A searchlight on Germany: Germany's Blunders, Crimes and PunishmentHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
A searchlight on Germany: Germany's Blunders, Crimes and Punishment
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities -- Germany; World War, 1914-1918 -- Causes
Thus do the "Young Turks" of Turkey (on whom may all the curses of
Allah alight) who are determined to Turkify all Asia Minor. Thus have
1,500,000 =Christians= perished, at the hands of Germany's ally,--=an
ally absolutely under German control=, and without one protest or
prohibition from the arch-criminals of Potsdam and Berlin. And this
under "our dear, good, kind Emperor" William!
The crimes of Germany were not committed by the officers of the Army
or the Navy, or of the State, alone. They were perpetrated partly by
the common people of Germany, as represented by the fathers, sons and
husbands making up the army and the navy. The officers are not alone
to blame. Therefore, the curses of mankind, and the punishment of the
ages, should fall and will fall upon all the Germans of Germany, and
their children unto the tenth generation. To them the Germans of to-day
will bequeath a vast legacy of world scorn and world aversion.
Americans should be the last people on earth to talk to outraged
England, France, Russia and Servia of "magnanimous" terms to Germany,
and peace "without annexations or indemnities." =Germany must Pay for
her war and her crimes.=
III. The Punishment of Germany.
Without stopping to give any serious thought to the matter, some people
assert, "You cannot punish a nation." If not, why not? Ask a student
of history, and he will tell you, without hesitation, "Decidedly, yes.
Ever since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, countless tribes, cities,
states and nations have been soundly punished for their crimes."
To-morrow, or soon after, Germany, the arch-criminal of nations, will
be up before the bar of Christian Civilization for sentence. In courts
of justice it is customary to review the criminal record of the accused
before judgment is pronounced. It is now a case of Germany to the bar,
to face her police record.
Guilty nations are no more immune from punishment for their crimes than
are individuals guilty of high crimes. By their acts the German people
now are heaping up dire punishment for themselves. The world is losing,
with tremendous rapidity, its original and totally erroneous impression
that "the German people" are innocent of the crimes that have been
committed under the German uniform and the black-vulture flag.
The mental attitude of President Wilson as it was expressed in his
message to Congress as late as April 2, 1917, is not the mental
attitude to-day of the American people at large. He said: "We have no
quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but
of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their
government acted in entering upon this war."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account