce's commission and Professor Morgan's report in the "Nineteenth +Century" for June. In the above extract the Berlin Government rules them +one and all out of court, which is the author's justification for making +no use of their evidence. + +Fortunately the Roman Catholic Church of Germany has published a +refutation of Germany's White Book, and surely this authority deserves +credence. The work in question bears the title: "Der Lügengeist im +Völkerkrieg," Kriegsmärchen gesammelt von Bernhard Duhr, S.J. ("The +Spirit of Lying in the War of the Nations," War Legends collected by the +Rev. Bernhard Duhr, S.J.).[123] The reverend gentleman castigates all +the nations at war with the same offence--lying. His work should have +permanent value in the literature of war psychology, but he only +undertakes to expose German lies, and in his 72-paged booklet he proves +to the hilt the charges made in this work. + +[Footnote 123: The author hopes to publish a complete translation +shortly.] + +In his introduction the Rev. Duhr states that the office of the Priests' +Society "Pax" in Cologne has taken great pains to expose and refute lies +as fast as they have appeared. The original documents are preserved in +the above office and may be seen by anyone who cares to apply. + +Probably one of the motives actuating the Society "Pax" and the Rev. B. +Duhr was the intention to refute the accusations of cruel outrages by +Belgian and French Catholic priests. Whatever their motives may have +been, one thing is certain, they have produced most convincing proof of +German mendacity. It is to be hoped that the "Pax" will give the world +the benefit of all the documents in their possession. + +Even the Kaiser had the audacity to state in his telegram of September +8th, 1914, to President Wilson that "women and priests have been guilty +of atrocities in this guerilla warfare." For reasons easy to understand +the reverend gentleman does not introduce the Kaiser's name into his +booklet, but in the introduction he remarks: "Finally the refutation of +such fairy-tales is a patriotic duty. Nothing is more essential for us +Germans, especially in war time, than unity; but this harmony is +necessarily endangered by religious bitterness and strife. Of a +necessity it must cause deep pain and embitterment to our Catholic +population when again and again ENTIRELY UNTRUE ACCUSATIONS are made +against the priesthood of their Church." + +The Rev. Duhr's exposure of what he calls "erlogener Schauergeschichten" +("lying horror tales") kills most of the "fairy-tales" accusing the +Russians, French and Belgians of atrocities on German soldiers. A few +illustrations will suffice to show the absence of all foundation for the +charges against the Belgians; charges, we must remember, which the +German soldiery believed, and which convinced them they were performing +a holy task at Louvain, Tirlemont, Dinant, etc. + +"On October 1st, 1914, a telegraphic agency (Wolff's?) issued the +following notice: 'A high Bavarian officer writing from the front has +informed the _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_ of this incident. South +of Cambrai a column of German motor-cars was attacked by a company of +French cyclists. For the most part the guard was killed by rifle fire, +while the cars were all burnt. Later a German patrol discovered the +remains, and on investigation, found that the dead Germans had all had +their eyes gouged out.'" + +The reverend Father comments as follows: "On following up this case, it +was impossible to prove whether the patrol had seen rightly or whether +they had really made the report at all. So much is certain, however, +that in the matter of eyes being gouged out, an absolute mania of +gruesomeness broke loose. An innumerable swarm of such horrible tales +were told, passed on, and finally guaranteed as true--AND YET THEY WERE +ALL FAIRY-TALES. A few cases will suffice. + +"In September, 1914, the following paragraph appeared in the papers: +'Several ladies engaged in Red Cross work on Cologne Station were +informed with every assurance of truth, that a hospital at +Aix-la-Chapelle contained a whole ward full of wounded whose eyes had +been gouged out on the battlefields of Belgium.' + +"On September 26th the editor of the Catholic _Kölnische Volkszeitung_ +wrote to Dr. Kaufmann, a high Roman Catholic dignitary in +Aix-la-Chapelle, begging him to ascertain whether the report were true. +Two days later that gentleman replied: 'As regards the rumour mentioned +in your letter, I beg to inform you that I at once put myself in +communication with the authorities. I inquired of the doctor in charge +of a hospital here (he is, by the way, a famous specialist for the +eyes), and he assures me that in all the local hospitals there is no +ward for wounded whose eyes have been put out, AND SUCH A CASE HAS NEVER +BEEN OBSERVED in the town, although the place is full of wounded.' + +"A second report which the same journal exposed dates from October, +1914. Recently Dean A., who is the Superior in a military hospital in +the Franciscan Nunnery at S., came to us and reported that a wounded +soldier had told him that he had heard[124] that in the monastery Bl. by +V., in Holland, there were twenty-two wounded German soldiers whose eyes +had been gouged out by Belgians. The Dean begged us to write to the +Mother Superior and ask for confirmation of the story. We did write, and +the lady answered that there was no hospital at all in the cloister +Bl."[125] + +[Footnote 124: The words "hear" and "heard" occur very frequently in +these legends.--Author.] + +[Footnote 125: The Rev. Duhr's book, pp. 11-12.] + +The same lie travelled to Bonn, Sigmaringen, Potsdam, Bremen, and was +successively nailed down by the _Volkszeitung_. Inquiries were made in +all directions wherever a case of gouged-out eyes was reported, the +result being everywhere the same--a fairy-tale. + +Yet when the German Imperial Chancellor received a party of American +journalists (representatives of the United Press and the Associated +Press) on September 2nd, 1914, he communicated this statement: "The +English will inform your countrymen that German troops have burnt down +Belgian villages and towns, but they will conceal the fact that Belgian +girls have gouged out the eyes of our helpless soldiers lying on the +battlefields." + +"Berlin papers informed the public that 'a large number of Belgian +civilians were prisoners in Münster. They are the same bestial creatures +who shot from their houses on our unsuspecting troops, and who, before +the arrival of our invading armies in Belgium, had perpetrated all sorts +of cruelties on helpless German citizens. Indeed, when they were +searched on their arrival at the prisoners' camp fingers with rings on +them, which they had hacked off their victims, were found in their +pockets. Justice will soon strike down these Belgians, among whom a very +large number of priests are to be found. Twenty to thirty have already +been condemned to death by a court-martial.' + +"The 'Pax' Society of Priests immediately wrote to the commander of the +prisoners' camp, and received this reply: 'The ridiculous assertion of a +Berlin paper that fingers had been found in the pockets of Belgian +civilians in this camp is false. Neither has any priest or layman been +condemned to death, but over one hundred Belgian women and children have +been sent home again.'"[126] + +[Footnote 126: Ibid., p. 19.] + +The above extracts will suffice to show how these Roman Catholic +gentlemen proceeded. Immediately an atrocity was reported they applied +to the authorities, and in every case received an affirmation that the +deed had never taken place. Among the monstrous lies exposed by these +investigators, are reports that Belgian priests paid eight shillings for +every German head brought to them; high treason charges against Catholic +priests in Alsace; all kinds of monstrous crimes charged to the +priesthood; that a Belgian boy was caught with a bucketful of dead +Germans' eyes; espionage by priests etc., etc. + +Yet one other case deserves quotation: "On October 5th, 1914, a priest +was travelling by rail to Mayence. In the same compartment there were +four privates from Infantry Regiment No. 94. One of them named Rössner, +related the following story to his comrades, and then, at the priest's +request, again repeated it: + +"'In the Belgian village of Patsie the _curé_ welcomed a German major +and his orderly into his house. Afterwards the priest promised a boy of +thirteen that he should go straight to heaven if he would murder the two +Germans. The lad perpetrated the murder, after which he and the _curé_ +were shot under martial law.' + +"When the priest pointed out how incredible the whole story was, the +soldier swore to its truth, and became very impolite to his auditor. An +inquiry was instituted and this was the result: + + "'War Office, No. 1866. The investigations made, in especial the + hearing under oath of private Rössner and several officers in his + regiment, have resulted in the following particulars being obtained: + At the beginning of the campaign as the troops marched into a + village--name unknown--they saw by the roadside two or three dead + civilians. One was apparently a boy of about thirteen, while the other + was an adult with a dark coat. It was not established whether this was + the body of a priest. Furthermore, we have not been able to discover + by whom, or for what reason, these people were shot. + + "'At that time the story quoted by you about a _curé_ and a boy, was + told as a "rumour" to all the troops marching through. It is + impossible after the lapse of time to test the truth of the narrative. + + "'Signed by order, + + "'BAUER AND WAGNER.'"[127] + +[Footnote 127: Ibid., pp. 54-5.] + +The above document may be said, without presumption, to possess historic +importance. It is a frank admission by the German War Office that +Belgian civilians were actually shot down without rhyme or reason. +Apparently German soldiers (!) had a _carte blanche_ to shoot whom they +liked, without rendering or being expected to render a report of their +doings. + +The Rev. Duhr writes: "The incredible speed with which these lying tales +of horror spread on all sides must be classed as a morbid phenomenon, a +sort of blood-cult. Their consequences could only be to act upon the +national soul as a stimulant, inspiring fear and brutality."[128] + +[Footnote 128: Ibid., p. 9.] + +The author of this work is prepared to go much farther than the Rev. +Father, and maintain that the foul, diseased imaginations which could +invent such monstrous horrors are also capable of perpetrating them. +They did not spring from the imagination of an Edgar Allan Poe, but +arose in the minds of Germany's brutal peasantry and bloodthirsty +working classes, who together every year commit in times of peace 9,000 +acts of brutal, immoral bestiality, and maliciously wound 175,000 of +their fellow German citizens.[129] + +[Footnote 129: _Vide_ Vol. 267 _Vierteljahrshefte_, published by the +Berlin Government, 1914.] + +To-day Germany shouts in ecstasy that she is the chosen power of God; +that her _Kultur_ will regenerate the world. Let it first regenerate the +"Augean Stable" known to the world as Germany. Without further comment +readers are left to form their own opinion of a Press which breeds such +filth, and the cultural level of a people which consumes such garbage. +But the world owes a debt of gratitude to the Rev. Bernhard Duhr, S.J., +and the "Pax" Society in Cologne. + +The accusations of plundering on the part of German soldiers is +naturally denied _in toto_ by all parties in the Fatherland. Indeed, it +has been discovered that the British army was guilty of wilful +destruction in Belgium. A certain Major Krusemarck, commanding the 2nd +battalion of the 12th Infantry Reserve Regiment, is responsible for the +story. "On October 10th I entered Wilryk, near Antwerp, and took up my +quarters in the Italian Consulate. All the houses had been deserted by +the inhabitants. Immediately after entering the house I perceived that +English soldiers had been here and behaved in a barbarous manner. +Mirrors, valuable objects of art, etc., had been smashed in a way which +betrayed purpose." The major's report continues: "The destruction which +I have described had undoubtedly been perpetrated by members of the +English army, and as proof of this I may state that in one of the rooms +about a dozen visiting-cards were found with the name: Major E.L. +Gerrard, Royal Marine Light Infantery (sic). + +"During the subsequent pursuit of the Belgian and English armies we +heard repeated complaints from the inhabitants that especially the +English troops had acted in the most inconsiderate manner, purposely +destroying furniture, etc., in civilian houses."[130] + +[Footnote 130: Richard Grasshoff: "Belgien's Schuld," p. 84.] + +Without doubt the story belongs to the group of legends exposed by the +"Pax" Society, for which reason it is quoted here, as a fitting +supplement to them. Yet it is psychologically interesting to note how +difficult it is for Germans who burn, destroy and violate in their own +country to believe that they behave otherwise than as lambs when playing +the rôle of invaders. + +One quotation from a large number will illustrate sufficiently the +respect which the German troops felt for civilian homes in the +territories occupied by them: "We got into the house by a back-door. +Orders had been issued that only food and shirts were to be taken. The +cellar was full of wine and champagne. A corporal brought us some of the +latter. After half an hour the rooms looked very different; all the +cupboards had been emptied in order to get at the jams and jellies. +Several pots of fruit preserved in wine were divided as honestly as the +greed of the individual allowed. + +"All the underclothing was seized upon, obviously only the best being +taken. Many a dirty Pole put on such a shirt as he had never dreamed of +before. Even ladies' chemises were commandeered, and some of the men +assured me that a French chemise is quite comfortable--in spite of the +short sleeves. + +"If there is a sterner sex in France, which is exceedingly doubtful, +they do not seem to possess pants; so the men resorted to the +corresponding article worn by ladies."[131] (This writer refers in other +parts of his book to "mementoes" which he carried home to the +Fatherland, after being wounded at the Marne.) + +[Footnote 131: H. Knutz: "Mit den Königin-Fusilieren durch Belgien," p. +42.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM AND GERMANY'S ANNEXATION PROPAGANDA + + +"Afterthoughts" is the term which would perhaps designate most concisely +the section of German war literature treating of Belgium's violated +neutrality. Should that designation appear unfitting, then the author +has only one other to suggest--"whitewash." + +In order to apprehend clearly the method and aims concealed beneath the +"afterthoughts," readers must bear in mind that every attempt to protest +against the annexation of Belgium by Germany is prohibited by the German +censor. The Social Democratic organs emphasize the fact almost daily +that they are not permitted to print anything contrary to the principle +of annexation. + +On the other hand, numerous writers are allowed to make a most extensive +propaganda by suggesting that annexation is necessary in the interests +of their racial-brothers the Flemings. By order of the German Government +a geographical description of the country has been published,[132] in +which every detail of Belgium's wealth in minerals, agriculture, and so +on, is described, with no other possible purpose than the desire to whet +German Michael's appetite. + +[Footnote 132: "Belgien, Land und Leute," Berlin, 1915.] + +All at once Germany has become suspiciously interested in Belgian +history, in the domestic quarrels between Walloons and Flemings, in the +alleged oppression of the latter (Low Germans) by the former, and +propose for themselves the part of liberator and saviour for Flemish +culture. They have discovered, among other things, that Belgium was +merely a paper State, a diplomatic invention, an experiment, and that no +"Belgian" people has ever existed, but rather two hostile elements were +packed under the same roof against their will by the Conference of +London--the said roof bears the name Belgium! + +According to a good German-Swiss[133] the Belgians have no national +feelings, no patriotism, and have never had a Fatherland. If a serious +writer can make such statements after the Belgians have defended their +native country so heroically, one naturally wonders whether Herr Blocher +is sane, or merely a paid agent of the German authorities. In his work +he denies every and any intention to justify or condemn either Germany +or Belgium, and then proceeds to blacken the latter's character by +quoting every Belgian utterance which may be interpreted as anti-German. +These expressions lead him to the remarkable conclusion that Belgians +had already violated their own neutrality! + +[Footnote 133: "Belgische Neutralität," by Eduard Blocher. Zurich, +1915.] + +Blocher states that his work is only intended to prove that Switzerland +has nothing to fear from Germany's precedent in invading Belgium. But he +never mentions Belgium's maritime interests, Antwerp and the extensive +seacoast on the North Sea. He is oblivious to the fact that Germany's +desire to possess these was the sole motive for precipitating war and +invading Belgium. To Germany the coast of Belgium is the door to the +world and world domination. Switzerland does not possess such a door, +and therefore had nothing to fear from her powerful neighbour; but if +the Allies are unable to bar this door to Germany's aggressive schemes, +then the time is not far distant when Germany would remember that she +has "brothers" within Swiss frontiers and insist upon their entrance +into the great Teutonic sheepfold--just as her most earnest desire at +present is to drive the "lost" Flemings back to their parent race. + +Among the many phrases which Germans have coined to describe Belgium the +following occur: bastard, eunuch and hermaphrodite. According to the +German conception of a "State," Belgium is an unnatural monstrosity, +from which one draws the natural conclusion that Germany intends to +remove it from the domain of earthly affairs. + +On the whole, German writers admit the existence of Belgian neutrality, +and also Germany's pledge to respect it. The three most serious writers +on the subject are, Dr. Reinhard Frank,[134] professor of jurisprudence +in Munich University; Dr. Karl Hampe,[135] professor in Heidelberg; and +Dr. Walter Schoenborn,[136] also a professor in Heidelberg University. + +[Footnote 134: Reinhard Frank: "Die belgische Neutralität." Tubingen, +1915.] + +[Footnote 135: Karl Hampe: "Belgien's Vergangenheit und Gegenwart." +Berlin, 1915.] + +[Footnote 136: Walther Schoenborn: "Die Neutralität Belgien's." This is +an appendix to a large work written by twenty university professors, +entitled "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," published by B.G. Teubner, +Leipzig and Berlin, 1915.] + +The nearer examination of these three works must be premised by two +important considerations. Firstly, the three professors ignore the fact +that Germany was a menace to Belgium, and make no mention of German +aspirations for a coastline on or near the English Channel. Holland and +Belgium form a twentieth century "Naboth's vineyard," on which the +German Ahab has cast avaricious glances for upwards of forty years. + +A casual acquaintance with Pan-German and German naval and military +literature during the same period, affords overwhelming proof of this +powerful current in German nationalism. If Naboth consulted strong +neighbours as to necessary precautions against Ahab's plans for +obtaining the vineyard, then Naboth acted as a wise man, and the only +regret to-day is that the "strong neighbours" only offered Naboth +assurances and words, instead of deeds. In other words Great Britain did +nothing because, as Lord Haldane expressed it, the Liberal Cabinet was +"afraid" (!) to offend Germany and precipitate a crisis. + +Secondly, the three professors, like all others of their class in the +Fatherland, have sworn an oath on taking office not to do anything, +either by word or deed, detrimental to the interests of the German State +of which they are _official_ members. An ordinary German in writing on +Germany may be under the subjective influences of his national feelings, +but a German who has taken the "Staatseid" (oath to the State) cannot be +objective in national questions and interests--his oath leaves only one +course open to him, and any departure from that course may mean the loss +of his daily bread. + +The author has the greatest respect for the achievements of German +professors in the domains of science and abstract thought; by those +achievements they have deservedly become famous, but in all judgments +where Germany's interests are concerned they are bound hand and +foot.[137] + +[Footnote 137: Towards the close of 1913 I had a conversation with half +a dozen Germans (average age twenty-five) in Erlangen Gymnasium (State +Secondary School); they were candidates in training for the teaching +profession, all university men. I listened patiently to their diatribes +concerning the perfidy of English Statesmen, and then pointed out, +giving chapter and verse in German biographies, that Bismarck's record +was exceedingly tortuous; the forgery of the Ems telegram was given as +an instance. + +A few weeks later I met the vice-principal of the school at a private +party; this gentleman was a good friend of mine. He reminded me of the +above conversation, and gave me a friendly warning never again to make +such statements to my pupils. The candidates had talked it over, and +although they had provoked the discussion, proposed to have me reported +to the Minister for Education for uttering such opinions. The +vice-principal had intervened and prevented the _Denunziation_. + +If a professor of history in a German university expressed any opinion +in his academic lectures unfavourable to modern Germany, he would be +immediately _denunziert_ to the State authorities by his own students. +Should he publish such opinions in book form, of course the process of +cashiering him would be simpler. Germans do not desire the truth so far +as their own country is concerned; they do not will the truth; they will +_Deutschland über alles_, and all information, knowledge, or propaganda +contrary to their will is prohibited. If space permitted I could mention +numerous cases in which famous professors have been treated like +schoolboys by the German State--their stern father and master.] + +When a German conscript enters the army he takes the _Fahneneid_ (oath +on, and to, the flag), which binds him to defend the Fatherland with +bayonet and bullet. In like manner it may be said that German professors +are bound by the _Staatseid_ either to discreet silence, or to employ +their intellectual pop-guns in defending Germany. That these pop-guns +fire colossal untruths, innuendoes, word-twistings, and such like +missiles, giving out gases calculated to stupefy and blind honest +judgments, will become painfully evident in the course of our +considerations. + +That any and every German obeys the impulse to defend his country is +just and praiseworthy; but in our search for truth we are compelled to +note the fact that German professors are merely intellectual soldiers +fighting for Germany. Without departing from the truth by one jot or +tittle, readers may even call them "outside clerks" of the German +Foreign Office, or the "ink-slingers" under the command of the German +State. + +These premises have been laid down _in extenso_ because some fifty books +will be discussed in this work, which emanate from German universities. +A neutral reader may retort: You also are not impartial, for you are an +Englishman! Having anticipated the question, the author ventures to give +an answer. If he could make a destructive attack on Britain's +policy--the attack would be made without the least hesitation. Such an +attack, if proved to the hilt, would bring any man renown, and in the +worst case no harm. But if a German professor launched an attack, based +upon incontrovertible facts, against Bethmann-Hollweg and Germany's +policy, that professor would be ruined in time of peace and in all +probability imprisoned, or sent to penal servitude in time of war. + +Nothing which the present author could write would ever tarnish the +reputation of German professors as men of science, but in the narrower +limits as historians of the Fatherland and propagandists of the +_Deutschland-über-alles_ gospel they are tied with fetters for the like +of which we should seek in vain at the universities of Great Britain or +America. It would be in the interests of truth and impartiality if every +German professor who writes on the "Causes of the World War," "England's +Conspiracy against Germany," "The Non-Existence of Belgian Neutrality," +and similar themes, would print the German _Staatseid_ on the front page +of his book. The text of that oath would materially assist his readers +in forming an opinion regarding the trustworthiness and impartiality of +the professor's conclusions. + +Professor Frank commences his historical sketch of Belgian neutrality +with the year 1632, when Cardinal Richelieu proposed that Belgium should +be converted into an independent republic. Doubtless the desire to found +a buffer State inspired Richelieu, just as it did the representatives of +Prussia, Russia, France, Austria and England when they drew up the +treaty guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality in perpetuity, at the +Conference of London, 1839. + +But an additional motive actuated the diplomatists of 1839, viz., +Belgium was henceforth to be the corner-stone supporting the structure +commonly designated "the balance of power in Europe." + +An objection has been made to the validity of the treaty signed in +London, viz., England herself did not consider it reliable and binding, +or she would not have asked for, and obtained, pledges from both Prussia +and France to respect Belgian neutrality in 1870. Another objection is +the claim that the German Empire, founded in 1870, was not bound by the +Prussian signature attached to a treaty in 1839. Other writers have +endeavoured to show that the addition of African territory (Congo Free +State) to Belgium changed the political status of that country, exposed +it to colonial conflicts with two great colonial Powers, and thus +tacitly ended the state of neutrality. + +Each of the professors in question overrides these objections, and Frank +remarks, p. 13: "Lawyers and diplomatists refuse, and rightly so, to +accept this view." Again, p. 14.: "There is no international document in +existence which has cancelled Belgian neutrality." + +Germany's alleged violation of her promise to regard Belgium as a +neutral country is justified on quite other grounds. Belgium had herself +violated her neutrality by a secret alliance with France and England. +Frank argues that a neutral State has certain duties imposed upon it in +peace time, and in support of his contention quotes Professor Arendt +(Louvain University, 1845), who wrote: "A neutral State may not conclude +an