It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish France, and
it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, however large, would
eventually be paid and France recover herself. Germany has found the
half-German border provinces which she annexed so indigestible that
she could hardly incorporate Champagne or any other purely French
district. Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera.
If the country were artificially separated the various parts would
fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, the
permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter to
effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the condition
that in the future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed
her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that even so
stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a conquered but
indomitable people.
Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi's views upon ourselves;
and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us to know what are
those historical episodes which have caused him and many of his
fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception to our national record.
From our point of view we have repeatedly helped Germany in the
past, and have asked for and received no other reward than the
consciousness of having co-operated in some common cause. So it was
in Marlborough's days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those
of Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of
importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On the
other hand, there are very bitter references to some other
historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate as a
cause for international hatred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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