The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915

The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915

The Allied case against Germany with respect to the conduct of the Kaiser's troops in Belgium rests mainly on four publications. (1) "The Report of the Belgian Commission of Inquiry." (2) The Belgian "Rapports sur la Violation du Droit des Gens en Belgique." (3) The Belgian "Reply to the German White Book." (4) The "Bryce Report." It was the last of these which mainly influenced British and American opinion. This famous compilation owed much to the reputation of the eminent scholar who presided over the Enquiry, and to the names of Messrs. Fisher, Harold Cox and others who were members of the Commission. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that our experience during the storm and stress of the war does not indicate that our literary and intellectual leaders have as a class shown either greater fidelity to principle or less susceptibility to the evil influences of war-fever, than the ordinary man in the street; and now that the more salient symptoms of this fever are abating and prejudice is slowly being replaced by reasoned judgment, the Bryce report can no longer retain unchallenged its claim to present a critical and convincing record of unquestioned facts. The numerous statements which it embodies were mainly derived from Belgian refugees who had reached our shores. Very many of these men and women were naturally in a state of nervous excitement and full of bitter indignation against the invaders of their soil. Such mental conditions are never conducive to the presentation of accurate and veridical evidence. Further it is obvious that some of these refugees were not eye-witnesses of the outrages they describe, for they had fled from their homes and merely record their own inferences as to events which had occurred during their absence. Another serious weakness in the Report arises from the fact that the various barristers and others who were sent round to interview these refugees were with very few exceptions quite unable to converse fluently in French and wholly ignorant of Flemish. Finally, none of the evidence was taken on oath. Here then we have an ill-digested mass of unsworn statementssome merely at second-handmade by excited and angry Belgians, and transmitted by interpreters, themselves unsworn, which is presented to the world as final and conclusive proof of Germany's guilt, while at the same time the publication in this country of a plain translation of Germany's official defence against these charges was forbidden by the Censor. The testimony of the Bryce Report served its purpose and aroused a volume of indignant and scandalised opinion which provided one of the sharpest weapons employed against our chief enemy; but it must be admitted that the methods by which it was compiled were so lax and uncritical that the results sink far below the level ordinarily demanded by the serious historian. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 54296
Author: Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
Release Date: Mar 7, 2017
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Translator: Bennett, Ernest Nathaniel, 1868-1947