alliance of defence and offence, by which in case of war between two +other States it is pledged to help one of them. Yet it is free and +possesses the right to form alliances to protect its neutrality and in +its own defence, but such defensive alliances can only be concluded +after the outbreak of war." + +Another authority quoted to support his point is Professor Hilty +(University of Bern, 1889). "A neutral State may not conclude a treaty +_in advance_ to protect its own neutrality, because by this means a +protectorate relationship would be created." + +Frank continues (p. 21): "Hence Belgian neutrality was guaranteed in the +interests of the balance of power in Europe, and I have already pointed +out that the same idea prevailed when the barrier-systems of 1815 and +1818 were established. + +"Considering the matter from this point of view, the falsity of modern +Belgium's interpretation at once becomes apparent. According to Belgian +official opinion her neutrality obligations only came into force in the +event of war, and therefore could not be violated during peace. But this +balance of power was to be maintained, above all in time of peace, and +might not be disturbed by any peaceful negotiations whatever, especially +if these were calculated to manifest themselves in either advantageous +or prejudicial form, in the event of war. + +"In this category we may place the surrender of territory. No impartial +thinker can deny that the cession of Antwerp to England would have been +a breach of neutrality on the part of Belgium, even if it had occurred +in peace time. The same is true for the granting of occupation rights, +and landing places for troops, or for the establishment of a harbour +which might serve as a basis for the military or naval operations of +another State. + +"Moreover, it is unnecessary to exert one's imagination in order to +discover 'peaceful negotiations' which are incompatible with permanent +neutrality, for history offers us two exceedingly instructive examples. +When a tariff union between France and Belgium was proposed in 1840, +England objected because the plan was not in accord with Belgian +neutrality. Again in 1868, when the Eastern Railway Company of France +sought to obtain railway concessions in Belgium, it was the latter +country which refused its consent, and in the subsequent parliamentary +debate the step was designated an act of neutrality." + +From this extract it is evident that Professor Frank has undermined his +own case. Belgian neutrality was intended by the great powers to be the +corner-stone of the European balance of power. During the last forty +years Germany's carefully meditated increase of armaments on land and +sea threatened to dislodge the corner-stone. When the Conference of +London declared Belgium to be a permanently neutral country, there was +apparent equality of power on each side of the stone. In 1870 the +Franco-German war showed that the balance of power was already disturbed +at this corner of the European edifice. Still Germany's pledged word was +considered sufficient guarantee of the _status quo_. + +Since 1870 the potential energy on the German side of the corner-stone +has increased in an unprecedented degree, and this huge energy has been +consistently converted into concrete military and naval forces. This +alteration in the potential _status quo ante_ has been partly the result +of natural growth, but in a still greater degree, to Germany's doctrine +that it is only might which counts. + +Another German professor[138] had defined the position in a sentence: +"Germany is a boiler charged to danger-point with potential energy. In +such a case is it a sound policy to try to avert the possibility of an +explosion by screwing down all its safety-valves?" Recognizing that +Belgian neutrality has existed for many years past solely on Germany's +good-will, it became the right and urgent duty of the other signatory +powers to endeavour to strengthen the corner-stone. Germany absolutely +refused to relax in any way the pressure which her "potential energy" +was exercising at this point, therefore it was necessary above all for +France and Great Britain to bolster up the threatened corner. + +[Footnote 138: Hermann Oncken (Heidelberg), in the _Quarterly Review_, +October, 1913. The author of the article charges Great Britain with +screwing down the valves, which is a deliberate distortion of the truth. +Britain has always opened her markets free to German goods and admitted +the same privileges to her rival--so far as these did not run contrary +to established rights--in all parts of the world. With regard to +territorial expansion a treaty had been drawn up between the two Powers +and was ready to be signed just when war broke out. That treaty would +have afforded Germany immense opportunities for expansion, but not at +the expense of Europe. Germany, however, desired European expansion, and +according to her accepted teaching, the fate of extra-European +territories will be decided on the battlefields of Europe.] + +The former Power could have achieved this purpose by building a chain of +huge fortresses along her Belgian frontier. Why this precautionary +measure was never taken is difficult to surmise, but had it been taken, +Germany would have ascribed to her neighbour plans of aggression--and +declared war. + +Great Britain could have restored the balance by creating an army of +several millions. Lord Haldane has announced that the late Liberal +Government was "afraid" to do this, although the fear of losing office +may have been greater than their fear for Germany. + +The measures which England did take were merely non-binding +conversations with the military authorities of France and Belgium; the +making of plans for putting a British garrison of defence on Belgian +territory in the event of the latter's neutrality being violated or +threatened; and the printing of books describing the means of +communication in Belgium.[139] + +[Footnote 139: "Belgium, Road and River Reports," prepared by the +General Staff, Vol. I., 1912; II., 1913; III. & IV., 1914. Copies of +this work have been seized by the Germans in Belgium, and capital is +being made of the incident to prove a violation of Belgian neutrality. +If the British General Staff had nothing better to do than to compile +guide-books to Belgium for a non-existent British army, it appears +merely amusing. But if the late Liberal Government believed that +Germany's potential energy could be prevented from breaking through into +Belgian territory by a barricade of guide-books--it was a lamentable +error of judgment. On the whole we are forced to call it a tragical +irony, that the only defences which Belgium possessed against the _furor +teutonicus_--excepting the Belgian army--were a "scrap of paper" and a +barricade of the same material.] + +As a result of these measures, Belgium stands charged by Germany with +having broken her own neutrality, and German writers are naively asking +why Belgium did not give the same confidence to Germany which she gave +to England. The German mind knows quite well, that in building strategic +railways to the Belgian frontier she betrayed the line of direction +which the potential energy was intended to take, when the burst came. +Unofficially Germany has long since proclaimed her intention to invade +Belgium; it was an "open secret." + +The _denouement_ of August 4th, 1914, when Belgian neutrality was +declared a "scrap of paper,"[140] was not the inspiration of a moment, +nor a decision arrived at under the pressure of necessity, but the +result of years of military preparation and planning. It had been +carefully arranged that the boiler should pour forth its energy through +the Belgian valve. + +[Footnote 140: This famous phrase was employed as far back as 1855 by a +Belgian Minister in the House of Deputies, Brussels. M. Lebeau in +pleading for greater military preparation used these words: "History has +shown what becomes of neutralities which were guaranteed, by what may be +termed a 'scrap of paper.'"] + +Or to draw another comparison, it is a modern variety of the wolf and +the lamb fable, with this difference: the wolf has first of all +swallowed the lamb, and now excuses himself by asserting that the +traitorous wretch had muddied the stream. + +Belgians were painfully aware of the danger threatening them, and would +have made greater efforts to protect themselves, had not their own +Social Democrats resisted every military proposal. As the matter stands +to-day, however, all the efforts which Belgium did make, are classed by +Germany as intrigues of the Triple Entente, threatening her (Germany's) +existence, and all the horrors which have fallen upon this gallant +"neutral" country the German Pecksniff designates "Belgium's +Atonement."[141] It is to be feared that sooner or later, unless +Germany's military pride and unbounded greed of her neighbour's goods +can be checked, German professors will be engaged in the scientific task +of proving that the waters of the upper Rhine are unpalatable because +the lamb residing in Holland has stirred up mud in the lower reaches of +the same river! + +[Footnote 141: _Belgien's Sübne_, the title of a chapter describing the +desolation and havoc of war, in a book entitled "Mit dem Hauptquartier +nach Westen," by Heinrich Binder. Berlin, 1915.] + +Belgium knew that England and France had no other interest than the +maintenance of her neutrality. Belgium saw and felt, where the storm +clouds lowered, and probably sought or accepted advice from those Powers +who wished to perpetuate both the territorial integrity and neutrality +of Belgium. Germany's afterthought on the point is: "It was Belgium's +duty to protect her neutrality, and she owed this duty to all States +alike in the interests of the balance of power--a conception to which +she owes her existence. + +"She was bound to treat all the signatory Powers in the same manner, but +she failed to do so, in that she permitted one or two of them to gain an +insight into her system of defence. By this means she afforded the +States admitted to her confidence, certain advantages which they could +employ for their own ends at any moment. + +"By allowing certain of the great Powers to see her cards, Belgium was +not supporting the European balance, but seriously disturbing it. Even +Belgium's Legation Secretary in Berlin had warned his Government +concerning the political dangers arising out of intimacy with England. +By revealing her system of defence to England, Belgium destroyed its +intrinsic value and still more--she violated her international +obligations."[142] + +[Footnote 142: Professor Frank's work, pp. 29-30.] + +Considering that the British army at that time was small, that Britain +had no idea of annexing Belgian territory, one naturally wonders how the +value of Belgium's defence system had been depreciated by conversations +with British officers. In effect, Germany maintains that Belgium should +have behaved as a nonentity, which is contrary to all reason. + +The Berlin Government has always treated her small neighbour as a +sovereign State, equal in quality, though not in power, to any State in +the world. If Germany recognized Belgium's sovereignty, why should not +England do the same, and, above all, why had Belgium no right to think +of her self-preservation, when she knew the danger on her eastern +frontier grew more menacing month by month? + +Frank concludes his dissertation with his opinion of England and quotes +Thucydides, V., 105, as the best applicable characterization of the +British with which he is acquainted. "Among themselves, indeed, and out +of respect for their traditional constitution, they prove to be quite +decent. As regards their treatment of foreigners, a great deal might be +said, yet we will try to express it in brief. Among all whom we know +they are the most brazen in declaring what is good to be agreeable, and +what is profitable to be just." + +The very offence which Germany accuses England of having premeditated, +she committed herself many years before. When France seemed to threaten +Belgium's existence, King Leopold I. concluded a secret treaty[143] with +the king of Prussia, whereby the latter was empowered to enter Belgium +and occupy fortresses in case of France becoming dangerous. The French +danger passed away, and its place was taken by a more awful menace--the +pressure of German potential energy; and when Belgium in turn opened her +heart (this is the unproved accusation which Germany makes +to-day--Author) to England, then she has violated her neutrality and +undermined the balance of power.[144] There is even a suspicion that +Leopold II. renewed this treaty with Germany in 1890, in spite of the +fact that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Prince de Chimay, in an +official speech denied its existence. + +[Footnote 143: Germans love anything which is "secret." +"Geheimniskrämerei" ("affectation of mysteriousness and secrecy") is a +national and individual characteristic of the German people.--Author.] + +[Footnote 144: Karl Hampe: "Belgiens Vergangenheit und Gegenwart" +("Belgium Past and Present"), p. 49.] + +Professor Schoenborn's essay on Belgian neutrality is the least +satisfactory exposition of the three professorial effusions; it is no +credit to a man of learning, and is merely the work of an incapable +partisan trying to make a bad cause into a good one. Schoenborn +commences[145] with the customary German tactics by stating that +Bethmann-Hollweg's "scrap-of-paper" speech, and von Jagow's (German +Secretary of State) explanations to the Belgian representative in Berlin +on August 3rd, 1914, are of no importance in deciding the justice of +Germany's violation of her pledged word. One is led to inquire, When is +a German utterance--whether given in the Reichstag by the Chancellor or +on paper in the form of a treaty--final and binding? + +[Footnote 145: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg" ("Germany and the World +War"), pp. 566-8.] + +Subterfuges, insinuations, distortions, even brazen falsehoods, are +scattered throughout German war literature, thicker "than Autumnal +leaves in Vallombrosa's brook." It is to be feared that just as Germans +have lied for a century to prove that the English were annihilated at +the battle of Waterloo, and for over forty years to show that Bismarck +was not a forger, so they will lie for centuries to come in order to +prove that the invasion of Belgium was not what Bethmann-Hollweg called +it, a "breach of international law." + +Like his _confrères_, Herr Schoenborn admits that Germany was pledged to +respect the neutrality of Belgium, but the said neutrality was +non-existent, which appears somewhat paradoxical. Yet this is not the +least logical part of his case. "The passage of German troops through +Belgium was indispensable in the interests of the preservation of the +German Empire. A successful resistance to the annihilation-plans which +our enemies had wrought for our downfall seemed possible only by this +means. The Government regretted that, by so doing, we should commit a +formal infringement of the rights of a third State (Belgium), and +promised to make all possible compensation for the transgression. + +"The judicial point of view which influenced the decision of the German +Government is perhaps, best illustrated by a parallel taken from the +ordinary laws of the country: A forester (game-keeper) is attacked by a +poacher, and in that same moment perceives a second poacher bearing a +gun at full-cock, creeping into a strange house in order to obtain a +better shot at the forester. Just as he is about to enter the house the +forester breaks the door open and thus forestalls him--in order to +surprise and overcome him. The forester is justified in taking this +step, but must make good all damage resulting to the householder."[146] + +[Footnote 146: Ibid., p. 575.] + +The instance holds good in the land of _Kultur_, where law and order +affords so little protection to a civilian and his property; but in +countries where laws are based upon culture the author believes that the +forester would receive condign punishment for breaking into another +man's house, no matter under what pretext. Unconsciously the learned +professor is humorous when he compares Germany to a gamekeeper and +Russia and France to poachers; but he is naïve to a degree of stupidity, +when he makes France carry a weapon fully prepared to shoot the +forester. + +We will consult another German authority to show that France's weapons +were not at full-cock. + +"During the last ten years France has given special attention to the +fortresses on the German frontier. But those facing Belgium have been so +carelessly equipped that we see clearly to what a degree she relied upon +her neighbour. The forts are in the same condition as they were twenty +or thirty years ago. As some of these fortifications were built fifty +years ago, various points on the frontier are strategically, absolutely +useless. + +"A typical example of this, is Fort les Ayvelles, which is intended to +protect the bridges and Meuse crossings south of Mézières-Charleville; +the fort was levelled to the ground by 300 shots from our 21-centimetre +howitzers. It was built in 1878 and armed with forty cannon; of these +the principal weapons consisted of two batteries each containing six +9-centimetre cannon, which, however, were cast in the years 1878-1880, +and in the best case could only carry 4,000 yards. Then there were some +12-centimetre bronze pieces cast in 1884, and a few five-barrelled +revolver cannon. + +"Besides these there were old howitzers from the year 1842; +muzzle-loaders with the characteristic pyramids of cannon ball by the +side, such as are often used in Germany at village festivals or to fire +a salute. The fort itself was a perfect picture of the obsolete and +out-of-date. Apart from the crude, primitive equipment, the organization +must have been faulty indeed. + +"On the road leading up to the fort we saw some tree-branches which had +been hurriedly placed as obstacles, and higher up wire entanglements had +been commenced at the last moment. At least one battery was useless, for +the field of fire was cut off by high trees, and at the last minute the +garrison had tried to place the guns in a better position. + +"Our artillery which fired from a north-westerly position displayed a +precision of aim which is rare. One battery had had nearly every gun put +out of action by clean hits. In several cases we saw the barrel of the +gun yards away from its carriage, and only a heap of wheels, earth, +stones, etc., marked the place where it had stood. + +"Another proof of the excellent work done by the artillery, was the fact +that hardly a shell had struck the earth in the 500 yards from the +battery to the fort. After the former had been disposed of, the +artillery fire was concentrated on the fort, which was reduced to a heap +of rubbish. The stonework and the high walls--yards thick--had tumbled +to pieces like a child's box of bricks. + +"A garrison of 900 men had been placed in this useless cage, and they +had fled almost at the first shot. Instead of putting these men in +trenches, their superiors had put them at this 'lost post' and allowed +them to suffer the moral effects of a complete, inevitable defeat. + +"Near the fort I saw the grave of its commander, the unfortunate man who +had witnessed the hopeless struggle. He lived to see his men save their +lives in wild flight--and then ended his own."[147] + +[Footnote 147: Heinrich Binder: "Mit dem Hauptquartier nach Westen," pp. +107-9.] + +Here we have a sorry picture of the poacher whom Germany feared so much. +The world knows now that neither Britain, France nor Russia were +prepared for war, which excludes the probability that they desired or +provoked a conflict. But Germany knew that, and much more, in the month +of July, 1914. Bethmann-Hollweg when addressing the Reichstag drew a +terrifying picture of French armies[148] standing ready to invade +Belgium, but he knew full well that the necessary base-fortresses were +lacking on the Franco-Belgian frontier. + +[Footnote 148: Richard Grasshoff in his work "Belgien's Schuld" +("Belgium's Guilt"), p. 14 _et seq_., reproduces several confessions +alleged to have been made by French soldiers, prisoners of war in +Germany, stating that they entered Belgian territory on July 31st, 1914. +At present it is impossible to test the value of this evidence. Cf. p. +151.] + +As regards the alleged plans which Germany's enemies had made to +annihilate Germany, it will be necessary for Professor Schoenborn to +prove that the Entente Powers had: (1.) Caused the murder in Serajewo; +(2.) Despatched the ultimatum to Serbia; (3.) Prepared themselves for +war. Until he proves these three points the world will continue to +believe that it was Germany alone who cherished "annihilation-plans." + +Schoenborn mentions too, Britain's refusal to promise her neutrality +even if Germany respected the neutrality of Belgium. This offer was made +to Sir Edward Grey, who declined it. According to Professor Schoenborn +Germany's final decision to invade Belgium was only taken after that +refusal. It is a striking example of the immorality which prevails both +in Germany's business and political life. She gave her solemn pledge in +1839, yet endeavoured to sell the same pledge in 1914--for Britain's +neutrality! + +The author once made an agreement with a German, but soon found that the +arrangement was ignored and wrote to the person in question: "You have +employed our arrangement merely as a means for making further incursions +into my rights." + +That summarizes the Teutonic conception of a treaty, either private or +national. It is only a wedge with which to broaden the way for a further +advance. Usually a man signs an agreement with an idea of finality, and +looks forward to freedom from further worry in the matter. Not so the +German; with him it is an instrument to obtain, or blackmail, further +concessions; and as individuals, instead of occupying their thoughts and +energies in the faithful fulfilment of its terms, they plot and plan in +the pursuit of ulterior advantages. + +Heidelberg's great scholar seems to have had doubts concerning his +simile of the gamekeeper; hence in his last footnote he makes the +innocuous remark: "Because the house-breaking gamekeeper fired the first +shot, it is not usual to draw the conclusion that the poacher had only +defensive intentions" (p. 590). + +All in all, Professor Schoenborn's attempt at partisanship is a +miserable failure, and as an academic thesis it is doubtful whether the +faculty of law in any German university would grant a student a degree +for such a crude effort. + +Various facts indicate Germany's intention to annex Belgium, if not the +entire country, then those districts in which Flemish is spoken. Germany +has suddenly remembered that the Flemings are a Low German people and +that they have been "oppressed" by the Walloons. The hypocrisy of the +plea becomes evident when we recall German (including Austrian) +oppression of the Poles, Slavs and Hungarians. + +One writer[149] has even endeavoured to prove that the House of Hesse +has a legitimate historical claim to the province of Brabant. But as the +following extracts will show, there is method in this madness. No pains +are being spared to stir up racial feeling between the two peoples +(Flemings and Walloons) who form King Albert's subjects. All the +internal differences are being dished up to convince the inhabitants of +Flanders that they will be much better off under the German heel.[150] + +[Footnote 149: Dr. Karl Knetsch: "Des Hauses Hessen Ansprüche auf +Brabant" ("The House of Hesse's Claims to Brabant"). Marburg, 1915.] + +[Footnote 150: The _Münchner Neueste Nachrichten_ for September 19th, +1915, contains a long account of a petition which was presented to Herr +von Hissing, General Governor of Belgium, by a branch of the General +Union of the Netherlands. The branch society is in Lierre (a town +occupied by the Germans), and the petition is a statement of Flemish +national and language aspirations. Unfortunately the document in +question "makes a bitter attack on Franco-Belgian endeavours to rob the +Flemings of their rights." It is superfluous to quote more; this +sentence alone shows the origin of the petition to be German.] + +Forgetting their tyrannous efforts to stamp out the Polish language and +Polish national feelings, the Germans are now sorrowing over the alleged +attempts of the Walloons to suffocate the Flemish dialect. German war +books breathe hate and contempt for the Walloons, but bestow clumsy +bear-like caresses (no doubt unwelcome to their recipients) on the +Flemings. + +In a work[151] already cited the following passages occur, in addition +to three whole chapters intended to supply historical proof that +Flanders is by the very nature of things a part of the German Empire. + +[Footnote 151: Wilhelm Kotzde: "Von Lüttich bis Flandern" ("From Liége +into Flanders"). Weimar, 1914.] + +"The German people committed a grave crime, when they fought among +themselves and left their race-brothers on the frontier, defenceless and +at the mercy of a foreign Power. Therefore we have no right to scold +these brothers (the Flemings), but should rather fetch them back into +the German fold" (p. 40). + +Kotzde reports a conversation which he had with an educated Fleming last +autumn. "'We do not like the French and English,' said the Fleming. 'But +what about Brussels?' I remarked. 'They are a people for themselves. The +Flemish capital is Antwerp' he answered. + +"Our paths led in different directions, but we parted with the +consciousness that we are tribal brothers. So much seems certain, that +when the Flemings are freed from the embittering influence of the +Walloons and French, then this Low German tribe will again learn to love +everything German--because they are German. Furthermore, that will make +an end of the French language in Flemish districts" (p. 84). + +"German infantry marched with us into Antwerp. How deeply it touched me +to hear them sing the 'Wacht am Rhein' and then 'Deutschland, +Deutschland über alles,' in the very city which was to serve as an +English base for operations against our dear Fatherland. And my Flemish +companion softly hummed this splendid German song of faith. + +"In that moment a spasm of pain went through my heart, that the Flemings +should have to fight against us in this great struggle for the existence +of Germany: these, our lost brothers, of whom so many yearn to be with +us again" (p. 86). + +"With the fall of Antwerp, Flanders--the land of the German Hanse +period, of Ghent, Ypres and Bruges--became German once more" (p. 147). + +Kotzde concludes his work as follows:-- + +"Holland was compelled to bow before the might of France and consent to +Belgium becoming an independent State. From that moment the Flemings, +cut off in every way from their German brothers, were delivered up to +the Walloons, behind whom stood the French. + +"The Germans at that time lacked a Bismarck to unite them and interest +them in the fate of their outlying brother tribe. This war has freed our +hands, which hitherto had been bound by the dictates of conscience. Of +himself the German would never have kindled this world conflagration, +but others have hurled the torch into our abode--and our hands are free! + +"We do not yet know what Belgium's fate will be, but we can be perfectly +sure that the Flemings will never again be left to the mercy of the +Walloons and French. They have had a wild and chequered history; and +although they have often shown signs of barbarism in the fight, they +have not waged this war with the devilish cruelty of the Walloons. + +"They lack the discipline which alone a well-ordered State can bestow. +The training and education of the German military system and German +administration, will be a blessing to them. Even to-day many Flemings +bless the hour of their return into the German paternal home" (p. 190). + +"In a struggle which has lasted for nearly a century, the Flemings have +displayed their unconquerable will to maintain their national +peculiarities. Without outside aid, and with little or no deterioration, +they have maintained their nationalism. Now the horrors of war have +swept over the lands of the Flemings and Walloons. The Belgian army, +consisting of 65 per cent. Flemings, has been decimated by German arms. +North and south of the Meuse a wicked harvest of hate has sprung up. But +the most remarkable point is that this hate is not directed against the +Germans alone; the mutual dislike of Flemings and Walloons has turned +into hatred. The Walloons cherish bitter suspicions of the Flemings; +they scent the racial German, and are promising that after the war they +will wage a life and death feud against the German part of the Flemish +nature."