Belgium -- History -- German occupation, 1914-1918
The best method of impressing the prisoners is assuredly to show them
that in their own country people are already beginning to realize
the indisputable superiority of Germany. So _La Guerre_ frequently
publishes articles reprinted from _La Gazette des Ardennes_; only
it forgets to mention that _La Gazette des Ardennes_ is a newspaper
established, edited, and printed exclusively by Germans, since
the occupation. Shall we take another example of duplicity? For
the Belgians, naturally, what their priests tell them has great
weight with them. No. 14 of _La Guerre_ reproduces a passage from an
article (which is mentioned on p. 129) originally published by "the
priest Domela Nieuwenhuis, of Gand." Here is a falsehood: M. Domela
Nieuwenhuis is not a priest; he is a Protestant pastor in Gand. In
the quotation M. Nieuwenhuis says: "If we Flemings had been properly
informed...." (_La Guerre_, No. 14, p. 217).
"We Flemings," M. Nieuwenhuis is supposed to have said ... and he is a
Dutchman. This is curious. Let us compare this with the original text
in _De Tijdspiegel_, p. 316, 1st April, 1915. There we find: "_Indien
wij hier in Vlaanderen ... zouden zign voorgelicht...._" ("If we, here
in Flanders, had been informed....") The German forgers have been at
work, and by a little tinkering at the text, they have made a Dutch
pastor pass for a Flemish priest! To what are they not reduced!
* * * * *
The pamphlet _Die Wahrheit über den Krieg_ speaks on p. 93 of an
international propagandist organisation established in Berlin: the
_Commission for the publication of impartial news abroad_ (we translate
from the Dutch version). This Commission publishes _Correspondence for
Neutrals_, which aims solely at "distributing positive news concerning
the working of social, juridicial, economic, and moral institutions
and general culture in Germany." Its articles are especially intended
for use by the Press. It appears two or three times a week, in ten
different languages, and will continue to do so during the war. It
asserts that its expenses are covered entirely by private subscriptions.
At the Superior Technical College of Stuttgart is established the
_Süddeutsche Nachrichtenstelle für die Neutralen_ (South German News
Bureau for the Neutrals). It publishes propagandist leaflets at
irregular intervals and of various dimensions, which are intended to
furnish "the verifiable truth as to the origin, course, and results of
the war."
The professors of the University of Leipzig sent abroad a special
number of the _Leipziger Neueste Nachrichte_ of the 25th August, 1914,
which gave, in chronological order, "the truth about the causes of the
war and the German successes." The truth! Its capital falsehoods are
too numerous for examination here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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