A War-time Journal, Germany 1914 and German Travel Notes — John Shaqi
A War-time Journal, Germany 1914 and German Travel NotesJephson, Harriet Julia Campbell, Lady
History
A War-time Journal, Germany 1914 and German Travel Notes
Jephson, Harriet Julia Campbell, Lady
World War, 1914-1918 -- Germany; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English
A "Warnung" has now been affixed to trees in the Avenue forbidding
Russians, English, French or Belgians to go within 100 metres of the
station. The Russians are being hardly used, but so far Germans are
quite nice to us. Mrs. N---- tells me a gruesome tale of a Russian
lady who left her hotel for Russia smiling, well dressed, and happy.
At Giessen all Russians were turned out of the train and put into a
waiting-room, and locked up there without any convenience of food,
drink, or beds for the night. The following morning they were told to
come out and soldiers marched them several miles into the country to a
farm-house. Some of the poor creatures were faint from want of food,
and others had heart disease, and fell exhausted in the road, the
soldiers prodding them with their bayonets to make them get up! After
several hours' detention there, they were brought back to Altheim,
where the poor lady arrived a pitiable wreck! What an experience! I
have been packed up for days!
_August 8th._--I went into the Park Strasse this morning to buy a
"Frankfurter Zeitung." Outside the shop where I bought it some
American women stood gazing at a map of the war, and one said: "I am
_disgusted_ with England, just disgusted. So degrading of her to help
a country like Russia, and side with assassins, just degrading! All we
Americans despise her now." I thought to myself: "If I go to prison
for it, I will not allow anyone to call my country 'degraded and
disgusting.'" So I said, trembling with wrath, "There is nothing
'degrading' in being honourable, nor despicable in keeping true to
your word. England promised to protect Belgium's frontier, and she is
bound to do it."
Several Germans were gathered round the map, and they scowled at me
until I faced them calmly and said: "Jeder man fuer sein Land" (Every
man for his country), and they answered quite civilly: "Gewiss!"
(Certainly). The Americans in Altheim, I found afterwards, were
chiefly of German extraction, which accounted for the woman's
behaviour.
Early this morning three men arrived to search my room for weapons. I
was in bed, but they pushed past the maid Kaethchen, forced their way
in, pried into every corner, and departed. Emile the housemaid here
has _four_ brothers at the war. Dreadful rumours are flying about as
to our destination. One day we hear we are to go to Denmark, another
to Holland. Sometimes we are told that we shall not be allowed to
leave Germany until the war is over; again that we shall be sent away
at a moment's notice; that we shall be left at the frontier, and have
to walk for six hours, and carry our own luggage, etc.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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