[152] + +[Footnote 152: Ulrich Rauscher: "Belgien heute und morgen" ("Belgium +to-day and to-morrow"). Leipzig, 1915; p. 35.] + +The same writer claims that the Germans had conquered Antwerp before its +fall, by peaceful penetration. "In 1880 the British share of Antwerp's +trade was 56 per cent., Germany's 9 per cent.; in 1900, British 48 per +cent., German 23-1/2 per cent. Not only had the British flag been beaten +in percentages but also in absolute figures; in the year 1912-1913 +German trade to Antwerp increased by 400,000 tons, while that of Great +Britain decreased by 200,000 tons. The commercial future of Antwerp will +be German!"[153] + +[Footnote 153: Ibid., p. 64.] + +"To-day Antwerp is the second largest port on the Continent, with over +400,000 inhabitants, and now Germany's war banner waves above its +cathedral. Germany's maritime flag has waved during the last twenty +years above Antwerp's commercial progress. Antwerp's progress was German +progress."[154] + +[Footnote 154: Ibid., p. 68.] + +After which follows a glowing account of Belgium's mineral wealth. "It +is Belgium's mission to be a gigantic factory for the rest of the +world," and of course this mission will be directed by--Germany! + +"Those who had warned us for years past that England is our greatest +enemy were right. To-day every German recognizes who is our principal +opponent in this world war. Against Russia and France we fight, as the +poet expresses it, 'with steel and bronze, and conclude a peace some +time or other.' But against England we wage war with the greatest +bitterness and such an awful rage, as only an entire and great people in +their holy wrath can feel. The words of Lissauer's 'Hymn of Hate' were +spoken out of the innermost depths of every German soul. + +"When Hindenburg announces a new victory we are happy; when our front in +the Argonne advances we are satisfied; when our faithful Landsturm beats +back a French attack in the Vosges, it awakes a pleasurable pride in our +breasts. But when progress is announced in Flanders, when a single +square yard of earth is captured by our brave troops in the Ypres +district, then all Germany is beside herself with pure joy. The seventy +millions know only too well, that everything depends upon the +development of events in Flanders, as to when and how, we shall force +England to her knees. + +"Hence of all the fields of war, Belgium is the most familiar to us, and +we love best of all to hear news from that quarter. May God grant that +in the peace negotiations we shall hear much more and good tidings about +Flanders."[155] + +[Footnote 155: Dr. Fritz Mittelmann: "Kreuz und Quer durch Belgien" +("Round and about Belgium"). Stettin, 1915: p. 8. Dr. Mittelmann is a +personal friend of the Liberal leader, Herr Bassermann, who accompanied +him on some of his journeys.] + +Dr. Mittelmann's book is a prose-poem in praise of Germany's ineffable +greatness. He sees in the present war, "a holy struggle for Germany's +might and future," and like all his compatriots, makes no mention of +Austria. If the Central Powers should be victorious, there is no doubt +that Germany would seize the booty. In justifying the destruction of +churches, cathedrals, etc., Herr Mittelmann asserts that "one single +German soldier is of more worth than all the art treasures of our +enemies" (p. 12). + +His book deserves to be read by all Britishers who imagine that we can +win Germany's love and respect--by weakness and compromise. "In this war +Germans and English soldiers are opposed to each other for the first +time. All the scorn and hate which had accumulated for years past in the +German nation has now broken loose with volcanic force. Whoever assumes +that the English were ever other than what they are--is wrong. They have +never had ideals, and seek singly and alone their own profit. Whenever +they have fought side by side with another nation against a common foe, +they have done their best to weaken their ally and reap all the glory +and advantage for themselves."[156] + +[Footnote 156: Ibid., p. 29.] + +Pity for the Belgians suffering through Germany's brutal war of +aggression does not appear to be one of Dr. Mittelmann's weaknesses. +"The principal industrial occupation of the inhabitants seems at present +to be begging. In spite of their hostile glances the crowd did not +hesitate to gather round as we entered our car, and quite a hundred +greedy hands were stretched towards us for alms. But in Liége, without +the shadow of a doubt the best of all was the magnificent Burgundy which +we drank there; perhaps we had never relished wine so much in our +lives."[157] One wonders whether these pioneers of _Kultur_ relished the +wine so much because they knew themselves to be surrounded by thousands +of hungry, "greedy" Belgians. + +[Footnote 157: Ibid., p. 44.] + +On page 93, Mittelmann relates at length his genuine Prussian joy at +humiliating a Belgian policeman before the latter's compatriots. None +enjoy having their boots licked, so much as those who are accustomed to +perform that service for others. + +Our author pays the customary compliments to the Flemings. It must be +remembered that the above incident took place in Liége among the +Walloons, but it would seem that the Germans try to behave with decency +when among their Low German brothers. + +"One feels at home in the house of a Flemish peasant; the racial +relationship tends to homeliness. The painful cleanliness of the +white-washed cottages makes a pleasant contrast to the homes of the +Walloons. War and politics are never mentioned, as these delicate +subjects would prevent a friendly understanding."[158] + +[Footnote 158: Ibid., p. 90.] + +"A dream. An old German dream. A land full of quaintness which the rush +of modern life has left untouched. On all sides cleanliness and order +which makes the heart beat gladly. And this joyful impression is doubly +strong when one comes direct from the dirty, disorderly villages of the +Walloons. + +"Just as a mother may give birth to two children with entirely different +natures, so Belgium affords hearth and home to two peoples in whose +language, culture and customs there is neither similarity nor harmony. +The Flemings are absolutely German, and in this war they treat us with +friendly confidence. Their eyes do not glitter with fanatical hate like +those of the Walloons."[159] + +[Footnote 159: Heinrich Binder: "Mit dem Hauptquartier nach Westen," p. +102.] + +Herr Binder's meditations on the slaughter in the valley of the Meuse +are not without interest. "A vale which has been won by German blood! In +recent days the waters of the Meuse have often flowed blood-red. Many a +warrior has sunk into these depths. Longing and hope rise in our hearts: +May destiny determine that all these dead, after a triumphant war, shall +sleep at rest in a German valley!"[160] + +[Footnote 160: Ibid., p. 122.] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +SAIGNER À BLANC.[161] + + +[Footnote 161: "To bleed white." Bismarck employed this phrase on two +occasions in addressing the Reichstag; his purpose could have been no +other than to bully France.--Author.] + +It would be superfluous to review here the history of Franco-German +relations during the last half century; other writers have already +performed the task. Yet the whole trend of development in the relations +between the two powerful neighbours may be defined by two watch-words: +_saigner à blanc_ in Germany, and the _revanche idée_ in France. But +there is this difference: the former has become ever more and more, and +the latter less and less, a factor in European politics. + +While the German nation has been gradually and systematically leavened +with the teaching that might alone is right, the French revenge party +has been weakened year by year by national prosperity, colonial +expansion and the growth of a powerful anti-military party. Whatever may +be said of French chauvinists, this much remains an immovable fact--the +party was incapable of providing adequate national defences against the +Germanic neighbour, while plans of reconquest can only be assigned to +the domain of myths. + +On every occasion that the _revanche_ cry has been resuscitated, the +direct cause is to be sought in Germany. Having displaced France in 1870 +from her position of the first military power in Europe, Germany has +endeavoured by fair and foul means to prevent her neighbour from again +raising her head, and that policy alone is to blame for the suspicion +and hatred which have marked Franco-German relations during the whole +period and plunged Europe into an era of armaments, ending in a world +war. England and Russia prevented Bismarck from annihilating France in +1875, an incident which aroused justified fear throughout France and +gave an impulse to the revenge party. + +In 1881 the Iron Chancellor told the French Ambassador: "Outside Europe +you can do what you like." Bismarck's intention was to divert reviving +French energies to colonial work, and if possible involve her in +conflicts with the other Colonizing Powers. In both of these plans he +succeeded, but the common sense and loyalty of Great Britain and Italy +prevented the conflicts from assuming a dangerous form--war--as desired +by the Government in Berlin. + +As soon as the latter perceived that French genius and persistency were +bearing fruit in a magnificent colonial empire, the innate jealousy and +greed of the German nation led to a policy of colonial pinpricks on the +part of the Kaiser's Government. This seems the most probable +explanation of Germany's attitude during the last decade before 1914. +The natural consequence was that those powers which had most to fear +through German ill-will were welded together more firmly in a policy of +self-protection. + +Germany cannot, or will not, recognize that the causes of the +above-mentioned development are to be found solely and alone in her own +actions. On the contrary, she designates the "consequences" a world-wide +conspiracy against German interests. In naval affairs she adopts the +same naïve line of argument. First and foremost Germany committed +herself to a policy of unlimited--even provocative--naval expansion. +When the Power most concerned--Great Britain--took precautionary +measures to guarantee British interests in view of Germany's "peaceful" +development, then the latter Power declared the consequences of her own +actions to be a hostile initiative directed against her. + +A defence of this kind may be convincing for those who observe events in +the German perspective, but it will be unable to withstand impartial +historical criticism. Boxers expect a rebound when they "punch the +ball," but none of them would be so foolish as to deny having delivered +a blow when the rebound takes place. Yet that is the unscientific +defence which Germany has adopted in her endeavours to explain away her +aggressive attitude to Belgium, France, and Great Britain. + +In a word, the principles underlying _saigner à blanc_ have grown during +the past four decades into a possible avalanche possessing huge +potential energy; the momentum was given to it in August, 1914. + +If it were necessary, a picture of German popular opinion might be +projected, showing how that opinion was influenced and formed during the +critical days at the close of July last year. But from considerations of +space only the outlines of the picture can be given. Before the war +German newspapers abounded in reports of French unpreparedness and +chaos. The German public was informed that France dreaded and feared war +with Germany. + +"Without any exaggeration it may be said that a state of nerves has +seized the French nation, such as we should seek for in vain at the time +of Tangiers and Agadir. There is tremendous excitement, which in many +reports suggests absolute panic."[162] + +[Footnote 162: _Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten_, August 1st.] + +The Paris correspondent of the _Kölnische Zeitung_ (August 4th) on +returning to Cologne wrote: "Conditions in France afford a striking +picture of bad organization. War rage possesses the people; but such an +enthusiasm as I found in Germany on my return is unknown to them." + +On the same day the _Hamburger Nachrichten_ reported: "A German refugee +who has returned from the French capital says that there is no +enthusiasm in Paris. Men and women may be seen weeping in the streets, +while the crowds are shouting: 'Down with war!' 'We desire no war!'" + +Probably there is no better way to incite a ferocious bully than to tell +him that his opponent is weak, unprepared and afraid. Almost +simultaneously false reports of French troops crossing the frontier and +of French airmen dropping bombs on Nuremberg were spread by the Berlin +General Staff, and thus an excuse found for a declaration of war on +France. + +From the French point of view events appeared quite different. "This +morning German troops have violated French territory at three different +points: in the direction of Longwy by Lunéville, at Cirey and by +Belfort. War has thus been declared, and the endeavours for peace as +described in the President's proclamation have been in vain. For the +last eight days Herr von Schoen (German Ambassador in Paris) has lulled +us to sleep with endearing protestations of peace. Meanwhile Germany has +mobilized troops in a secret and malevolent manner. + +"The war upon which we must enter is for civilization against barbarism. +All Frenchmen must be united not merely by the feeling of duty, but also +in hatred for an enemy who seeks no other goal than our +annihilation--the destruction of a nation which has always been a +pioneer of justice and liberty in the world. + +"To-night our five covering-corps will take up their positions and face +the enemy till our plan of concentration is completed. Russia is with +us. + +"MESSIMY, + +"Minister for War." + +From the moment that Germany declared war on France, new tactics were +adopted in the Press. A campaign of calumny began which is the exact +counterpart of that against Belgium and the Belgians. Uncorroborated +tales of Germans having been ill treated in all parts of France were +spread broadcast. According to one journal[163] sixty to eighty Germans +had been murdered on the platforms of the Gare de l'Est in Paris. + +[Footnote 163: _Kölnische Volkszeitung_, August 5th.] + +Still there is one accusation which even German newspapers have never +dared to make, viz., that Frenchmen murdered and ill-treated Frenchmen, +or that war delirium led them to destroy property on a wholesale scale. +On the other hand, the picture obtainable of Germany during August, +1914, proves that similar peaceful conditions did not prevail in the +great nation of "drill and discipline." + +France was even "convicted" of having caused the war; instead of being +unprepared, she had laid the fuse and was the guilty power in causing +the European explosion. "The German Government has now obtained absolute +proof that France has been standing at arms, ready to fall upon Germany, +for many weeks past."[164] + +[Footnote 164: _Hamburger Fremdenblatt_, August 13th.] + +Above all, President Poincaré has been marked down in Germany's +senseless, unnecessary hunt for a scapegoat upon whom to fix her own +guilt. Even in the year 1915 there is a section of the German +public[165] which believes that the French President--a native of +Lorraine--has worked for years past in building up a _revanche_ +conspiracy ending in the European war. + +[Footnote 165: Dr. Max Beer: "Tzar Poincarew, die Schuld am Kriege" +("Czar Poincarew, the War-guilty"). Berlin, 1915.] + +Germany despised France and has tried in vain to patronize her. For many +years past the average German has held that the French are a nation of +"degenerate weaklings." Inspired by these sentiments, with a mixture of +hate, the German troops invaded France, and it is a promising symptom +that during twelve months of war respect for French valour has taken the +place of contempt. + +The first engagements are described in the official telegrams from the +German army head-quarters. "August 11th. Enemies' troops, apparently the +7th French army corps and an infantry division from the Belfort +garrison, were driven out of a fortified position by Mülhausen. Our +losses were inconsiderable, those of the French heavy. + +"August 12th. Our troops attacked a French brigade by Lagarde. The enemy +suffered heavy losses and was thrown back into the Paroy forest. We +captured a flag, two batteries, four machine guns and about seven +hundred prisoners. A French general was among the killed. + +"August 18th. The fight by Mülhausen was little more than a skirmish. +One and a half enemy corps had invaded Upper Alsace before our troops +could be collected and placed on a war-footing. In spite of their +numerical inferiority they attacked the enemy without hesitation and +hurled him back in the direction of Belfort. + +"Meanwhile an artillery contingent from Strasbourg has suffered a check. +Two battalions with cannon and machine guns advanced from Shirmeck on +the 14th. They were attacked by hostile artillery fire while passing +through a narrow pass. The cannon, etc., were badly damaged and +therefore left. No doubt they were captured by the enemy. + +"The incident is of no importance and will have no influence on our +operations, but it should serve as a warning to our soldiers against +over-confidence and carelessness. The men mustered again and reached the +fortress in safety: they had lost their guns but not their courage. +Whether treachery on the part of the inhabitants had any part in the +affair has not yet been ascertained. + +"August 22nd. Our troops are in pursuit of the French army defeated +between Metz and the Vosges. The enemies' retreat became a flight. Up +till now more than ten thousand prisoners have been taken and at least +fifty cannon captured. The French had eight army corps in the field. + +"August 24th. Yesterday the German Crown Prince, advancing on both sides +of Longwy, achieved a victory over the opposing forces and hurled them +back. + +"The troops under the leadership of the Bavarian Crown Prince have also +been victorious and crossed the line Lunéville-Blamont-Tirey. To-day the +21st army corps occupied Lunéville. + +"The pursuit has brought rich booty. Besides numerous prisoners and +standards the left wing of the Vosges army has already captured 150 +cannon. + +"To-day the German Crown Prince's army has continued the pursuit beyond +Longwy. + +"The army under Duke Albrecht of Württemberg has advanced on both sides +of Neufchâteau and completely defeated the French army which had crossed +the Semois. Numerous cannon, standards and prisoners--among the latter +several generals--were captured. + +"West of the Meuse our troops are advancing on Maubeuge. An English +cavalry brigade which appeared on their front was defeated. + +"August 27th. Nine days after the conclusion of our concentration the +armies in the West have gained victory after victory and penetrated the +enemy's territory from Cambrai to the Southern Vosges. At all points the +enemy has been driven out of his positions and is now in full retreat. + +"It is not yet possible to estimate, even approximately, his losses in +killed, prisoners and booty; the explanation for this is the enormous +extent of the battlefields, broken by thick forests and mountainous +country. + +"General von Kluck's army defeated the English at Maubeuge and to-day +has attacked them in an encircling move south-west of that place. + +"After several days' fighting about eight army corps of French and +Belgian troops between the Sambre, Namur and the Meuse were completely +defeated by the German armies under Generals von Bülow and von Hausen. + +"Namur has fallen after two days' cannonade. The attack on Maubeuge has +commenced. Duke Albrecht's army pursued the defeated enemy over the +Semois and has now crossed the Meuse. + +"On the other side of Longwy the German Crown Prince has captured a +fortified enemy position, and thrown back a heavy attack from the +direction of Verdun. His army is advancing towards the Meuse. Longwy has +fallen. + +"New hostile forces from Nancy attacked the Bavarian Crown Prince's army +during its pursuit of the French army before it. The attack failed. + +"General von Heeringen's army is pursuing the enemy in the Vosges, and +driving him southwards. Alsace has been cleared of enemy forces. + +"Up till the present the lines of communication have been guarded by the +various armies; now the troops left behind for that purpose are urgently +required for our further advance. Hence His Majesty has ordered the +mobilization of the Landsturm. + +"The Landsturm will be employed in protecting the lines of communication +and for the occupation of Belgium. This land which now comes under +German administration will be utilized for supplying all kinds of +necessities for our armies, in order that Germany may be spared as much +as possible." + +During the first month of hostilities on the Western front, the Germans +claimed that their captures amounted to 233 pieces of heavy artillery, +116 field guns, 79 machine guns, 166 wagons and 12,934 prisoners. On +September 8th General Quartermaster von Stein announced: "Maubeuge +capitulated yesterday; 40,000 prisoners of war, including four generals, +400 cannon and immense quantities of war materials fell into our hands." + +A German war correspondent, who was present at the fall of Maubeuge, +wrote:[166] "The march out of the prisoners began on the same day at +2.30 p.m. and lasted over six hours. They were conducted to trains and +despatched to Germany. Some of the infantry made a good impression, +while the pioneers and artillery can only be classed as passable. + +[Footnote 166: Heinrich Binder: "Mit dem Hauptquartier nach Westen," p. +96.] + +"To the great disappointment of our troops there were only a hundred and +twenty English among the prisoners who had been cut off from the main +army; young fellows about eighteen to twenty years of age. When marching +out these English youths were so stupid as to offer the hand to their +German victors in token of the gentlemanlike manner in which they +accepted defeat. In accordance with Albion's ancient boxing custom, they +desired to show the absence of any bitter feeling by a handshake; just +as one does after a football match. + +"Our men returned a few cuffs for this warlike behaviour, whereupon the +English--richer in experience--drew back astonished at German +unfriendliness." + +Germany's rush for Paris reached as far as the Marne; they claim that +patrols penetrated to within seven kilometres of the French capital. The +report announcing the turn of the tide is worthy of quotation. + +"Chief Headquarters, September 10th. Our army in their pursuit of the +enemy in the direction east of Paris had passed beyond the Marne. There +they were attacked by superior forces between Meaux and Montmirail. In +two days' heavy fighting they have kept the enemy back and even made +progress. + +"When the approach of new, stronger hostile forces was announced our +wing was withdrawn; the enemy made no attempt at pursuit. Up till now +the booty captured in this battle includes fifty cannon and some +thousands of prisoners. + +"West of Verdun the army is engaged in an advancing battle. In Lorraine +and the Vosges district the situation is unchanged." + +This seems to be all that the German nation has heard from official +sources of the German defeat on the Marne and the hurried retreat to the +Aisne. Almost every report issued by the German headquarters during the +succeeding three weeks informed the world that a "decision had not yet +fallen." + +Evidently the nation awaited and hoped for a decision which would leave +Paris at the mercy of the invading army. They are still awaiting that +decision, but whether the waiting is seasoned by hope cannot easily be +determined. + +A soldier present at the battle of the Marne has chronicled his +experiences.[167] "We passed over long, undulating hills and valleys, +and towards 1 p.m. obtained our first glimpse down the beautiful vale of +the Marne. Standing on the heights of Château Thierry, we beheld the +town nestling on both sides of the river in the valley below. + +[Footnote 167: H. Knutz: "Mit den Königin-Fusilieren durch Belgien und +Frankreich,", p. 49 _et seq_.] + +"Then we entered the town and saw on all sides the tokens of street +fighting. All the windows were smashed by shell fire; some houses had +been entirely gutted. Dead Frenchmen lay around in heaps, some corpses +so mutilated by shrapnel as to appear hardly human. With a shudder we +turned our eyes from this horrible scene. + +"Crossing the Marne by a sand-stone bridge, we climbed the opposing +heights under a burning sun. At the top we deployed, but for that day +our artillery sufficed to drive the enemy in headlong flight to the +south; the night we spent under the open sky. + +"Sunday, September 6th. Before breakfast we intended to bathe in a +stream, when our dreams of a rest-day were dispelled by an order to hold +ourselves ready for the march. 'The 17th division is under heavy rifle +fire and the 18th must advance to their support.' Meanwhile, the chicken +soup was almost ready, but the order 'form ranks' resounded, and with +empty stomachs we marched through Neuvy up a hill and dug ourselves in +behind a wood. + +"The thunder of the enemies' artillery is terrible; shrapnel is bursting +on our left. Captain von Liliencron discusses the situation with the +major and then turns to us. 'Our regiment attacks! go for the dogs, +children!' he exclaims with gleaming eyes. + +"Next we advance round the wood and lie down behind a hedge; axes are +held in readiness to hack a way through the latter. Five steps from me a +machine gun hammers away at full speed; it is now impossible to hear +commands, so they are roared from man to man--it could not be termed +shouting. 'Ambulance to the right!' somebody is severely wounded, but +the ambulance men have more than they can do on the left. + +"The hell-music is at its loudest; shrapnel is bursting in the wood +behind us; suddenly there is an awful explosion half a dozen yards away; +I hear the screams of my comrades, then we rush forwards. The rush +across the field was awful--flank fire from the right. Here and there a +comrade bites the grass. + +"At last I throw myself down, but there is no cover; the wounded crouch +there too. None of my company are there; it seems that the two last +shells have played havoc with them. The enemies' (French) main position +is nearly a mile away in a forest. + +"Up the next slope our dead lie thick around, and here too a deadly +bullet had found the breast of our heroic captain. But in the strip of +forest French and Turko bodies are still thicker. The cat-like Turkos +have climbed into the trees and are shot down like crows. A maddening +infantry and artillery fire greets us as we reach the top. Every ten to +twenty yards shells strike, and shrapnel bursts, filling the air with +earth, dust, smoke and smell. + +"Forward! till almost exhausted I throw myself down again; a hundred to +a hundred and fifty Fusiliers form a firing-line. Columns of infantry +pour a murderous fire on to us from the forest. It cannot go on thus; +one after the other is wounded or killed. We have advanced nearly eight +hundred yards over open ground. On the right there is a small thicket of +reeds. Some of the company have already sought shelter there, and I make +a rush there with the same hope. + +"'For heaven's sake, lie down, corporal,' screamed a man as I came up. +In fact, the reeds afford no cover whatever. Wounded and dead lie there +and bullets keep hitting them. In front of me lay a man from the fourth +company; a bullet had entered his chest and passed out of his back; the +blood was oozing out of a wound about the size of a shilling. The horror +was too much for me, and I crept to the other end of the strip. + +"There I found everything far worse, but I cannot describe the terrors +which I saw. One poor fellow begs for a drop of water; there is just +another draught in my bottle. With grateful eyes he hands it back to me, +and in the same moment I feel a stinging pain in the shoulder. My arm is +numbed and helpless; hardly one of us who is not wounded. + +"We can offer no resistance to the enemy; but the awful way back! At +last the run back over eight hundred yards of open field begins. Now and +again a comrade sinks to the ground, never to rise again. My breath is +nearly gone; one last effort, and in truth I have escaped from the hail +of bullets." + +It is remarkable and noteworthy that German writers charge the French +armies with looting and destruction in their own country. Probably this +is merely a device to get rid of unpleasant accusations raised against +the German army. Furthermore, the most reckless charges of uncleanliness +are made. In commenting on the lot of the Landsturm troops quartered in +the villages of Northern France, one author[168] writes: "The Landsturm +men pass their time as best they can in these holes, whose most +conspicuous quality is their filth." + +[Footnote 168: Erich Köhrer: "Zwischen Aisne und Argonnen" ("Between the +Aisne and the Argonnes"), p. 25.] + +The same author gives his impressions of a visit to Sedan. "Only one +house has been completely and another partly destroyed, otherwise +appearances are peaceful, and as far as possible, life goes on as usual. +Here, too, many of the inhabitants have left their homes and fled. The +stupidity of this flight becomes evident at every step. In numerous +small hotels whose proprietors have remained, one sees German soldiers +buying bottles of splendid Burgundy wine at a shilling a bottle. + +"But in another hotel whose proprietor had fled, is it a matter for +surprise that the men caroused on discovering a cellar containing three +thousand bottles of wine? On the route I have myself purchased some of +the oldest and best wines from our men at a price of three cigars a +bottle, and the recollection of them belongs to the pleasantest memories +of my sojourn at the front. + +"Certainly the owner of Château Frenois, situated a few minutes' walk +from the town, will be more unpleasantly surprised on his return than +the hotel proprietor. In his home, French marauders and plunderers have +destroyed and devastated the entire contents. It is impossible to +comprehend the senselessness of this conduct, for which no reasons of +military necessity can be advanced. + +"Ancient family pictures which could not be taken out of their frames +have been ruined by bayonet stabs, and from the shape of the cuts they +were certainly the work of French bayonets. Even the library, which +contained a valuable collection of old prints, had been robbed. + +"Not far from this scene of desolation stands Château Bellevue, where +King William met Napoleon in 1870. There, too, the traces of French +plunderers are painfully evident; it was left to the 'Hun-Kaiser' to +save this historic spot from complete annihilation. In September Wilhelm +II. visited the château and seeing the signs of rapacity, ordered the +place to be strictly guarded to prevent further desecration."[169] + +[Footnote 169: Ibid., pp. 22-3.] + +It did not occur to Herr Köhrer to connect the carousals with the +plundering; in one sentence he admits that French soldiers respected the +wine-cellars and in the next accuses them of stealing books, etc. Every +German writer, in describing the German advance, comments on the immense +number of haversacks, weapons and equipment thrown away by the French in +their "wild flight." Yet they desire their readers to believe that the +same soldiers had time to rob and destroy, indeed, carry their plunder +with them! + +Since September no French troops have been in the district, yet the +Kaiser found it necessary to place guards round Château Bellevue. Is it +not more reasonable to assume that the precaution was taken against the +predatory instincts of his own soldiery, who, admittedly, are in +occupation of the province? + +Herr Köhrer finds it almost beneath his dignity to reply to charges of +barbarism and Hunnism; yet he devotes several pages to the art of +white-washing. "The inhabitants who remained in their homes, and those +who have returned since the flight--unfortunately it is only a small +part of the entirety--have recognized long ago that the German soldier +is not a barbarian. The terrible distress which prevails among the +French is often enough relieved by the generosity of the German troops. +Throngs of women and children from the filthy villages of the Argonne +and the Ardennes gather round our field-kitchens and regularly receive +the remains of the meals; while many a German Landsturm man, +recollecting his own wife and children, fills the mouths of dirty French +children instead of completely satisfying his own hunger."[170] + +[Footnote 170: Ibid., p. 34. Herr Köhrer has evidently never visited +many Bavarian villages: otherwise he would be more careful with his +adjectives when describing the villages of France.--Author.] + +No one disputes the presence of kindly Germans in the Kaiser's armies, +and it is pleasing to read about these acts of generosity in relieving +distress which is entirely the result of Germany's guilt. But the point +which all German writers miss is the explanation of positive evidence of +brutal deeds. Their kindly incidents and proofs of German chivalry are +all of a negative character, and do not overthrow one jot or tittle of +the opposing positive evidence. + +Iron crosses have fallen in thick showers on the German armies; during +the month of July, 1915, no fewer than 3,400 of these decorations were +awarded to the Bavarian army alone. Still, as far back as November of +last year, Herr Köhrer wrote: "In the villages on the slopes of the +Argonnes and on the banks of the Aisne, nearly every second soldier is +wearing an iron cross. One has the certain conviction that it is not an +army of fifty or sixty thousand, but a nation of heroes which occupies +the plains of France and fights for us. + +"They are all heroes at the front, including those who do not wear the +outward symbol of personal bravery. When we see how our men live, it +would seem that the earliest days of the human race have returned. They +have become cave-dwellers, troglodytes in the worst form. Our heavy +batteries are placed on the slopes of the Argonne forest, while the +light field-howitzers occupy the summits. + +"Near them holes have been dug in the wet clay or chalk, and meagrely +lined with straw; these dark, damp caves are the dwellings of our +officers and men for weeks at a time, while the shells from the enemy's +artillery whiz and burst around. In them the differences of rank +disappear, except that one sometimes sees a couple of chairs provided +for officers. When duty does not call them to the guns, they are free to +remain in the open exposed to a sudden and awful death, or to spend +their time in the womb of mother earth. Yet one never hears a word of +complaint; rather the hardships of this strange existence are borne with +rough good-humour."[171] + +[Footnote 171: Ibid., p. 28.] + +Contrary to the expectations of other nations, the war seems only to +have increased the popularity of the military Moloch. Writers who look +upon the Allies as deliverers who will free Germany from the degrading +slavery imposed upon that country, will be disappointed to learn that +Germans worship the _bunte Rock_ (gay uniform) more than ever. + +At a meeting of the National Liberal leaders held in Dortmund, July, +1915, a resolution was passed calling upon the Government to pursue a +still greater naval and army programme. Both the Liberals and +Conservatives have adopted the motto: _Deutsche Machtpolitik frei von +Sentimentalität_ (A German policy of might free from sentimentalism). + +"This war of the nations, which has overthrown so many accepted +standards and created new ones, will also give a new basis to the +privileged position of German officers in public life. Millions of +German men have seen how in this war the German lieutenant has again +merited his special position for some generations to come. I wish to +emphasize this point over and over again. + +"During the first two months of hostilities nearly forty thousand iron +crosses were awarded. To many of those at home this appeared to be +overdoing it, like the many exaggerations in the domain of orders and +honours with which we have become familiar during the last decade.[172] +As a matter of fact, the number of crosses given was too small. + +[Footnote 172: _Vide_ "The Soul of Germany," Chapter XIII.] + +"Not forty thousand heroes are at the front, but a nation of heroes. In +emphasizing why the work of our officers is so splendid I must lay down +these premises. The bravery and joyous spirit of self-sacrifice in our +men is above all praise, but the officers have higher and more +responsible duties. They have not only to set an example of physical +courage, but they must possess the mental capacity to lead and spur on +their men--and that under conditions so hard and rude that the man at +home has no conception of them. + +"I have been in the trenches on the slopes of the Argonnes, where +officers lie side by side with the men in clay and chalk, unwashed and +filthy cut off from the outside world, exposed to continuous fire and +thrown entirely upon themselves. I have seen them in the artillery +positions on the Aisne, in the mud-caves of the heavy batteries, where +they sit in the dark on empty packing-cases, listening to the music of +exploding shells and whistling bullets. And everywhere I received the +same impression: the men are enthusiastic in praise of their leaders. + +"Many a one who has never voted for any other party than the Social +Democrats has exclaimed: 'Lieutenants! _Donnerwetter_, yes! Hats off to +them!' For the lieutenant is not only the first in the fight, but he is +the soul of the company; untiring in his efforts to keep up their +spirits in the intervals between the fighting. + +"And when we again witness the scenes which often disgusted us before +the war--the monocled young gentlemen in gay uniform, walking through +the streets, nose in the air--when we see all this again, and perhaps a +bit of iron pinned on the breast, then we must remember that for their +life of danger and hardship in Argonnes clay, and Russian mud, no +earthly compensation can be too great. + +"No nation can ever imitate our lieutenant, and in this war of masses +and technical perfection it is still the value of individual personality +which will decide the issue. We may affirm that this value stands very +high in our army--both as regards officers and men. + +"Only he who has seen for himself the burnt villages, devastated towns +and desolate land of France can comprehend the full meaning of the awful +word _Krieg_ (war). Mere words cannot express what it means to Germans +and Germany that the horrors of war have been carried almost alone into +the enemy's territory. + +"But then a spirit of irresistible ardour goes through the ranks of our +warriors. From every eye, in every word, burns the deepest, most +unbounded faith in victory. In the trenches, batteries and hospitals +there is no doubt, no fear. One great thought hovers victoriously above +all hardships, distress and suffering: Germany to the front in the +world! + +"And from out the blood which flows--and that is shed plenteously, very +plenteously--(this is the sacred faith which I brought back from the +battlefields) out of this blood the proud harvest will grow, whose +blessings we shall all feel--the world dominion of the German +idea!"[173] + +[Footnote 173: Ibid., p. 50 _et seq_.] + +In spite of Köhrer's assurances that the relationship between officers +and men in the German army is an ideal one, there is evidence that such +is not always the case. The Social Democratic paper _Karlsruhe +Volksfreund_ (July 23rd, 1915) contained a long article by "comrade" +Wilhelm Kolb, attacking the anti-annexation fraction of his party. Kolb +accused the opposition with "speculating on the question of food-prices +and the ill-treatment of soldiers at and behind the front. The power of +the censor makes it exceedingly difficult, or even impossible, to +ventilate this matter." + +German writers are careful to impress their readers that the losses of +the French were appalling, but here and there a stray word or sentence +lifts the veil and discovers their own. + +"Just before me are the graves of some German officers adorned with +wooden crosses and helmets, and a little farther on a _Massengrab_ +(large common grave) containing several hundred German soldiers. At this +point (Sedan) the battle raged with awful fury, and the Germans had to +make heavy sacrifices. It seems almost incredible that the Germans could +have forced the position. + +"The country is hilly; not a tree or bush offered cover from the French +bullets. French trenches at distances of from thirty to fifty yards, +stretched across the land, and between them were wire entanglements and +other obstacles. Besides which they had an open firing-range of over a +mile in extent, with their artillery to cover them from a steep hill on +the other side of the Meuse. + +"At 5 a.m. the attack commenced, and by the afternoon the French had +been hurled across the river. Then came the most difficult part of the +operations. From the Meuse the ground rises gradually to a steep hill, +on which the French artillery and machine guns were placed. The only +bridge over the river, at Donchery, had been blown up at the last moment +by the enemy, and although our pioneers had hastily constructed a bridge +of tree-trunks--what was this for so many regiments! + +"Many tried to ford or swim the stream. The French fire was murderous in +its effect. Several times the ranks wavered, but again and again they +pressed forward, till the heights were stormed and the enemy in flight. +The battle raged on into the night and then the remains of the regiments +gathered at the foot of the hill. They had won a costly but glorious +victory. Those who have seen the successes which our troops have gained, +even under the most difficult conditions, need have no fear as to the +ultimate result of this war. + +"I stood long at this spot on the blood-drenched soil of France, just +where the regiments from Trier[174] had fought so bravely and suffered +so heavily. Serious thoughts arose in me as I gazed at the battlefield. +What a dispensation! Two gigantic battles on the same spot in such a +short space of time; two great victories over the French. And most +remarkable of all, the nation which for forty-four years had desired +_revanche_ for Sedan, was again completely defeated at the same +place--almost on the anniversary of the first battle. + +[Footnote 174: The writer, Dr. W. Kriege, is a Roman Catholic priest +from Trier (Trèves). His book "Bilder vom Kriegsschauplatz" (Pictures +from the Seat of War"), published in 1915, is both interesting and +illuminating.] + +"Twilight shadows fall deep upon the quiet fields where the dead rest. +Squadrons of white clouds drift down the valley, as if to cover the +sleeping heroes with a shroud of white. Above Sedan's heights appears +the shining crescent of the moon and sheds a ghostly light over the wide +field of death--the battlefield of Sedan."[175] + +[Footnote 175: Dr. W. Kriege: "Bilder vom Kriegsschauplatz," p. 45 _et +seq_.] + +"At last we arrive at our destination--Somme-Py. But what a sight! +Nothing remains of the once beautiful, spacious village but a heap of +rubbish. A few black-burnt walls are still standing and about three +houses; among them, fortunately, the house occupied by Kaiser Wilhelm I. +in 1870-71, when the victorious German army was marching on Paris. At +present it serves as a field-hospital. Yes, this is the second time that +a German army has marched this way; but the battles were never so bloody +as this time. + +"Somme-Py and the country round has a special meaning for us folk in +Trier. For here our Trier regiments--above all the 29th and 69th--have +fought with splendid valour, and here they have buried many a dear +friend and comrade. Immediately before Somme-Py one of the largest +mass-graves of the whole campaign may be seen. + +"A simple iron railing surrounds the spot where hundreds of those rest +who lived so happily in our midst, who marched so gaily and to whom we +waved farewell greetings as they tramped through our streets. + +"The fight for the village had been particularly fierce and bloody; the +inhabitants had no time to flee. Half-burnt men and animals, soldiers +and civilians, filled the houses and streets, or lay buried under the +ruins--awful sacrifices to the war Fury! We must thank God and our brave +soldiers that they have preserved our hearths and homes from such horror +and misery."[176] + +[Footnote 176: Ibid., pp. 78-80.] + +It is cheering to find a growing feeling of respect for the French in +German war literature. One of many such expressions will be sufficient +to quote here. The writer of it is a German author who enjoys much +esteem in his own country, and was a guest at the German Crown Prince's +headquarters in May, 1915. + +"In conversations with numerous French prisoners I have found no traces +of hate and rage either in their looks or words. The most are glad to +have escaped in an honourable manner from the nerve-racking, trench +warfare. In an honourable manner? Yes, for I have heard on all +sides--from the highest officers and the simplest soldiers--that the +French have fought well. For the most part they are well led--and always +filled up with lies."[177] + +[Footnote 177: Rudolf Presber: "An die Front zum deutschen Kronprinzen" +("At the Front with the German Crown Prince"), p. 33.] + +"Then we dined with the Crown Prince; soup, roast goose, fresh beans and +dessert. The conversation was lively. In our small company--although the +bravery of the enemy and his excellent leadership receives full +recognition--there is not one who does not reckon with absolute +conviction on complete victory on both fronts."[178] + +[Footnote 178: Ibid., p. 61.] + +Herr Presber's book is free, neither from adulation nor hero-worship. He +is a poet, sentimentalist, and evangelist for Greater Germany. His book +is a collection of incidents, reflections, and conversations, carefully +assorted and arranged, so as to allow the limelight to glare on the +statuesque figure of a mighty Germanic hero, fresh from +Walhalla--incarnated in the Crown Prince. + +The Crown Prince's birthday dinner-party affords an excellent +opportunity for the German nation to see the mighty one replying to the +toast of his health. Presber affirms that the moment when his royal host +raised his glass and uttered the words: "Ein stilles Glas den Toten!" +("A glass in silence to the memory of the fallen") will for ever be +"most solemn and sacred" in his memory. + +With genuine German inquisitiveness Herr Presber hunted through the +various cupboards and drawers in his room and found a map of France as +it was before the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. "The map is wrong and +useless, and so I use it to line a drawer before placing my linen +therein. This makes me think of the many changes which will be marked in +the atlases which German children are now carrying to school in their +satchels--after the cannon have ceased to roar. How the colouring of the +maps has changed since I went to school, and yet once more a great +'unrest of colour' is about to change the map of Europe. And as far as I +can see, large notes of interrogation must be placed not alone round the +Poles and in Central Africa!"[179] + +[Footnote 179: Ibid., p. 101.] + +"I spoke of the good understanding between the natives and our soldiers. +Probably that is not so easy to attain everywhere. We drove long +distances from the Prince's headquarters and once passed through a +famous town which sees the German conquerors for a second time. (No +doubt Sedan is meant.--Author.) + +"Most of the inhabitants know it is the Crown Prince by the signs of +reverence shown him on all sides, by officers and men alike. But the +citizens of the twice-conquered town bite their lips, turn their heads +aside, and pretend indifference. The women too--many of them in deep +mourning--turn away, or sometimes stand and stare as if with suddenly +aroused interest. Here the ancient hate glowers in silence. + +"It seems as if a parole of mute non-respect has been passed round. This +town, which has become world-famous on account of the _débâcle_ of the +Third Empire, lives to see with gnashing of teeth the downfall of the +Republic. But they do not believe it yet."[180] + +[Footnote 180: Ibid., p. 108.] + +"French and Russian prisoners are working on the roads, wheeling barrows +of stone and filling the holes made by shell fire. Some of them, without +thinking, touch their caps when their guards stand stiffly at the +salute. (And how few guards are necessary to watch this tame herd!) +Others gaze at our car as it rushes past without giving any salute; +their faces express astonishment, curiosity, but no excitement."[181] + +[Footnote 181: Ibid., pp. 107-110.] + +Another illuminating page tells of the Crown Prince's anger on hearing +that Italy had joined the Allies, and how they went for a motor-ride as +an antidote to the royal rage. + +German humour is generally unconscious and mostly unintentional. After a +policy of bullying towards France for forty-four years, Germany has +discovered during the course of the war that France is the cat's-paw of +Russia and Great Britain--principally the latter. + +One writer,[182] in some fifty pages of venom, endeavours to show that +England is France's executioner. Another[183] gives our ally the advice +"awake!" After Germany has played the _saigner-à-blanc_ game in Northern +France for more than a year, the advice seems rather belated. + +[Footnote 182: Walter Unus: "England als Henker Frankreichs." +Braunschweig, 1915.] + +[Footnote 183: Ernst Heinemann: "Frankreich, erwache!" Berlin, 1915.] + +Herr Heinemann writes, p. 33: "France is not fighting for herself, but +for England and Russia. + +"Poor deceived France! She has given fifteen milliards of francs to +Russia so that she may at last draw the sword in defence of +Russo-Serbian and British commercial interests. She has placed her money +and her beautiful land at the disposal of her so-called friends--for the +sake of a mad idea which these friends have cleverly exploited +(_revanche idée_). + +"England has declared that she will continue the war for twenty years, +twenty years--on French soil. If under these circumstances the French +broke with their allies--who have exploited France for the last +twenty-five years, and who have plunged her into this war---in order to +arrive at a reasonable understanding with Germany; then they would only +show that they do not intend to accept the final consequences of the +mistakes committed by the French Government. + +"No one is compelled to eat the last drop of a soup prepared by false +friends. In this sense, to seduce France to a direct breach of faith +with her allies, would in truth, only mean the protection of France's +best interests" (pp. 51-2). + +One other writer deserves mention--a lecturer in history, Bonn +University--because he presents an opinion the exact contrary to the one +last quoted. According to Dr. Platzhoff, France herself is the guilty +party, who has tricked Russia and Great Britain into the service of +revenge for 1870. + +"Therefore France found it necessary to extract herself from isolation, +and acquire allies against her neighbour (Germany). In several decades +of painful effort, French diplomacy has solved the problem in brilliant +fashion. _Revanche_--and alliance policy are inseparable +conceptions."[184] + +[Footnote 184: Dr. Walter Platzhoff; "Deutschland und Frankreich," p. +18.] + +In contrast to most German authors, Platzhoff admits that the _Entente +Cordiale_ was called into being by Germany herself. "This development +caused great anxiety in Germany. But it seems certain that Germany could +have prevented it by one means alone--an open agreement with England. +And Berlin, after considering the matter carefully, had declined the +latter."[185] + +[Footnote 185: Ibid., p. 22.] + +"That France would enter the field on Russia's behalf is a logical +consequence not only of the Dual Alliance treaty, but also of the policy +pursued during recent decades. In vain French ministers have protested +their love of peace and their innocence in causing this war. The policy +of alliances and revenge was certain to end in a world conflagration. + +"Already voices make themselves heard which prophesy a revolution in +French policy and a later _entente_ with Germany."[186] + +[Footnote 186: Ibid., pp. 26-8.] + +Many such passages might be cited to prove that Germany would like to +see a split among the allies. But France's honour and welfare are in her +own hands, and it appears a futile hope that Germany, after failing to +bring France to submission and self-effacement by threats of _saigner à +blanc_, will succeed in her purpose by the reality. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE INTELLECTUALS AND THE WAR + + +Mention has already been made that a large number of Germany's war books +has emanated from the universities. Not the least important of these +efforts is "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg" ("Germany and the World +War.")[187] Twenty well-known university professors have contributed to +the work; the fact being emphasized that special facilities have been +accorded to them by the German foreign office. For British readers the +chapters by Professors Marcks and Oncken are the most interesting, viz., +"England's Policy of Might" by the former, and "Events leading up to the +War" and "The Outbreak of War" by the latter. They take up a fifth of +the 686 pages of which the entire work consists. + +[Footnote 187: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," herausgegeben von Otto +Hintze, Friedrich Meinecke, Hermann Oncken und Hermann Schumacher. +Leipzig und Berlin, 1915.] + +The purpose of Professor Marcks' essay is to prove on historical and +scientific lines the lessons which have been taught in German schools +for nearly half a century, _i.e._, England is an astute but ruthless +robber who respects no right, and no nation which stands in her way. + +"England's modern history begins with the Tudors and her world policy +with Elizabeth. First of all, England had to liberate herself, +economically and politically, from a position of dependence on the other +Powers; then she took up her particular attitude to the world. Her +separation from the Roman Catholic Church was exceedingly rich in +consequences; this step assigned to her a peculiar place in the camp of +the nations, and exercised a deep influence upon her intellectual +development. It gave her an impetus towards internal and external +independence. + +"But the determining factor for England's future was her insular +position; this has been the case from the time Europe entered the +ocean-period. Since the year 1600 England, by her commerce and politics, +has influenced Europe from without, while she has maintained for herself +a position of independence, and directed her energies across the ocean +into the wide world. Successively she seized upon the Baltic, North Sea, +and Atlantic Ocean; gradually she became the merchant and shipbuilder +for most of the European nations. + +"The sea has given her everything--independence, security and +prosperity--both in treasure and lands. The sea protected her and spared +her the unpleasantness of mighty neighbours. It was the ocean which +permitted free development to her internal life, parliament, government +and administration, and saved her from the continental form of +Government--a strong, armed monarchy. + +"The sea has allowed the English to develop, undisturbed, the +peculiarities of their race--personal energy, trained by contact with +the ocean; personal freedom, favoured but not oppressed by the living +organism of the State. The sea afforded them liberty of action in every +direction without fear of attack from behind. Freed from the chains +which bound Europe, England went out into the wide world. + +"Yet she remained constantly associated with the continent, not only +because Europe was her field of action. English statesmen have always +seized upon every opportunity to influence European policy; at first +this was from motives of defence, but afterwards from an ever-increasing +spirit of aggression. The balance of power on the continent has always +been one of the premises for England's security and existence. + +"She is indebted to her insular position for the supreme advantage of +being able to exercise her influence in Europe without allowing her +forces to be tied to the continent; European countries were bound by +their own conflicts and differences, enabling England to exert her +influence upon them without active participation. England has become +thoroughly accustomed to a state of affairs under which she has no +neighbours and never permits any--not even on the sea. She has come to +consider this her God-given prerogative. + +"The barriers of geographical position which hampered other lands, +nature did not impose upon England; the security afforded by her girdle +of waves seemed as it were to impel her to strike out into the +unbounded, and to look upon every obstacle as a wrong. There is a thread +of daring lawlessness running through all England's world-struggles, +through all periods of her history, right down to the present day. + +"When England speaks of humanity she means herself; her cosmopolitan +utterances refer to her own nationality. She forgets too easily that +other nations have arisen on the earth who esteem their own +distinguishing traits and are inspired by the ardent desire to uphold +their own institutions, forms of Government and culture. England +believes all too easily that the world's map should be all one colour. +But the soul of the modern world demands variety."[188] + +[Footnote 188: Ibid., 297 _et seq_.] + +There is no important objection to raise against Professor Marcks' +statement of English history and Britain's favoured position on the +surface of the globe. Germany did not choose her own geographical +situation in the world--it is hers by nature and the right of historical +succession. Britain has never envied her or endeavoured to deprive her +of the advantages consequent upon her "place in the sun." + +Neither did the British select their island home; destiny and history +were again the determining factors. But it would be a travesty of the +truth to assert that Germany has not envied her that position, together +with the advantages arising from it. Yet in the same degree as the +inhabitants of these islands have used the "talents" entrusted to them +through their favourable position, Germany's jealousy seems to have +become more bitterly angry. By right of birth and national necessity +Germany demands the domination of the Rhine, but she fails to recognize +that right of birth and the demands of national existence compel Britain +to claim the domination of the seas. + +The remainder of Professor Marcks' essay is devoted to proving that "the +freedom of our world requires that it shall not be so in future." +Whatever motives actuated Germany in precipitating the war, this much is +now evident--it is her supreme desire and the aim of her highest +endeavour to destroy Britain's favoured situation and every advantage +accruing to her from it. + +To-day the issue is clear and simple for Germany--the annihilation of +British power and influence in the world. Literally hundreds of German +war books echo that cry, and, above all else, it is the hope of +attaining this aim which has aroused the bitterest war fury in the +entire German nation--man, woman and child. Reduced to first principles, +this difference of geographical position and the varying advantages +arising therefrom are the prime causes--if not _the_ cause--of the +present world-struggle. + +It was solely the fear of perpetuating British supremacy[189] which has +led Germany consistently to reject the extended hand of friendship. +Standing side by side with Great Britain, either in friendship or +alliance, Germany would have given her approval to Britain's historical +position in the world. When this country departed from the policy of +"splendid isolation" repeated attempts were made to establish more +intimate relations with Germany (1898-1902). + +[Footnote 189: Graf Ernst zu Reventlow: "Der Vampir des Festlandes +("England, the Vampire of the Continent"). Berlin, 1915, p. 117. +"England's withdrawal from the policy which sought to establish a mutual +plan of procedure in world politics between Germany and Britain dates +from the time when Britain recognized that Germany would not allow +herself to be employed against Russia. In Germany to-day, voices may be +heard proclaiming that von Bülow chose wrongly in refusing England's +offer, especially as Russia has repaid our loyalty and friendship with +iniquitous ingratitude. The latter represents the truth. + +"But in judging the policy of that period two factors must be borne in +mind. The acceptance of Great Britain's offer would have placed a tie +upon the German Empire which would have been unendurable. Germany would +have become the strong but stupid Power, whose duty would have been to +fight British battles on the continent. Besides which the choice +concerned Germany's world future, above all the development of the +German war fleet."] + +But as Professor Marcks (p. 315) observes: "Germany refused the hand +extended to her." Count Reventlow and a host of other writers have +chronicled the fact too, yet on September 2nd, 1914, the German +Chancellor dared to say to representative American journalists: "When +the archives are opened then the world will learn how often Germany has +offered the hand of friendship to England." + +It is only one more confirmation that the "law of necessity" is +incompatible with the truth. The truth is that Germany preferred to +drive Britain into another and hostile camp rather than have her +friendship. Germany preferred British hostility rather than relinquish +her plans for unlimited naval expansion--which she believed to be the +only means of destroying Britain's position, and with that resolution +already taken the Kaiser presented his photograph to a distinguished +Englishman with this significant remark written on it with his own hand: +"I bide my time!" + +Although Britain drew the sword to defend Belgium, the supreme +issue--and the only one which occupies the German mind to-day--is +whether this country shall continue to hold the position allotted to her +by destiny and confirmed by history, or whether she is to be supplanted +by Germany. That is the one political thought which permeates German +intelligence at this moment, and no other considerations must be allowed +to darken this issue. + +Professor Oncken reviews the events of the period 1900-1914 in +considerable detail, and to him the policy of _ententes_ appears to be +the main cause leading up to the world war. From this alone it is +obvious that, consciously or unconsciously, he is wrong; the _ententes_ +in themselves are results, not prime causes. The prime causes leading to +these political agreements are to be found in Germany's attitude to the +rest of Europe. In a word they were defensive actions taken by the +Powers concerned, as a precaution against German aggression. + +German aggression consisted in committing herself to unlimited +armaments, cherishing the irreconcilable determination to be the +strongest European power. According to her doctrine of might, everything +can be attained by the mightiest. British advances she answered with +battleships, simultaneously provoking France and Russia by increasing +her army corps. The balance of power in Europe, Germany declares to be +an out-of-date British fad, invented solely in the interests of these +islands. + +In secret Germany has long been an apostate to the balance-of-power +theory; the war has caused her to drop the mask, and it was without +doubt her resolve never to submit to the chains of the balance in +Europe, which forced three other States to waive their differences and +form the Triple Entente. Simply stated this is cause and result. But +Professor Oncken maintains--and in doing so he voices German national +opinion--that the entire _entente_ policy was a huge scheme to bring +about Germany's downfall. + +He goes further and proclaims that the Hague Conference (1907) was a +British trick to place the guilt of armaments on Germany's shoulders. +"England filled the world with disarmament projects so that afterwards, +full of unction, she could denounce Germany as the disturber of the +peace. At that time the Imperial Chancellor answered justly: 'Pressure +cannot be brought to bear on Germany, not even moral pressure!'"[190] +And in that sentence German obstinacy and sullen irreconcilability is +most admirably expressed. + +[Footnote 190: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," p. 495.] + +Having seen that Professor Oncken has failed to recognize the prime +causes which provoked the _entente_ policy, it is not surprising to find +him equally in error when discussing the diplomatic clashes between the +rival camps. The professor calls them _Machtproben_ ("tests of power"); +but how he can dare to state that these diplomatic trials of strength +were engineered by Great Britain--remains his own secret. + +"King Edward's meeting with the Czar at Reval in June, 1908, was +followed by a far-reaching Macedonian reform programme, the commencement +of the division of European Turkey. What Britain had failed to induce +Germany to help her in executing, was to be attained with the sword's +point directed against Germany. And Britain proceeded in cold blood to +conjure up an era of might-struggles, which, in the island language, is +called preserving the balance of power."[191] + +[Footnote 191: Ibid., p. 297.] + +The trials of strength recounted by Oncken are the Bosnian crisis, the +Morocco question, and the Austro-Serbian quarrel which led to the +present war. It seems banal to have to point out that Bosnia was +unlawfully annexed by Germany's vassal--Austria; that Germany, herself, +brought Europe to the verge of war by sending the _Panther_ to Agadir; +and that the final catastrophic _Machtprobe_ was likewise provoked by +Germany's eastern vassal. + +For good or evil Germany has been convinced for nearly two decades that +the balance of power in Europe was an obstacle to her world future. +Furthermore, she believed that the balance imposed fetters upon her +which only mighty armaments could break. All Germany's energies in the +domain of diplomacy have been set in motion to make the balance of power +a mere figment of the imagination. + +In pursuing this end it has suited her purpose to declare all attempts +at maintaining the outward appearances of equality between the Powers of +Europe to be Machiavellian schemes against her existence; or to cite the +Kaiser's own words, "to deprive Germany of her place in the sun." + +Britain's _entente_ policy was the only one calculated to preserve our +own existence, and to restrain Germany from establishing a hegemony in +Europe. She was completely convinced that the domination of Europe +belonged to her by right of mental, moral and military superiority over +her neighbours. Not in vain have Germany's educational institutions +inculcated the belief in her population that the British Empire is an +effete monstrosity with feet of clay; France a rotten, decaying empire, +and Russia a barbarian Power with no new _Kultur_ to offer Europe except +the knout. + +Inspired by such conceptions, together with an astoundingly exaggerated +idea of Germany's peerlessness in order, discipline, obedience, +morality, genius and other ethical values, as well as an unshaken belief +in Germany's invincibility by land and sea--the entire nation, from +Kaiser to cobbler, has long since held that by right of these +virtues--by right of her absolute superiority over all other +nations--Germany could and must claim other rights and powers than those +which fell to her under an antiquated balance of European power. + +In few words that is the gospel of _Deutschland, Deutschland, über +alles_. These are the motives which inspired Germany's naval expansion +and forbade her to accept a compromise. The same ideals led to her +endeavours to shatter the _ententes_, and it is alone the general +acceptance of this gospel, which explains the remarkable unanimity with +which the German nation has stood behind the Kaiser's Government in each +trial of strength. They have learned to consider all attempts of the +lesser peoples (Britain, France and Russia included) to maintain +themselves against the Teutonic onset as impudent attacks on sacred +Germany, which also illuminates the fact that Germans call the present +struggle--"Germany's holy, sacred war." + +German statesmen were quite clear as to the national course at least +fifteen years ago. Hence they have persistently pursued a policy of no +compromise and no agreements. A compromise recognizes and perpetuates, +in part at least, the very thing which stands in the way. An agreement +with Britain in regard to naval armaments would have perpetuated British +naval supremacy, as well as recognized its necessity. Likewise an +agreement, or the shadow of an understanding with France on the question +of Alsace-Lorraine would have been a recognition of French claims. Hence +on these two questions--which are merely given as examples illustrative +of German mentality--every attempt at an agreement has been a failure. + +A cardinal point in Germany's programme has been the consistent manner +in which she has tried to separate her European neighbours from Britain +in order to deal with them separately or alone. That her endeavours +ended in failure is due to the instinct of self-preservation which has +drawn Germany's opponents closer together, in exact proportion to the +increasing force of her efforts. Both in peace and war, Germany desired +and endeavoured to switch off Britain's influence in Europe. + +The diplomatic battles of 1905, 1908 and 1911 were a few of the efforts +to dislodge Great Britain from her _ententes_, while her repeated +attempts to buy this country's neutrality, down to the eve of war, are +proof that Germany wanted a free hand in Europe.[192] If she had +succeeded in her purpose, it is exceedingly doubtful whether any Power +could have prevented her from exercising a free hand in the whole world. + +[Footnote 192: Professor Schiemann: "Wie England eine Verständigung mit +Deutschland verhinderte" ("How England prevented an Understanding with +Germany"). Berlin, 1915; pp. 20-21: "From the very commencement Berlin +was convinced that the probability of a combined Franco-Russian attack +was exceedingly small, if England's entrance to this Germanophobe +combination could be prevented. Therefore we endeavoured to secure +England's neutrality in case of war (1909), that is, if an Anglo-German +alliance could not be achieved--an alliance which would have guaranteed +the world's peace." (Schiemann's insinuation that Germany desired an +alliance is an instance of _suggestio falsi_. Germany had decided in +1902 never to conclude an alliance with this country.--Author.)] + +Coming down to the last trial of diplomatic power, we are confronted by +the immovable fact, that it too was a challenge on the part of the +Central Empires. The conditions seemed peculiarly favourable to them, +for the British Ambassador declared to the Russian Government on July +24th, 1914, that Britain would never draw the sword on a purely Serbian +question. Moreover, in the preceding year, a British minister, says +Professor Schiemann, had given what we may style a remarkable +semi-official promise that Great Britain would never go to war with +Germany. + +"On February 18th, 1913, Mr. Charles Trevelyan, M.P., paid me a visit, +and assured me with the greatest certainty that England would under no +circumstances wage war on Germany. A ministry which made preparations +for war, would be immediately overthrown."[193] + +[Footnote 193: Ibid., p. 27. In the light of this revelation it would be +interesting to know what was the real motive which induced Mr. Trevelyan +to resign his office when war broke out. Either he was conscious of +having seriously compromised his position as a Minister of the Crown, or +he conscientiously believed that Britain was drawing the sword in an +unjust cause. Unfortunately a section of the British public accepted the +latter interpretation. In any case, Mr. Trevelyan's indiscretion affords +overwhelming proof that he had an utterly false conception of +Germany.--Author.] + +Professor Schiemann affirms that his good impression was strengthened by +a visit to London during March and April, 1914, and reports a +conversation which he had with Lord Haldane when dining privately with +the latter in London. After returning to Berlin, he says he received a +letter from Lord Haldane dated April 17th, 1914, but from Schiemann's +quotation it is not evident whether the following is an extract or the +entire letter: + +"It was a great pleasure to see you and to have had the full and +unreserved talk we had together. My ambition is like yours, to bring +Germany and Great Britain into relations of ever-closer intimacy and +friendship. Our two countries have a common work to do for the world as +well as for themselves, and each of them can bring to bear on this work +special endowments and qualities. May the co-operation which I believe +is now beginning become closer and closer.[194] + +[Footnote 194: Lord Haldane has stated during the war that his visit to +Berlin in 1912 had filled his mind with doubt and suspicion in regard to +Germany.--Author.] + +"Of this I am sure, the more wide and unselfish the nations and the +groups questions make her supreme purposes of their policies, the more +will frictions disappear, and the sooner will the relations that are +normal and healthy reappear.[195] Something of this good work has now +come into existence between our two peoples. We must see to it that the +chance of growth is given."[196] + +[Footnote 195: A word or phrase appears to have been dropped in this +sentence.--Author.] + +[Footnote 196: Professor Schiemann's book, pp. 27-8.] + +It is not difficult to conceive that such utterances, on the part of two +British ministers, would raise hopes in the German mind, for it would be +useless to imagine that Professor Schiemann would keep them secret for +his own private edification. And it is possible that they led the German +Government into a false reckoning as to what this country would do under +certain circumstances, and so encouraged Germany into taking up an +irreconcilable attitude in the crisis of July, 1914. + +Whatever Germany expected must, however, for the present, remain a +matter of conjecture. Schiemann's comment on the above letter leaves no +doubt that he expected Lord Haldane[197] to resign. "When one remembers +that Lord Haldane belonged to the inner circle of the Cabinet, and was +therefore privy to all the secret moves of Sir Edward Grey, it is hard +to believe in the sincerity of the sentiments expressed in this letter. +Besides, he did not resign like three other members of the Cabinet (Lord +Morley, Burns and Charles Trevelyan) when Sir Edward's foul play lay +open to the world on August 4th." + +[Footnote 197: Lord Haldane seems to have injured his reputation both in +Great Britain and Germany. Professor Oncken designates him: "the +one-time friend of Germany, the decoy-bird of the British cabinet." +_Vide_ "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," p. 561.] + +The most regrettable side of the whole incident is that the resignation +of the above gentlemen has been proclaimed by innumerable German writers +as proof of Sir Edward Grey's double dealing, and proof that Britain is +waging an unjust war. Still, it may console these gentlemen to know that +the nation which wages war on women and children acclaims them to-day +"all honourable men," and doubtless without the Shakespearian +intonation. + +By reason of the above incidents, and more of a similar nature, Germans +accuse the late Liberal Government with perfidy of the basest kind. The +author is not in the least inclined to admit the charge, but thinks, +rather, that the Government in question--individually and +collectively--was astonishingly ignorant of European conditions and +problems, especially those prevailing in the Germanic Empires. + +To what a degree Germany was obsessed by the idea that Britain was +trying to strangle her by an encircling policy, is apparent in a +diplomatic document quoted by Professor Oncken. Its author's name is not +given, and it was doubtless a secret report sent to the German Foreign +Office in 1912; its freedom from bias is also questionable. Moreover, it +is probable that it belongs to the same category of documents as those +quoted in the French Yellow Book--reports intended to exercise due +influence on the mind of the Emperor. + +"French diplomacy is succeeding more and more in entangling England in +the meshes of her net. The encouragement which England gives, directly +or indirectly, to French chauvinism may one day end in a catastrophe in +which English and French soldiers must pay with their blood on French +battlefields for England's encircling policy. The seeds sown by King +Edward are springing up." + +Another link in the chain of proof of Britain's guilt, is found in the +documents seized by the Germans in Brussels. The enemy seems to attach +great importance to them, for they are being employed in much the same +way that parliamentary candidates use pamphlets during an election. Yet +they do not contain a particle of proof that Britain had hostile +intentions against Germany, but only confirm the presence of the German +menace. + +The documents[198] in question are reports sent by the Belgian Legation +Secretaries in London, Paris and Berlin to the Minister for Foreign +Affairs in Brussels. These gentlemen held opinions identical with those +expressed again and again in German newspapers, and even in some British +and French organs. Messieurs Comte de Lalaing (London), Greindl +(Berlin), Leghait (Paris), evidently believed that the activities of the +Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente endangered the peace of Europe. + +[Footnote 198: Published by the Berlin Government as supplements to the +_Nord-deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_, July 29th and 31st; August 4th, 8th +and 12th, 1915.] + +Further they believed the latter constellation to be the more aggressive +of the two, and formally reported these convictions to the Belgian +Government. If read as a modern edition of "Pepys' Diary" they form +entertaining literature, but by no stretch of the imagination could they +be classed as historical sources. A gentleman who reports to his +Government that King Edward took breakfast in company with M. Delcassé +and that the Press had neglected to chronicle the incident, can hardly +rank as an historian. + +Moreover, it is by no means clear why the German Press should laud M. +Greindl as a gentleman of German origin. If this be true it would +probably explain everything which deserves explanation in the said +documents, and would probably account for the intimate, confidential +treatment which M. Greindl received at the hands of German officials. + +German newspapers are gloating over the fact that the British Government +has not deigned to reply to these "revelations." There is really nothing +to which it can reply; three observers expressed their opinion on +contemporaneous happenings during the years 1905-1911. But a brutal +sequence of events in 1914 showed them--if they had not been convinced +during the preceding three years--that they had drawn false conclusions +from their observations. + +To return to the last trial of strength between the two groups of +European Powers, it is interesting to note that Professor Oncken denies +German participation in formulating the ultimatum to Serbia, or that +Germany was aware of its contents. Germany merely left Austria a free +hand in the matter. Oncken endeavours to show that Austria's demands +were not excessive, and expresses astonishment that the opposing Powers +found them exorbitant. He does not mention the fact that a large section +of the German nation held the same opinion on July 25th, 1914. + +His comment on Sir Edward Grey's efforts for peace is characteristic: +"England claims that she did everything possible to preserve the peace. +It cannot be denied that Grey made a series of mediation proposals. But +mere good-will is not everything. It is much more important to weigh +their practical importance, and the goal at which they aimed: Whether +they were intended to preserve the world's peace under conditions +honourable for all parties, or calculated to obtain for the _Entente_ a +one-sided diplomatic victory which would have established its future +predominance."[199] + +[Footnote 199: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," p. 544.] + +"Grey considered the moment suitable for a mediation proposal. On the +evening of July 26th, after obtaining Russia's consent, he proposed to +the Governments of France, Germany and Italy that their London +ambassadors should meet in London to confer on a peaceful solution of +the conflict. + +"The proposal was unacceptable to Austria, because it would have been an +indirect recognition on her part of Russia's interest in the conflict. + +"Only those who had followed the growing intimacy of the mutual +obligations between the Entente Powers, and their organization to a +'London Centre' during the summer of 1914, are able to estimate the +role--to say nothing of Italy--which Russia's two comrades would have +played in the conference. During its course Russia would have continued +her military preparations, while Germany would have had to pledge +herself not to mobilize. + +"Finally, no unprejudiced observer would dare assert that the man (Sir +Edward Grey) who was ready to transform himself at a suitable +opportunity into an ally of Russia, would have been an impartial +chairman in a conference held under the pressure of a Russian +mobilization. The more one thinks about this mediation proposal the more +convinced one becomes, that it would at least have worked for a +diplomatic victory for the Entente Powers. + +"Grey put the whole machinery of the Triple Entente in motion in order +to force back Germany and Austria-Hungary along the whole line."[200] + +[Footnote 200: Ibid., p. 545 _et seq_.] + +An analysis of Professor Oncken's theses gives the following results: +First, Britain's efforts to preserve peace are admitted, but he fails to +mention any friendly advances to meet them. Secondly, the fundamental +principle underlying the Germanic attitude is again exposed, viz., that +Russia had no right to intervene in a question affecting the balance of +power in the Balkans and in Europe (_vide_, p. 63). Thirdly, a +diplomatic struggle was in progress along the whole line, between the +two groups of Powers. + +In weighing the second point it would be wrong to assume that the +Central Empires were not fully aware of the presence of a far more vital +question behind the Austro-Serbian conflict. They knew it from the very +beginning and had already expressed threats in St. Petersburg, hoping to +achieve the same effect as in the Bosnian crisis. If Austria had been +allowed to destroy Serbia's military power the material forces of Europe +would have been seriously disturbed; the ineffectiveness of the Triple +Entente finally established, and its dissolution the inevitable +consequence. + +If these considerations are correct then the statement attributed by M. +de L'Escaille (see p. 281) to Sir George Buchanan that Britain would +never draw the sword could only have served to strengthen the resolution +of the Germanic Powers in enforcing their point Germany above all +desired that the balance of power theory should be finally smashed, and +it may be safely assumed that an Austro-Serbian conflict seemed to her a +most fitting opportunity to realize her purpose. + +The third point suggests two questions. Who provoked the diplomatic +conflict, and who would have benefited most by a diplomatic victory? A +reply to the first question is superfluous, and the answer to the second +is obvious from the preceding line of reasoning. Germany would have +reached the goal towards which she had striven for more than a +decade--the removal of all diplomatic hindrances to the unlimited +assertion of her will in Europe. It may even be doubted whether the Dual +Alliance would have survived the shock. + +Another phase of Professor Oncken's work is the open attack on Sir +Edward Grey. Only three years ago this statesman was acclaimed in +Germany as a man of peace--_the_ man who had prevented the Balkan War +from becoming a European conflagration. To-day he is accused by the same +nation of being the originator of the world war. + +Oncken[201] goes back to the year 1905 and states that Sir Edward Grey +initiated only two members of the Cabinet--Mr. Asquith and Lord +Haldane--into the details of the agreement with France, and these three +gentlemen he refers to as the "inner circle." King Edward, and +afterwards Sir Edward Grey in continuing the late King's policy, +succeeded in harnessing the _revanche idée_ and the spirit of Russian +aggression to the chariot of British Imperialism. All offers of +friendship made by this country were insincere. (The professorial +pleader does not say so, but he leaves his readers to infer that +sincerity is a German monopoly.) Concerning the British Minister's +declaration in Parliament that no secret treaty existed with France, +Oncken remarks: "The declaration was just as true formally as it was a +lie in essentials." + +[Footnote 201: The authorities (?) most frequently cited by Professor +Oncken in making out his case are Messrs. Morel, Macdonald, Hardie, G. +B. Shaw and the _Labour Leader_.--Author.] + +Following the development of events after the conference proposal had +been dropped, Oncken writes: "Meanwhile the Russian Government +endeavoured to persuade England's leading statesman that the opinion +prevailed in Germany and Austria, that England would remain neutral in +every case, in consequence of this delusion the Central Powers were +obdurate. England could only dispel the danger of war by destroying this +false conception, _i.e._, openly joining Russia and France. + +"It is noteworthy how quickly Grey assimilated this train of thought. +Disregarding the suggestions of the British Ambassador in St. +Petersburg, he did nothing to exercise a moderating influence upon +Russia and thereby further the success of the conversations between +Vienna and St. Petersburg. On the other hand, he proceeded to take steps +which probably in his opinion, were calculated to damp the supposed +desire for war on the part of Germany. Practically, the result of all +his actions was to exercise one-sided pressure upon Germany and Austria +and simultaneously, through unmistakable declarations concerning +England's eventual attitude, to encourage Paris and St. Petersburg to +energetic measures. + +"But all hopes for peace were destroyed at a single blow by Russia. On +the evening of July 30th after the conversations with Austria-Hungary +had been resumed, Sasonow increased his demands--and in truth with +England's co-operation--to such a degree that their acceptance would +have meant the complete submission of the Dual Monarchy. + +"And as if this were insufficient, a few hours later, before a reply had +been received and while negotiations were proceeding in Vienna, Russia +suddenly broke off the communications with a momentous decision +(mobilization). The certainty which she had gained from the moves of +English diplomacy, that in case of war she was sure of France's support +and with it England's, turned the scale--against peace. + +"That this calculation was decisive for Russia's change of front is +confirmed by a witness whose impartiality even our opponents will +admit."[202] + +[Footnote 202: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," pp. 553-4.] + +Professor Oncken then supports his argument with quotations from a +letter written by the Belgian Legation Secretary in St. Petersburg to +his Government. The letter was doubtless stolen while in transit by the +Berlin postal authorities. Monsieur B. de l'Escaille wrote the letter on +July 30th, despatched it by courier to Berlin, where it was posted on +the following day. The outside envelope was addressed to Madame +Costermans, 107 Rue Froissard, Bruxelles; inside was a letter addressed +to M. Darignon, Minister for Foreign Affairs. German writers state that +no letters were forwarded to foreign countries after martial law was +proclaimed on July 31st (a statement which is untrue), thus it fell into +their hands. + +Overwhelming importance is attached to this document by German war +writers. The more important passages of the despatch run as follows: +"The last two days have passed in the expectation of events which are +bound to follow[203] upon Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against +Serbia. The most contradictory reports were in circulation, without any +possibility of confirming their truth or falsity. + +[Footnote 203: Thus the impartial witness whom Germans quote to prove +their innocence definitely states that Russia had no other course left +open to her by Austria's actions.--Author.] + +"One thing is, however, indisputable, viz., that Germany has done +everything possible both here and in Vienna[204] to find a means of +avoiding a general conflict, but has only been met with the +determination of the Vienna cabinet, on the one hand, not to yield a +single step, and on the other hand Russian distrust of Vienna's +declaration that they merely intend a punitive expedition against +Serbia. + +[Footnote 204: How could M. de l'Escaille know what had passed in +Vienna?--Author.] + +"One must really believe that everybody wants war, and is only anxious +to postpone the declaration in order to gain time. At first England gave +out, that she would not allow herself to be drawn into a conflict. Sir +George Buchanan said that definitely. But to-day they are firmly +convinced in St. Petersburg, indeed they have received an assurance, +that England will stand by France. This support is of extraordinary +importance, and has contributed not a little to the war-party gaining +the upper hand. + +"In the cabinet sitting held yesterday, there were differences of +opinion, and the mobilization order was postponed. This morning at four +o'clock mobilization was ordered. + +"The Russian army feels itself strong, and is full of enthusiasm. The +reorganization of the navy is still so incomplete that it would be out +of the count in case of war. For that reason England's assurance of help +was of the greatest consequence."[205] + +[Footnote 205: "Kriegs-Depeschen, 1914" ("German War-Telegrams, 1914"). +Berlin, 1914; p. 96 _et seq_.] + +If Professor Oncken is correct in stating that Sir Edward Grey's +measures were calculated to exercise a pressure on Germany and Austria, +then he merely confirms what this country has hitherto believed--Sir +Edward Grey acted rightly. Where else should he have exerted pressure +except in the quarter from whence a provocative, insolent challenge had +proceeded? + +With regard to the assertion that Russia--stiffened by England--took a +"momentous decision" on the evening of July 30th, Professor Oncken is +guilty of distortion. The decision to mobilize had been taken earlier, +and as M. de l'Escaille wrote, was made public at four o'clock on the +morning of July 30th. + +Whether Russia had increased her demands ("peremptorily sharpened" are +Oncken's words) the reader can judge for himself by comparing the two +texts. + + I II + "If Austria, recognizing "If Austria agrees to + that the Austro-Serbian stay the advance of her + question has troops on Serbian territory, + assumed the character and if, recognizing + of a European question, that the Austro-Serbian + declares herself ready to dispute has assumed the + eliminate from her ultimatum character of a question + the points which of European interest, she + infringe the sovereign admits that the Great + rights of Serbia, Russia Powers shall examine + engages to stop her the satisfaction which + military preparations." Serbia might give to + (Russian Orange Book, the Austro--Hungarian + No. 60.) Government without + affecting her sovereign + rights and independence, + Russia undertakes + to maintain her waiting + attitude." (French + Yellow Book, No. 113.) + +Oncken, in making this comparison, comments: "It is most remarkable that +the original formula chosen by Sasonow had been peremptorily sharpened +(_einschneidend verschärft_) on July 31st at the request of the British +Ambassador. This interference by England in the formulation of the +proposal must arouse the gravest doubt regarding the peaceful tendencies +of England's policy. Sasonow had every reason to thank Grey 'for the +firm, amicable tone which he has employed in his pourparlers with +Germany and Austria.'"[206] + +[Footnote 206: "Deutschland und der Weltkrieg," p. 553. Oncken's +quotation in the last lines taken from the Russian Orange Book, No. 69.] + +Sir Edward Grey had proposed five days earlier (July 26th) that all +military measures should cease pending a settlement. Hence the +introduction of this clause is not a new demand. Moreover, in the +meantime Russia and Germany--in spite of the latter's denial--had +commenced to mobilize; Austria had mobilized and commenced hostilities +against Serbia. Thus there were far more urgent reasons to include the +cessation of military measures on July 31st than before. Lastly, it was +the only acceptable pledge of Austrian sincerity which Russia could +accept. Whether the formula would have met with Austria's approval +cannot be determined, for Austria was saved from what Oncken terms +"complete submission" by Germany's ultimatum to Russia, despatched on +the same day, July 31st. + +It is impossible to get rid of the suspicion that Germany thought +Austria might accept the proposal; in any case, Germany deliberately +shattered the last chance of a settlement by her demand that Russia +should demobilize. + +If Germany outwardly worked for peace in St. Petersburg, as M. de +l'Escaille states, it would be quite in harmony with the methods of +German diplomacy. But, as the same gentleman testifies: "Austria would +not yield a step"--the conclusion must be drawn that Germany had ordered +her to stand firm. Austria did not yield a single inch, and so it is a +matter of indifference as to the sincerity or otherwise of Germany's +peace endeavours. + +Oncken further mentions Britain's refusal to remain neutral in return +for a promise that French territory should not be annexed, but he omits +the question of French colonies. His analysis of the Belgian question +deserves quotation: "Grey was seeking an excuse for war, and he found +one in the question of Belgian neutrality. It was just such a reason as +he required in order to carry away the Cabinet, Parliament and public +opinion. And since then that reason has been much discussed, accompanied +by appeals to international law and humanity, by England's and the +world's Press. + +"But there is more than one irrefutable proof at hand, to show that this +reason for war, was merely a veil covering the real ones. Anticipating +Grey's intentions, before the German Government had finally declared +themselves on the subject,[207] Prince Lichnowsky put the question to +Sir Edward Grey on August 1st, as to whether England would remain +neutral if Germany undertook to respect the neutrality of Belgium. + +[Footnote 207: Britain had asked Germany a day or two before, whether +she would respect Belgium's neutrality.--Author.] + +"Grey, however, refused to give the pledge with which he could--if he +was really concerned about Belgium--have spared that unhappy land its +terrible fate. But by these means the trump card of Belgian neutrality +had been taken from our opponent's hand in advance. Yet Grey actually +considered it permissible to conceal this offer from the British +Cabinet. Yes, he dared even more. + +"After the matter had been mentioned by Ramsay Macdonald in the _Labour +Leader_, Keir Hardie asked a question in the House of Commons on August +27th, as to whether Lichnowsky's proposal had been submitted to the +Cabinet, and why the same had not been made the basis of peaceful +negotiations with Germany. Grey made a weak attempt to discriminate +between official proposals made by a government, and a private question +asked by an ambassador. + +"When the inconvenient questioner asked for further information, he was +cried down. The Oxford theologian Conybeare gained the impression from +this Parliamentary incident: 'That all Sir Edward Grey's answers to Mr. +Keir Hardie's questions are examples of _suppressio veri_ and _suggestio +falsi_.' His later revocation of this judgment does not alter its value +as objective evidence. + +"After Grey's refusal, Prince Lichnowsky pressed him to formulate +England's conditions for her neutrality. At the same time the Ambassador +increased his offer of July 29th by proposing to guarantee the integrity +of France and her colonies in return for England's neutrality. Grey +suppressed this proposal too before the Cabinet, as any negotiation on +this basis would have thwarted his pre-conceived plans. Only an +immovable determination for war can explain this behaviour. + +"Even before he could assume that Belgian neutrality was in danger, he +pledged English policy to the wishes of France. On the afternoon of the +same August 1st, he gave the French Ambassador--who was anxiously +pressing for a decision--reason to believe that he would be able to give +a formal promise on the following day. At the Cabinet meeting on August +2nd--the same in which he suppressed Germany's offer!--he got a motion +accepted empowering him to assure Cambon that if Germany attacked the +French coast, England would intervene." + +It is necessary to return to Germany's proposal in regard to Belgian +neutrality. In simple language it means that Germany wanted to sell her +pledged word, given in 1839, for British neutrality in 1914. In view of +the fact that Professor Oncken looked upon this as a legitimate bargain, +one wonders in silence at his standard of morality and honour. Is he not +a scoundrel who first gives his word of honour and afterwards tries to +strike a bargain with the same? Stripped of all verbiage that is +Germany's proposal in its naked immorality, and the author chronicles +with pleasure that the House of Commons cried down even its discussion. +It recalls to his memory the fact, that the Reichstag--Germany's highest +legislative assembly--cheered to the echo Bethmann-Hollweg's +announcement that German armies, in violating the dictates of moral and +international law, by breaking Germany's word of honour, had occupied +Luxembourg and entered Belgium. The two incidents are drastic, concrete +illustrations of the gulf which separates British and German conceptions +of right and wrong. + +Furthermore, there are two questions of a disciplinary nature arising +out of this incident which "the man in the street" has a perfect right +to raise. Assuming that Sir Edward Grey exercised his discretion and +concealed the "infamous proposal" from the Cabinet, which of his +colleagues afterwards betrayed the fact and from what source--German or +English--did he obtain his information? + +Full knowledge on these points would probably be of great assistance in +destroying the "trail of the serpent" (_i.e._, German influence and +intrigues) in the political and national life of Great Britain. + +Professor Oncken praises German disinterestedness in offering to +guarantee the integrity of French continental and colonial territories +in case Germany gained a victory in the war. Sir Edward Grey's refusal +to guarantee British neutrality in return for this promise, the +professor considers supreme and final proof that Britain was bent on +war. The nation has rightly approved of this policy and the point need +not be argued in this place; but Professor Oncken in the seclusion of +his German study would do well to weigh two problems: + +If Germany had gained a victory--and in August, 1914, she was absolutely +convinced that France and Russia would succumb if they faced her +alone--then Germany would have obtained the long sought upper and "free +hand" in Europe. What earthly powers could have compelled her in that +moment to respect her promise in regard to French territories? Certainly +Germany's sense of honour could not be counted upon to do so. + +The second problem refers to the bull and the china-shop. Presuming that +the bull could talk, would Professor Oncken advise the guardian of the +proverbial china-shop to accept the bull's promise to respect the +_status quo ante_ of his property, before letting him (the bull) run +amock amongst the china? + +Lastly, readers are advised when studying the German "case" to remember +that Germany never offered to respect the integrity of French +territories _and_, the neutrality of Belgium. Although German +writers--with malice aforethought--seek to give that impression. Yet, +had this combined offer been made, the author submits that in spite of +such a promise, it would still have been ruinous to British interests to +stand aside and see Germany gain the upper and "free hand" in Europe. +Having obtained that, all else would have followed to the desire of +Germany's heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE LITERATURE OF HATE + + +"The English are wretched scoundrels."--_Frederick the Great_. + +"It must come to this, that not even a German dog will accept a piece of +bread from an Englishman."--_Heinrich von Treitschke_. + +"England, the Vampire of Europe," by Count Reventlow. + +"Down with England," by Admiral Valois. + +"England, our Enemy in the Past, Present and Future," by Erich von +Kabler. + +"A German Victory, Ireland's Hope," by Dr. Hans Rost. + +"England, the Scourge of Humanity," by Germanicus. + +"The Poisonous Press," by Germanicus. + +"England against England," by Mathieu Schwann. + +"A Woman's War Letters," by L. Niessen-Deiters. + +"Albion's Death Struggle," by Eugen Detmolder.[208] + +[Footnote 208: Written by Detmolder (a Belgian) during the Boer +War.--Author.] + +"How John Bull recruits his Hirelings," by Dr. Herbert Hirschberg. + +"Advance on England! The Destruction of Britain's World Power," +Anonymous. + +"In English Captivity," by Heinrich Norden, late missionary. + +"British _versus_ German Imperium," by an Irish-American. Introduction +by Sir Roger Casement. + +"Lousyhead goes on Lying." The latest war news of Messrs. Grandebouche +(France), Lousyhead (Russia), and Plumpudding (England), by Karl +Ettlinger. + +"England and Germany," by Houston Stewart Chamberlain. + +"Cable Warfare and the Campaign of Lies," by Dr. Meister, Professor in +Münster University. + +"England and Continental Interests," by Captain H. Schubart. + +"The Annihilation of England's World Power," Essays by twenty-three +different authors, including Professors Haeckel, Eucken and Lamprecht; +State Secretary Dr. Dernburg; Dr. Sven Hedin, etc. + +"German Misery in London," by Carl Peters. + +"The English Face," by six university professors; Frischeisen-Köhler +(Berlin); Jastrow (Berlin); von der Goltz (Greifswald); Roloff +(Giessen); Valentin (Freiburg); von Liszt (Berlin). + +"Starvation, England's Latest Ally," by Friedrich Simon. + +"England and the War," by Professor Lujo Brentano. + +"Against France and Albion," by A. Fendrich. + +"The Land of Unlimited Hypocrisy," by Spiridion Gopevi.[209] + +[Footnote 209: Probably the most scurrilous and vulgar work of its type; +but the writer of it is not a German.--Author.] + +"England"; "England and America," _Süddeutsche Monatshefte_ (South +German Review) for January and May, 1915. + +"England's Tyranny and former Supremacy of the Seas," by Admiral +Kirchoff. + +"England's Blood-Guilt against the White Peoples," by Woldemar Schütze. + +"The Greatest Criminal against Humanity; King Edward VII. of England. A +Curse-pamphlet," by Lieut.-Col. R. Wagner. + +"England, tremble!" by J. Bermbach. + +"England as Sea-Pirate State," by Dr. Ernst Schultze. + +"In the Pillory! Our Enemies' Campaign of Lies," by Reinhold Anton. + +"London's Lie Factory: Renter's Office," by A. Brand. + +"England's Wicked Deeds in the World's History," by A. Kuhn. + +"Our Settlement with England," by Professor Hermann Oncken. + +"England's Betrayal of Germany," by M. Wildgrube. + +"England's Guilt," by Gaston von Mallmann. + +"English Character," by Professor Arnold Schröer. + +"England and We," by Dr. J. Riessner, President of the Hanseatic League. + +"How England prevented an Understanding with Germany," by Professor Th. +Schiemann. + +"God Punish England," published by _Simplicissimus_. + +"Perfidious Albion," by Alfred Geiser. + +"Our Enemies among Themselves," Caricatures from 1792-1900 collected by +Dr. Paul Weiglin. + +"Words in Season," Poems, including the "Hymn of Hate," by Ernst +Lissauer. + +About sixty-five other titles might be added to those given above, but +the author has restricted the list to books in his possession. Some of +them are scurrilous and obscene, deserving no further attention than a +record of their existence. Yet the fundamental idea running through +these works is identical, differing only in the mode of expression. + +Hate in itself is a confession of weakness, to a certain extent an +admission of defeat. The presence of hate in a nation or an individual +may be explained as resulting from the desire to remove or destroy an +obstacle, which has proved to be immovable and indestructible. A +healthy, well-balanced mind admits defeat and endeavours to make a +compromise--to adjust itself to the inevitable. + +But assuming other conditions--a false sense of honour, a morbid +conception of self-importance--then hate seems to be a natural, although +unhealthy result. Unfortunately there is evidence that these factors +influence modern Germany. One of the roots of tragedy is to be found in +the inequality between the will and power to perform. In its +helplessness the will recoils upon itself, turning to gall and +bitterness, or seeks a solution in self-destruction. + +It is noteworthy that some thirteen thousand individuals commit suicide +every year in Germany. Unwilling or unable to adjust themselves to the +phenomena of life, they choose death in preference to the +compromise--life. A leaning towards the tragic characterizes the German +of to-day; an inclination not to compromise, not to admit defeat, +thereby admitting the "will" to be incapable of transformance into +actuality. + +Between Germany and Britain fate has placed such a rock of destiny, +_i.e._, this country's position in the world, above all, her naval +supremacy. Germany has held that this rock hinders, even endangers, her +just and historical development in the world. With wonderful energy, +perseverance, self-sacrifice and heroism, Germany has endeavoured to +surmount or destroy the obstacle. The united will of the nation was +expressed in the momentum of the onslaught--in vain. And as no +reconciling influences are at work, no tendency to accept the +inevitable--Germany hates. + +Outside Germany there is, probably, no one who doubts the invincibility +of the British Navy and the unchangeable will of the British +(strengthened by the danger of the past year) to maintain its supremacy. +Yet even to-day responsible Germans are appealing to their nation to +fight till "modern Carthage" is finally destroyed. + +"In spite of the publications of our enemies, we in Germany, from the +highest to the lowest, will believe unto all eternity that this war was +caused by England alone. All Germany replied to England's declaration of +war with a cry of indignation. The hate for the hypocritical island +kingdom was so bitter that it took the form of demonstrations against +the British Embassy, while the representatives of the other enemy +countries were able to depart unharmed.[210] + +[Footnote 210: Admiral Valois appears to be unaware that both ladies and +gentlemen from the Russian Embassy were beaten with sticks, fists and +umbrellas before leaving Berlin.--Author.] + +"Up till then political England was little known in Germany, but now the +bitter hate which reigns throughout the land characterizes her as the +incarnation of all that is base and vile. It brings back to our minds +the saying of the old Hanseatic towns: + + 'England, thou land of shame, + Why hast thou, Satansland, + The name of Angel-land?' + +"No sacrifice and no effort will be too great, for us to drag her from +her imagined height into the dust. By force of arms, starvation and the +power of lies, they hoped to force us back to unimportance, and now the +issue is: Whether the categoric imperative of the East Prussian Kant, or +the hypocrisy of British cant, shall gain the victory. + +"We are unalterably convinced that England is our mortal enemy, and that +all endeavours to find a _modus vivendi_ will be in vain. Still our +present naval forces are unequal to the task of overthrowing her. This +will make it easy for the German Government to obtain even the greatest +sums from the Reichstag in order to increase our fleet. Every other +aim--no matter what it is--must be laid aside, till this one is +attained: Down with England! + +"It is to be hoped that this attempt on England's part to get rid of a +competitor will be the last. We Germans anticipate the future with an +unshakable belief in victory. Possibly sooner or later, England's +present allies will see that in reality they are serving English +interests. When this unnatural alliance has crumbled to pieces under the +might of our blows, then we shall at last stand face to face with +England--alone! + +"Our life-work will then begin--to settle up with the pioneers of +hypocrisy so that they shall never again cross our path! If at any time +this high endeavour seems to slacken, then think of East Prussia! +Remember that a third of the province was laid waste; that men, women +and children were murdered and violated; that the lists of the missing +contained the names of nearly fifty thousand fellow-countrymen. And all +this had to happen so that every Englishman might become a few pounds +richer. + +"Think of it as long as you live, and pass it on to your descendants as +an inheritance. Give all your strength and your last farthing to +increase our fleet and any other necessary means to attain our goal: +Down with England!"[211] + +[Footnote 211: Admiral Valois: "Nieder mit England!" ("Down with +England!") p. 5 _et. seq_.] + +"Truly it is no longer necessary either in this assembly or in all +Germany to create popular opinion for the cry 'Nieder mit England!' It +re-echoes daily from the lips of every German. But still we must +continue to point out its necessity--it is a commandment which must +banish every weak inclination to yield, and make us strong to hold out +to the bitter end. + +"To some it may appear 'one-sided,' but yet it is a moral duty to +emphasize and strengthen our hate for England. Not only because we +_will_ hate, but because we _must_. Hatred ennobles when it is directed +with full force against the evil and bad. And what is the evil? For an +answer consider how the English pedlar-spirit with cunning and lies, has +subjugated the world and holds it in bondage. + +"Even in the upper classes (English), ignorance reigns supreme. In their +famous schools, _e.g._, Eton College, the young people--besides sports +and so-called gentlemanlike behaviour--learn exceedingly little. Except +in regard to purely English affairs most Englishmen possess an almost +inconceivable ignorance of history and geography. The view held by so +many Germans that the majority of the English nation, especially the +so-called 'upper ten,' have enjoyed a thorough education--is utterly +false. But in spite of this, English conceit and unexampled pride leaves +little to be desired."[212] + +[Footnote 212: Vice-Admiral Kirchhoff: "England's Willkur" ("England's +Tyranny"), p. 1 _et seq_.] + +All German naval writers whine in unison concerning the "protection of +private property in naval warfare." The shoe appears to pinch at that +point, but the complaints sound hollow when made by a nation which has +shown so little respect for private property in land warfare. + +"Turkey was compelled to hand over Cyprus; in return she received an +assurance of protection from England. What the latter understands by +'protection' we have learned from her recent actions. The behaviour of +England's last naval commission in Constantinople speaks volumes. The +very men who were in Turkey's pay, destroyed the weapons (ships, _i.e._, +cannon, machinery, etc.) entrusted to their care."[213] + +[Footnote 213: Ibid., p. 31.] + +Besides Kirchhoff, several other writers charge the British naval +officers who were in Turkey's service before the outbreak of war, with +acts of _sabotage_. Another writer (Heinrich Norden, late missionary in +Duala, German Cameroons) sinks a little lower and states that English +officers were guilty of thieving when Duala was captured. + +"Indeed, it is not saying too much when I maintain that the true +historical purpose of this war, is only half fulfilled if we do not +bring England to her knees--cost what it may in blood and treasure. That +much we owe to our children and their children. We will not only be +victorious, victory is only half the work; we must annihilate the power +of our enemy. + +"All our dearly-bought victories in East and West will be of no avail +if, at the conclusion of peace, we have not conquered and compelled +England to accept our terms. There can never be justice or morality on +earth, or keeping of treaties, or recognition of moral international +obligations, till the power of the most faithless, hypocritical nation +which ever existed, has been finally broken and lies prostrate on the +ground. So long ago as 1829 Goethe said to Förster: 'In no land are +there so many hypocrites and sanctimonious dissemblers as in England.' + +"We must wait in patience and with confidence in our leaders for the +final settlement which the future will bring. The men in our navy are +burning to imitate the deeds of their comrades on land. Whenever an +opportunity has arisen, they have shown themselves equal to the enemy. +Our navy knows, and that is a consolation for the men during inactivity, +that the lofty task of breaking England's power will fall to their +share. The men know that the final purpose of this world war can only be +attained with their help, they know what is before them, and that the +enormous stake demands and deserves all they have to give. + +"In this time of trial we can best help by waiting in patience. The +fleet's turn will come; the fleet created by our Kaiser will fulfil its +mission. Everyone of us recognizes that a well-thought-out plan is +behind all this; even the enemy has premonitions of it. + +"In regard to England's downfall there can, may, and must be only one +opinion. It is the very highest mission of German _Kultur_. Our war, +too, is a 'holy war.' For the first time England's despotic power is +opposed by an enemy possessing power, intelligence and will."[214] + +[Footnote 214: Ibid., p. 37 _et seq_.] + +Another of the fundamental reasons for German hate must be sought in the +different conceptions of life and its duties in the two nations. In its +chief results this has found expression in two totally different beings. +Professor Engel (Berlin) once wrote that from the cradle to the grave, +the German is "on the line," or, in other words, the State directs his +every action. + +Probably it would be more correct to look upon the German State as a +Teutonic Nirvana--with this distinction, that it is a negation of +personal individuality, but at the same time a huge, collective +positive. The individual German fulfils his life's mission by absorption +into Nirvana and by having all his activities transformed in the +collective whole for the benefit of the State. The will of the State is +supreme; individuals exist in, through, and for, the whole. And, above +all, the State's motto has been thoroughness and efficiency in every +department of its manifold life; knowledge and power its aims. + +Britain's development has been along other lines; the widest possible +room has been left to the individual, and the ties binding him to the +whole have been loose in the extreme. German discipline is replaced by +British liberty, with its advantages to the individual and corresponding +disadvantages for the State. Liberty implies the right to rise by honest +endeavour, but does not exclude the possibility of a wilful surrender to +slothful inactivity, _e.g._, the human flotsam and jetsam of British +cities, the casual ward and similar institutions. These and other +phenomena of life in our islands have aroused bitter contempt among +Germans. Contempt has been succeeded by envy and hatred. Rightly or +wrongly the German has argued that the people who prefer sport to +knowledge, self-will to a sense of duty to the community, selfishness to +sacrifice,[215] wire-pulling and patronage to efficiency--this people is +no longer worthy of the first place among the nations. By right of +merit, morality and efficient fitness--that place belongs to Germany. + +[Footnote 215: An article by the present writer on "Some German Schools" +in the _Times_ Educational Supplement, October 5th, 1915, gives some +faint idea of the unprecedented sacrifices made by German schools. +During the war all classes of the population have voluntarily renounced +a part of their earnings for war charities. In the _Fränkischer Kurier_ +for October 13th, 1915, the Burgomaster of Nuremberg announced that the +voluntary reduction of salaries agreed to by the municipal officials of +that city had resulted in 264,000 marks (£13,000) going to charitable +funds. The author could cite dozens of similar instances, but it would +interest him most of all to know whether any town in the British Isles +can show a better record than Nuremberg, with a population of 350,000.] + +Unfortunately the present war has brought many proofs that there is no +small amount of truth in this indictment, and most unfortunate of all, +neutral countries too accept Germany's version that Britain is +unorganized, self-interested, inefficient and effete. And to just the +same degree they are convinced that Germany is thorough. They love +Britain's humanitarian idea, but admire German efficiency--although they +fear the latter's militarism. + +Still when they are driven to choose to whom they shall confide their +vital interests, _i.e._, future existence, they prefer to lean on +successful German thoroughness, than on Britain's humanitarianism +unsupported by the strong arm. At the moment of writing there is wailing +and gnashing of teeth throughout the British Empire at the diplomatic +failure in Bulgaria and the previous fiasco in Turkey. Sir Edward Grey +has dealt with the question in Parliament, but he has not mentioned the +true reason. + +The true reason is that this country has fallen into the habit of +sending diplomatic representatives abroad who have not been keen enough +to obtain a mastery of the language, or a full knowledge of the feelings +and national aspirations of the peoples to whom they were accredited. +Instead of being living ambassadors of the British idea, they have often +been concrete examples before foreign eyes of British inefficiency. An +example of the language question which came under the author's personal +notice, deserves mention. + +In the spring of 1914 there seemed to be a danger that a German would be +appointed British Consul in Nuremberg, and in order to prevent this the +author wrote to a British Minister stationed in Munich. He was greatly +surprised to receive a reply--the latter, of course, was in +English--addressed on the outside to: + + "Dr. T. Smith, + "_On the top_ of the University of Erlangen." + +That is to say, the German preposition _auf_ was employed instead of +_an_. A mistake which even an elementary knowledge of German should have +made impossible. In the British Legation at Munich there was a +German-British Consul--a Munich timber-merchant. If readers imagine that +Munich was an unimportant city in the diplomatic sense, then they are +recommended to study the French Yellow Book, which contains final proof +that an efficient French Minister was able to make important discoveries +at the Bavarian Court. + +British prestige, confidence in British efficiency and power among +neutrals has gravitated dangerously in the direction of zero, while +admiration for Germany has correspondingly risen. That there is only too +much reason for the change, the course of the war has given ample proof, +and therein lies the hope of Britain's future. The war will reveal to +the British both their strength and weakness, and if the war does not +destroy the dry rot in the land, then it is merely the precursor of +Britain's final downfall. + +There can be no greater mistake than closing one's eyes to the good +points in a resolute enemy. As far as this war is concerned they can be +summarized under two heads: (1.) The German Board of Education, which +has developed and mobilized the last ounce of German brains and directed +them into the service of the Fatherland.[216] (2.) The German War +Office, which has mobilized Germany's physical and technical forces. + +[Footnote 216: Five years ago the present author wrote in the September +number, 1910, of Macmillan's _School World_:--"Educational reforms and +plans must come from the schoolmen; they never spring of themselves from +out of the people; and this is perhaps the most deplorable admission of +all, that modern England has no great educationist or statesman capable +of formulating a national system of schools which shall develop the +intellectual material of the nation to its highest powers, and direct +those powers into the best channels. For several decades school +inspectors, etc., have visited continental countries to study their +educational systems, and have returned home with innumerable fads--but +no system. Everything of the fantastic has been copied, but no +foundations have been laid; with the result that England's educational +system to-day resembles a piece of patchwork containing a rich variety +of colours and a still greater variety of stuff-quality. It were better +for us to have done with educationists who preach about 'the rigid +uniformity of system which is alien both to the English temperament and +to the lines on which English public schools have developed.' The said +public schools have hopelessly failed to meet the necessity of a +national system of education, or to form the nucleus from which such a +system could or can develop itself. That the Falls of Niagara, however, +dissipate untold natural forces is just as true as that England wastes +immeasurable intellectual force because her forces are allowed to +dissipate through not being disciplined and bridled by a fitting +educational mechanism. Therefore let England turn to the prosaic work of +organising!"] + +No other State possesses institutions to compare with them. They are the +foundation of Germany's strength, and the present author's only regret +is, that the overwhelming forces obtained by bridling the Teutonic +Niagara of brains and muscle, have been directed by a false patriotism +into the wrong channels. Still that is what Britain is up against, and +Britain can only secure an honourable victory by surpassing them. And +this much may be admitted even at this stage of the struggle: one part +of the "German idea" is certain of complete victory along the whole +line--German thoroughness and self-sacrifice. + +Because only by adopting that ideal is it possible for Germany's enemies +to beat her. Political intrigues, hunger caused by blockade, cant, +wire-pulling, hiding the truth, etc., etc., will break down before the +German onslaught like waves break upon a rock. Britain has got to hark +back to Strafford's watchword "thorough" and season it with the spirit +of Cromwell's Ironsides. + +To-day Germans are seriously discussing measures by which Britain's +financial supremacy--and therewith her naval supremacy--can be +overthrown, after the present war. One writer proposes a return to +Napoleon's Continental system, and concludes his plea: + +"The British Empire can and must be overthrown, so that the Continent of +Europe may flourish and develop according to the dictates of Europe's +will. According to Herbert Spencer's view, Europe must exercise the +highest ethics, viz., 'give the highest possible total of human beings, +life, happiness and above all harmony of work.' + +"England has never comprehended what 'the harmony of work' means. Her +entire heroism consisted in brutally suppressing the weaker, and +avaricious exploitation of everything foreign by means of cunning +treaties and business tricks. Even an Englishman, Sir J. Seeley, in his +book, 'The Growth of British Policy,' has defied this characteristic +with objective clearness. + +"For sixty years England struggled against Holland--after which the +latter lay prostrate before her. Now England's battle against her +greatest and mightiest rival has commenced--against Germany. This +struggle will last sixty years and longer if Great Britain does not +succumb before. Every peace will only mean preparation for new battles, +till the final result is attained; English history affords proof of +this. + +"Shall Germany, the latest rival, be broken too? Or shall it be her +mission to awaken Europe to war against greed and avarice, hypocrisy and +theft, robbery and violence? Lands which have slept and dreamed for +centuries, do not easily awake. And a part of Europe still dreams deeply +under the hypnotic influence of English cant and altruism, or at least +of her God-ordained hegemony. + +"This must be the goal of German statecraft and German diplomacy. The +dream must be dispelled, and the mask torn from the hypocrite's face. If +Germany desires to exist, then the weak, faltering expediency-policy of +the German Empire must be at an end. Our one and only aim must be: Down +with England! + +"Germany, however, may not strive to enter into England's heritage--that +must fall to the Continent. England's heir shall be Europe, which will +then be able to progress and develop as history intended."[217] + +[Footnote 217: Captain H. Schubart: "England und die Interessen des +Kontinents" ("England and Continental Interests"), p. 50.] + +German hate has been fed by stories of British atrocities, ill-treatment +of German civilians, the alleged use of dum-dum bullets by British +soldiers, and the employment of coloured troops from India etc. A book +has been published under the style of "The Black Book of Atrocities +committed by our Enemies."[218] The charges concerning the use of +dum-dum bullets by the British are dealt with on pp. 39-43. + +[Footnote 218: "Das Schwarzbuch der Schandtaten unserer Feinde." Berlin, +1915.] + +In spite of the fact that von Treitschke advocates the employment of all +available troops, irrespective of colour, by a State at war, and in +spite of the fact that Germany has herself employed native troops in +this war (Cameroons, etc.), their employment by Britain has aroused a +wave of bitter hatred in Germany. As a justification for this +indignation the Black Book quotes Earl Chatham's speech against the +employment of Red Indians in the war with the American colonies. + +It is impossible to suppose that some of the charges of ill-treatment of +Germans by the British are more than the squeals of the bully on feeling +the pinch. Carl Peters' book "Das deutsche Elend in London" ("German +Misery in London") must certainly be dismissed as belonging to the +squeals. Another booklet[219] may perhaps be quoted, though with all +reserve, because it involves the charge of endangering the white +man--above all, the honour of white women--in Africa. + +[Footnote 219: "In Englischer Gefangenschaft" ("In English Captivity"), +by Heinrich Norden, late missionary in Duala, Cameroons.] + +"In declaring my willingness to relate our experiences during the +defence and surrender of Duala and my experiences in English captivity, +my motive was not to add fuel to the fires of hate against England. But +it would be an injustice if we were silent concerning English outrages. +Thousands of our brother Germans lie in English prisoners' camps; their +hands are tied and their mouths closed by the force of circumstances. +But with inward wrath they endure in silence. Yet their position demands +that we, who have suffered with them and have luckily escaped, should +speak for them. + +"It is our bounden duty to the Fatherland to reveal the truth about +English atrocities, and I am all the more conscious of that duty because +some circles betray a certain amount of mistrust concerning the reports +of English horrors. + +"On Sunday, September 27th, after all the necessary preparations had +been made, the white flag was hoisted. In a few hours the town was +teeming with black and white English and French landing parties, who +were received with indescribable joy by the natives. The latter followed +the soldiers about like dogs, and in real dog-manner began to show their +teeth (against the Germans). + +"Everything remained quiet on Sunday, but on the following day robbery +and plundering began in a way which we had never believed possible. +Still less were we prepared for the brutal treatment which the English +practised on us defenceless Germans. At first they made sure of those +who had borne arms; with lies and deceit they were enticed into a trap. +They were requested to give in their names, whereupon they would be set +at liberty. However, when the English thought that the majority had been +collected, the victims were driven on to a steamer which took them to +French Dahomey. + +"During the months of our imprisonment I had ample opportunity to +observe how the Germans have been ill-treated by the blacks. The English +incited them like a pack of hounds to worry their own race--and looked +on with a laugh. Yet the Germans bore all this degradation with proud +calm, and with the consolation that a day will come when all this shame +will be wiped out. + +"On the way to the harbour I met about twenty Germans; our company +increased from hour to hour. Women were weeping who did not know the +fate of their husbands, but this had not the faintest effect on the +brutal hearts of the English. At last night fell; we were tortured by +hunger and burning thirst. We were in anguish as to what would become of +us. Why were our enemies so inconceivably bitter?[220] Why did they tell +us no word of truth? They declared openly that everything German was to +be destroyed, German thrones overthrown and the German devils driven +out. + +[Footnote 220: Norden has had ample opportunities to learn the story of +Belgium, but he and all other Germans writers, in apparently holy +innocence, look upon all bitterness against their nation as a cruel +injustice.--Author.] + +"Albion's heroic sons were only able to capture the Cameroons with the +aid of native treachery. The blacks showed them the ways, betrayed the +German positions, and murdered Germans in cold blood wherever +opportunity occurred. The English even paid a Judas reward of twenty to +fifty shillings for every German, living or half-dead, who was brought +in by the natives. + +"Later I met various prisoners whose evidence corroborated the inhuman +tortures which they had endured. Herr Schlechtling related how he was +attacked at Sanaga by natives with bush-knives, just as he was aiming at +an English patrol. Herr Nickolai was captured by blacks and his clothes +torn from his body and numerous knife wounds inflicted on his body. The +natives took him to an English steamer whose captain paid them twenty +shillings. + +"Another German, Herr Student,[221] was compelled to look on while the +natives drowned his comrade (Herr Nickstadt) in a river, while he +himself was afterwards delivered up to the English. Yet another, Herr +Fischer, was surprised while taking a meal, bound hand and foot, beaten +and then handed over to the English."[222] + +[Footnote 221: Four of these men are still in British captivity. Another +Teuton who has sent blood-curdling tales to Germany may be found in the +person of Martin Trojans, prisoner on Rottnest Island. It would be good +to give these men an opportunity of making statements in London before a +commission of neutral diplomatists.--Author.] + +[Footnote 222: "In englischer Gefangenschaft," pp. 1-30.] + +After all, the picture does not seem so terrible as this good missionary +would make out. In any case he has failed to make out a case which will +bear comparison with that already proved against the German army in +Europe, or even so bad as the treatment dealt out by German civilians to +their fellow-countrymen during August, 1914. Furthermore it may be +safely assumed that the bitterness of the natives is to be ascribed to +German tyranny, which culminated, as Norden relates on p.16 of his book, +in the strangling of a number of natives, including chiefs of tribes +just before the advent of the British. + +Still his book has had due influence on German public opinion. A German +lady in a book full of hysterical hate[223] has based a foul charge upon +Norden's statements (besides publishing his experiences the missionary +has delivered many public lectures), that the English and French left +German women to the mercies of the natives! + +[Footnote 223: Louise Niessen-Deiters: "Kriegsbriefe einer Frau" ("The +War Letters of a Woman"), p. 56.] + +"In the hearts of all those Germans who in this great time, are banished +from the Fatherland and who do not know how things really stand, there +burns a great hate, hate for England and the ardent desire to fight +against her--the basest and most hated of all our enemies. + +"I have come to the end of my report, which contains only a fraction of +the outrages committed by Albion. And this nation talks of German +atrocities! If all the lies spread by the English Press were true, even +then England would have every reason to be dumb. Only he who has felt +the effects of English hate upon his own person can understand the +brutal deeds perpetrated recently on Germans in London and Liverpool. +There, England's moral depth is revealed only too clearly, and before +the world she seeks to drag us down to the same level."[224] + +[Footnote 224: Norden's book, p. 43 _et seq_.] + +Considering that the total number of Germans captured in the Cameroons +is only equal to the number of civilians murdered or wounded in British +towns by Zeppelin bombs, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds to +the German Government, one begins to wonder whether Norden and his +countrymen possess any sense of proportion. Germans are assiduous +students of Shakespeare, but have seemingly overlooked the comedy: _Much +ado about Nothing_. + +Ireland is another text for long and windy sermons of German hate, but +the conclusion of one of these tirades[225] will suffice to show +Germany's real motive. + +[Footnote 225: Dr. Hans Rost: "Deutschland's Sieg, Irland's Hoffnung" +("Germany's Victory, Ireland's Hope"), p. 25 _et seq_.] + +"At present the direction of the Irish revolutionary movement is in the +hands of Professor Evin MacNeill, Mac O'Rahilly and, above all, Sir +Roger Casement. The final acceptance of the 'Constitution of Irish +Volunteers' was carried on Sunday, October 25th, 1914, in Dublin. At +that congress of Irish volunteers--who to-day number more than 300,000 +well-armed men--special stress was laid on the fact that the volunteers +are Irish soldiers and not imperialistic hirelings. + +"Further the members of the organization have engaged not to submit +under any circumstances to the Militia Ballot Act, a kind of national +service law which, remarkable to say, is only enforced in Ireland. + +"The Irishmen are thronging to join the movement, and pamphlets are +being distributed, and appeals made on all sides. Besides which, weapons +are being gathered and money collected. The entire episcopacy of Ireland +has warned the young men against enlisting in English regiments on the +ground that they will be placed in regiments to which no Catholic priest +is attached. The warning has been most successful in hindering +recruiting. In order to break the opposition of the bishops, England has +appointed a special representative to the Vatican. + +"When the German Emperor took steps to appoint Catholic priests in the +prisoners' camps where Irish soldiers are interned, the English at once +appointed forty-five Catholic priests with officer's rank, to the +British army in France. Even this measure, as well as the sudden +diplomatic activity at the Vatican, is little calculated to extinguish +the hate for England in the Irish mind. + +"On November 24th (1914) James Larkin began a propaganda in America. He +appealed to all Irishmen to send gold, weapons, and ammunition to +Ireland, for the day of reckoning with England. 'We will fight,' said +Larkin, 'for the destruction of the British Empire and the foundation of +an Irish republic; we will fight to deliver Ireland from that foul heap +of ruins called England.' The assembly broke into enthusiastic applause. + +"At that moment the curtain was raised, and on the stage a company of +Irish volunteers and a number of German uhlans were revealed. The +officers commanding the companies crossed swords and shook hands while +the assembly sang the 'Wacht am Rhein' and 'God save Ireland.' + +"Sir Roger Casement has long been a thorn in the side of the English +Government, therefore the latter has not shrunk from making a murderous +conspiracy against the life of this distinguished Irish leader. In +agreement with Sir Edward Grey, the British Minister in Christiania, Mr. +Findlay, tried to bribe Casement's companion--named Christensen--to +murder Sir Roger. The attempted murder did not succeed, but the original +documents are in the possession of the German Foreign Office, so that +all doubt is excluded as to the English Government's participation--with +their most honourable Grey at the head--in this Machiavellian plan." + +This colossal Germanism concerning a plan to murder Sir Roger Casement +has been assiduously spread throughout the German Press. The Berlin +Government allows the German people to believe that incriminating +documents are in their possession, and the vilest statements to blacken +Mr. Findlay's character were printed in German newspapers when that +gentleman was appointed to the Bulgarian Court in Sofia. + +There are so few utterances in German war literature, which display +reason or even moderation, that the author feels glad to be in a +position to cite two. In the May number of the +_Süddeutsche-Monatshefte_, Professor Wilhelm Franz (Tübingen) reviewed +one of the hate-books, viz., a work entitled "Pedlars and Heroes" by a +German named Sombart. A few passages will suffice to show that Germany +is not quite devoid of straight-forward men, who dare to castigate hate. + +"Towards the end of his book, Sombart solemnly assures the English that +'they need not fear us as a colonizing power; we (the Germans) have not +the least ambition to conquer half-civilized and barbarian peoples in +order to fill them with German spirit (_Geist_). But the English can +colonize and fill such peoples with their spirit--for they have none, or +at least only a pedlar's.' + +"It would never occur to any sane man to refute effusions of this kind, +for they cannot be taken seriously. Still I cannot but wish that an +angry English journalist with his clever and fiery pen, would fall upon +Sombart's book and give its author a sample of English spirit. The work +teems with unjust, incorrect opinions; is full of crass ignorance and +grotesque exaggerations, which lead the unlearned astray, injure +Germany's cause, and annoy those who know better--so far as they do not +excite ridicule. + +"What is one to think when Sombart asks his readers: 'What single +cultural work has emerged from the great shop, England, since +Shakespeare--except that political abortion the English State?' + +"If I had to answer Sombart I should say, the great shop has given the +English State practically everything which makes for internal peace, +solidarity and national health. It has enabled the nation to exercise +tolerance within, and develop splendour and power without, which in +their turn have made Britannia the mistress of the world's waterways, +and the British the first colonial nation in the world. + +"England's cultural development has brought all these since +Shakespeare's time; energy, willpower, united with high endeavour to +realize great aims and overcome mighty resistance. And the basis of this +splendid progress which compels the admiration of all other States, was +what Sombart presumes to call an 'abortion.'" + +The other is taken from "Der englische Gedanke in Deutschland" ("The +English Idea in Germany,") by Ernst Müller-Holm, p. 72. "It is not true +that all Englishmen are scoundrels. It is not true that there is nothing +but pedlar's spirit in England, and because it is not true it should not +be said, not even in these times when war passions run high. + +"The fatherland of Shakespeare, Byron and Thackeray; the home of Newton, +Adam Smith, Darwin and Lyell will ever remain a land of honour to +educated Germans. Where would it end if I were to count up the heroes of +English intellect whose names are written in letters of gold in +humanity's great book?" + +It is well to conclude this chapter of hate with two quotations which +breathe respect. The author does not believe that German hate will be so +long-enduring as the hate-mongers would have us think. Rather, he is +convinced that mutual interest will force the two nations together +within one or two decades. Preparatory for that day, it is Britain's +duty to compel Germany's respect. + +There are good, even magnificent forces in the German nation; there are +still noble-minded, high-thinking Germans who yearn to work in the great +civilizing world enterprises. But--and therein lies the tragedy--"the +good, the true, the pure, the just" are not to-day the predominating +powers. They must work out their own salvation; but if the time ever +comes when the finest and best German thought directs Germany's +destinies, then there will be no lack of sympathizers in this country, +who will hail the day as the advent of a new world era. For the present, +all mutual jealousies, all the burning ambitions, all quarrels and hate, +are submitted to the arbitrament of the sword. If Britain only wields +her sword so well and honourably, as to gain unstinted victory, that +will prove to be the firmest basis for future respect and enduring +peace. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +"MAN TO MAN AND STEEL TO STEEL" +_Scott_. + + +Mention has already been made of German disrespect, even contempt for +England and the English. One of the reasons for this contempt was the +smallness of the British army, and the fact that our soldiers are paid +servants of the country. Germans apparently never could comprehend why a +man should receive payment for serving his country by bearing arms, and +that fact appeared to them to afford overwhelming evidence of the +pedlar-soul (_Krämergeist_). The second conclusion drawn, has generally +been that the Britisher is devoid of all sense of duty and +self-sacrificing patriotism. Probably the flocking of several million +men to arms in defence of the Empire, and in defence of British +conceptions of right and wrong has done something to convince Germans +that the premises of the syllogism, were not so self-evident as they had +imagined. + +"Among all the great European Powers, England is the only one which has +not introduced national service and remained true to the principle of +keeping an army of paid soldiers. Hence, when in all other lands at the +outbreak of war, the entire people stands ready to defend the national +honour, England is compelled to beat the recruiting drums before she can +wage war."[226] + +[Footnote 226: Dr. H. Hirschberg: "Wie John Bull seine Söldner wirbt" +("How John Bull recruits his Mercenaries"), p. 3. Hirschberg reproduces +in facsimile a large number of the recruiting placards which have +decorated the British Isles since the outbreak of war. "Your King and +Country need you" is also given (English and German) with music.] + +"England wages war on business lines. It is not the sons of the land who +bleed for Britannia's honour; mercenaries from the four corners of the +world--including blacks--carry on the war as a trade for England's +business world and nobility. England might well smirk as she uttered +blessings on the Triple Entente, for has she not borne the brand of +perfidy for centuries? Her breast conceals the meanest pedlar's spirit +in the, world. + +"Every battle which Russia loses is a victory for England, and every +defeat which France suffers means profit for England. She can afford to +wait till her allies are beaten and then take over their business. +'First come, first served' does not hold good in England's case; for her +motto is, the last to come gets the prize. + +"Twelve Powers declared war on Germany. Then Japan, the thirteenth, +poked out her yellow face and demanded Kiau Chou. A hyena had smelt +corpses, but the blackmailing Mongol received no reply to his ultimatum. +Grim laughter was heard in Germany--booming, bitter laughter at the band +of thieves who hoped to plunder us. And in the wantonness of their +righteous wrath, German soldiers scribbled on the barrack walls an +immortal sentence: 'Declarations of war thankfully received!'"[227] + +[Footnote 227: A. Fendrich: "Gegen Frankreich und Albion" ("Against +France and Albion"). Stuttgart, 1915; pp. 11-12.] + +"How wickedly the war was forced upon Germany! A ring of enemies +surrounded her. Envy and ill-will were their motives, but they lacked +the right measure for Germany's greatness. Our people stand invincible, +united, staking life and everything they have--till the last enemy lies +in the dust. + +"Not much longer and the goal will be attained; the many-sided attack +has been smashed and the war carried into enemy lands. Shining glory has +been won by Germany's armies. The passionate _élan_ of our soldiers, +their death-despising bravery and one-minded strength, have gained +victory after victory. + +"Revenge begins to glow against the originator of the +world-conflagration--against false England! Mute and astonished the +world saw her baseness--wondering at her greatness and her sin. Envy and +ill-will inspired her to cast the lives of millions into the scales, to +open the flood-gates of blood, to spread pain and unspeakable +misery--herself coldly smiling. + +"What are men's lives to England? She pays for them. Her army of +mercenaries which was to force her yoke on Europe, is paid with the gold +of blackmailers. She sends hirelings into the field to defend the +inheritance of her ancestors; paid mercenaries fight for her most sacred +possessions, while those who pay the blood-money throng to see the +masterly exponents of football. And England is proud of her splendid +sons who prefer this intellectual game to stern battle with the enemy. + +"How different it is with our men! With shouts of joy they march forth +to meet the foe, offering their lives in a spirit of glad sacrifice for +the highest and best which the world has to offer humanity. Storming +forwards with the song, 'Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,' our +youthful hosts, greeting death with a smile, hurl themselves upon the +enemy. Truly, wherever and so long as men are men, the glory of our +warriors will find remembrance in brave hearts."[228] + +[Footnote 228: J. Bermbach: "Zittere, England!" ("England, tremble!"). +Weimar, 1915; p. 5 _et seq_.] + +"It would be neither right nor just to accuse English soldiers of a want +of courage. They have fought everywhere, by land and sea, with +respect-inspiring gallantry--for mercenaries! But the warlike virtues of +England's armies cannot atone for the cowardice with which she has +conducted the struggle for naval supremacy. Albion means England's +rulers. And this England of Messrs. Grey and Churchill, has covered +herself with shame for all time by the manner of her warfare on sea. + +"Albion has not changed. She has hidden her battleships in the bays of +northern Ireland, and conducts war on sea--not against our ships and +soldiers, but against those at home, German women and children! 'The +pinch of hunger makes the heart weak,' said the noble-minded +Churchill."[229] + +[Footnote 229: Fendrich: "Gegen Frankreich und Albion," p. 152 _et +seq_.] + +"According to its composition the English army is an army of +mercenaries. On that account, however, it would be a great mistake to +despise the quality of the soldiers or to cherish contempt for them. The +standard of physical fitness demanded of the recruits was--at least up +till a short time ago--more severe than that imposed in other lands. +There is no doubt, our German brothers who have met the English on the +field of battle, admit that they fight not only with valour but with +unyielding stubbornness. + +"This results not so much from barrack-yard drill and field manoeuvres, +as from the practical experience of warfare gained in many campaigns. +England is occupied almost uninterruptedly, in warlike enterprises in +some part of the world or other. Further, the officers--belonging mostly +to the upper circles--have distinguished themselves in the field by a +rash bravery which was marked perhaps, not so much by military as +sportsmanlike behaviour. + +"All in all the strategic value of the English army in regard to +leadership, training, discipline and the spirit of the troops, cannot +compare with the conscript armies of other lands--especially the German +army. Yet the contempt which has been expressed for it in the Press as +an army of hirelings, is just as little merited to-day as it was in the +past when it added many a glorious page to England's history. + +"These remarks are intended as a refutation to the reproaches made +against the English army. It is true, those unjust criticisms did not +originate with experts, or they would imply a dangerous under-estimation +of the enemy. But in consequence of the widespread acceptance among the +masses they unjustly feed the fires of hate."[230] + +[Footnote 230: Dr. G. Landauer: "England." Vienna; 1915, pp. 74-5.] + +"For the last ten days we have been resting to the west of Lille not far +from Armentières; an English army is opposed to us. My battery is one of +the links in the long chain of growlers[231] which daily pour fire and +iron on to the enemy. We gave up counting the days and fights, for every +day has its battle. Besides the English there are Indian troops, and a +few French batteries in front of us. + +[Footnote 231: The Germans call their big guns "Brummer," _i.e._, +growler.--Author.] + +"Every day confirms our experience that we are faced by an enemy with +incomparable powers of resistance and endurance. An enemy who can hardly +be shaken by the sharpest rifle-fire or the most awful rain of shell and +shrapnel. We gain ground slowly, exceedingly slowly, and every step of +soil has to be paid for dearly. + +"In the trenches taken by storm the English dead lie in rows, just like +men who had not winced or yielded before the bayonets of the stormers. +From the military point of view it must be admitted that such an enemy +deserves the greatest respect. The English have adapted the experiences +gained in their colonial wars to European conditions in a particularly +clever manner. + +"Every attempt to cross the canal was thwarted by artillery fire and in +many places the enemy was more advantageously situated than our men. His +trenches were at least dry while ours were flooded with water. I went +into the front trenches by Dixmude and found them lined half a yard deep +with faggots and wood, yet at every step our feet sank into the water +and slush. + +"On the other bank of the Yser lay the enemy and fired continuously. +Anyone who saw our soldiers under these conditions and heard their jokes +will never forget the sight. All the folk at home who grumbled at the +slow progress ought to have been sent for a single day and night into +that mud-swamp! + +"In those fields and canals, in this endless morass--made impassable by +flooding--many, many brave German soldiers have sacrificed their lives. +During the autumn and winter months of 1914 the whole Yser domain was +transformed into a vast graveyard. + +"The battle-front was determined by the nature of the land. It stretched +from the sea through Ramscapelle, Dixmude, Roulers, Paschendaal to Ypres +and the rage of battle swayed like a tossing ship in ocean storm. Even +now Germany does not know the greatness and terror of the battles fought +there. Only names are known, such as Middelkerke, Zonnebeeke, Warneton, +etc. + +"The Belgians fought with the courage of despair. Their battle-cry was +'Louvain!' and 'Termonde!' Highlanders, Indians, Sikhs, Ghurkas, +Zouaves, Turkos, Canadians, Belgians, French and English were thrown +into the line, and ever-new regiments landed at Calais. Houses and +villages were taken and re-taken at the point of the bayonet, as many as +seven times. Towns and bridges were conquered and lost often eight times +in succession, accompanied by heavy artillery duels and incredible +losses."[232] + +[Footnote 232: Heinrich Binder: "Mit dem Hauptquartier nach Westen," p. +123 _et seq_.] + +"We[233] have just gone into billets. Not far off are the positions of +_the_ enemy--the English. There will be a battle to-morrow and everybody +is serious. Mostly by the evening, we are too tired to think, but it is +not so to-day. + +[Footnote 233: Extracts from the diary of a German soldier, published in +"Der Weltkrieg" ("The World War"). Leipzig, 1915; p. 632 _et seq_.] + +"Again and again I arrive at the same conclusion--war is too great a +thing to comprehend. Now we are going into battle with the +black-white-gold band on our breasts. Greetings to you all at home, +above all to you, father. I have your blessing, haven't I? + +"October 24th.--We are lying before the road from Ypres to Paschendaal. +The Lt. Colonel has just told us that 'the losses cannot go on at this +rate.' By the side of the brook, on this side the road, English +sharpshooters are in hiding. They shoot damned straight. Our artillery +is not yet up; the reason for our heavy losses yesterday. + +"The infantry advance with a rush towards the windmill, but we no sooner +top the hill than the English machine guns begin to rattle. Our front +ranks are mown down. Every attempt to advance fails. The order was given +to lie down and there we remained for four hours. Then we rush one after +the other through a hedge. When darkness fell we had nearly reached the +English trenches, but were recalled and spent the night in our trench. + +"The next morning passed quietly, except for rifle-fire. Captain von K. +was hit, and rolled over in front of the trench. Three comrades crept +out one after the other to fetch him--all three fell. At last our +wounded captain was still too--killed by a second bullet. Being +compelled to watch this scene without power to help, was the beginning +of our day. + +"Just after mid-day the music began. Crash! a shell lands in our trench +on the right. A short pause, and crash follows crash as the shells are +dropped into our trench at distances of four yards. Death walks slowly +up the trench towards us. We know that he is coming, we see him. +Everybody is lying flat on the ground. We are waiting for 'our' shell. + +"If we had a communication trench we could escape--but there isn't one. +We reckon the distance: twenty-five yards away another direct hit. +Crash! only twenty yards. Fifteen yards! We have only five minutes to +live. Thoughts of God and home and parents rush through the mind; yet +they are only numb feelings. Crash! ten yards; one more and then comes +'ours.' But no, the next boom was in the trench behind, and in the same +manner that trench was cleared from end to end. + +"'Lieutenant T. killed, Lieutenant K. takes command' was passed along. +We have hardly left the trench when bullets begin to whistle round our +heads. Man after man remains behind. At last night sinks and hides the +horrors of the day. I have lost my company and spend the night in the +open with a few others. + +"The next morning the sun shone brightly; the morning wind blows coldly +over the furrows and over the dead. I have no words to describe what I +saw--but my heart bled! Near Paschendaal I found my company. Altogether +there are thirty of us--out of two hundred and fifty." + +German war literature affords a complete picture of the transformation +of German contempt for the British army into profound respect. As +witness the following: + +"It cannot be denied that the English have supported Joffre's offensive +with valour, strength and vigour. The battles which have raged since the +end of September on the front between Givenchy la Gobelle and +Armentières, have confirmed the deadly seriousness of the English. And +if they have not obtained great successes, still, in this gigantic +grapple, they have displayed desperate courage which compels the +admiration of their opponents. + +"The Commander of a division, with whom I spent the last few days, said +to me in a tone of deep conviction: 'Nobody must talk lightly of English +soldiers in my presence. Their bravery and the extraordinary courage of +English officers compels my admiration. Regimental commanders and staff +officers advanced in the first line of their troops. They fight and fall +by the side of their men. I saw several high officers killed myself.' +Besides, I have heard his Excellency's words confirmed by many of his +officers."[234] + +[Footnote 234: Julius Hirsch; War Correspondent with the German Army, in +the _Fränkischer Kurier_, October 22nd, 1915.] + +In a previous work the author has expressed the opinion that Great +Britain must employ all her strength in this, the greatest of all wars, +and in concluding this work he repeats that warning still more +emphatically. Only a true realization of the inevitable fact that +British democracy is on trial by battle--"man to man and steel to +steel"--will give the necessary courage, endurance, faith and hope to +bring the issue to a victorious end. + +THE END + + + + +INDEX + + +Alleged Ill-Treatment of Germans in Belgium +Appreciation, a German, of England +Atrocities +Attack on Liége by a Zeppelin +Attitude of Germany and Austria +Austrian mobilization + +Battle of the Marne +Belgian kindness to Germans +Belgrade during the crisis +Bethmann-Hollweg falsely accuses Russia of causing the war +Bismarck +Britain's position in the world +British + accused of plundering + Army + General Staff's guide-books to Belgium + inefficiency + Navy + Socialists +Brutal treatment of foreigners in Germany + +Courage of British Army + +Demonstrations in Favour of War +Diplomatic battles + +England's Attitude + heir + neutrality, German offers for +Excitement in Germany + +French Airmen, Alleged Attack near Nuremberg + alleged attack on Frankfort + +German Brutality towards Germans + Chancellor's speech in the Reichstag + comment on the conference proposal + Crown Prince + frontiers, alleged violation by the French + General Staff, did it conspire to bring about war? +German efficiency + invasion of France + losses + methods + mobilization + nerves + opinion of England + plundering + Press plays Germany a foul trick + provocation to Belgians before the war + State, a Nirvana +German Socialists + and conscription + and universal peace + cheer the announcement that Germany had invaded two neutral countries + help Kaiser's government + support the war + vote for a war of aggression + why they supported the war +German Socialists' attitude to England + campaign against Russia + class-war + peace programme + proclamation on August 1st, 1914, +German troops enter Belgium and Luxembourg + unity + war against civilians +German White Book on atrocities by the Belgians +Germans charge French with looting + enter Brussels + invade Belgium +Germany declares war on France + declares war on Russia + made peace impossible + rejects British friendship +Germany's alleged efforts for peace + case + case against Belgian civilians + hunt for phantom gold + hunt for spies + re-birth + ultimatum to Russia +Grey, Sir Edward +Grey's, Sir Edward, conference proposal + +Haldane Lord +Hate literature +Heligoland prepared for war + +Ill-treatment, alleged, of Germans by British +Ireland and Germany +Iron Crosses +Italian Socialists condemn their German comrades + +Japan + +Kaiser's return to Berlin + threat + threat to England +_Königin Luise_ starts to lay mines round the English coast + +Lassalle's opinion of Austria +Last protest against war +Legend of gouged-out eyes +Letter of Belgian Legation Secretary +Louvain +Lying, a foundation-stone of German policy + +Macdonald, Mr. Ramsay +Martial law proclaimed in Germany +Militarism, spirit of + +Necessity knows no law +Neutrality of Belgium +"Now there are only Germans" + +Oncken, Professor Hermann +Opinion in France at the outbreak of war + +Peace, did Germany work for? +Poisoned water-supply scare +Press, German, condemns the Austrian ultimatum +Prince Heinrich's telegram to King George +Proclamation of the Social Democrats, July 25th, 1914 +Propaganda for the annexation of Belgium + +Reconciliation with Germany +Roman Catholic Church refutes German atrocity legends +Russia ignores the German ultimatum +Russia's attitude during the crisis + military measures + right to intervene + +Secret Belgian documents seized in Brussels +Social Democratic demonstrations against war +Social Democrats' report on Belgium +Socialists, German, vote for war +Spy scare and its results +Status of German professors +Swiss Neutral on Belgian neutrality + +Terms of Triple Alliance +Treatment of Belgian civilians +Trevelyan's, Mr. Charles, remarkable promise +Tricks of the German Press + +Unprepared Condition of the Franco-Belgian Frontier + +Violation of Belgian Neutrality +_Volksstaat_ (People's State) + +War Delirium +Warsaw citadel blown up +Wolff's News Agency + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's What Germany Thinks, by Thomas F. A. Smith + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10166 *** |