What Germany Thinks | Page 4

brutality against Belgians who
dared to defend hearth and home.
Meanwhile the smaller party which desired peace had not been entirely
idle. On July 28th the Social Democrats held thirty-two mass meetings
in Berlin to protest against war. "The attendance was in every case
enormous, but the meetings were all orderly and calm. The police had
taken extensive precautionary measures. The speakers were mostly
members of the Reichstag or the Berlin Town Council. Throughout
they were guilty of the most fiery and tactless attacks on Austria, to
whom alone they ascribed the guilt for the warlike developments. Each
meeting adopted a resolution against war. The chief of police had
forbidden all processions or demonstrations to take place after the day
before. In spite of this, many of the Socialists who had attended these
meetings tried to form processions, especially in Unter den Linden. As
large bodies of troops had closed the streets, small parties of the
Socialists managed to reach the Linden by means of trams and
omnibuses. At about 10 p.m. hisses and cries of 'Down with the war

party!' were heard before the Café Kranzler. In a moment the number
of Democrats swelled to large proportions and the workmen's
Marseillaise was struck up, followed by a short, sharp order. The
mounted police advanced with drawn swords against the rioters; the air
was filled with shouts and cries of Pfui! (Shame!). On the other side of
the road the crowd sang the national hymn. The masses clashed
together, and the police advanced again and again till the street was
cleared. At the corner, however, the Socialists formed up again, and
began to demonstrate anew, so that the police were compelled to attack
them without any consideration in order to preserve the peace. They
cleared the pavements and galloped up the promenade. Again the cry
echoed 'Down with war!' and as answer came 'die Wacht am Rhein.'
But it was some considerable time before the struggle ceased to surge
to and fro." (_München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, July 29th.)
Thus the great Socialist-International-Pacifist movement, with four and
a quarter million German voters behind it, fizzled out on the pavements
of Unter den Linden. Probably there were demonstrations in other parts
of Germany, but this much is certain, that the members of Catholic and
Protestant _Arbeiterverbände_ (Workmen's Societies) held meetings
and demonstrated in favour of war. On the other hand the Women's
Union of the German Peace Society in Stuttgart sent a telegram to the
Kaiser, begging him in the name of "millions of German mothers" to
preserve the peace.
The most interesting protest against the war movement is undoubtedly
the following: "This, then, is the cultural height to which we have
attained. Hundreds of thousands of the healthiest, finest, most valuable
forces in the nation are trembling from anxiety that chance, or a nod of
Europe's rulers, malevolence, or a fit of Sadism, a Caesar-madness or a
business speculation, an empty word or a vague conception of honour,
will drive them to-morrow out of their homes, from wife and child,
from all that which they treasure and have built up with so much pain
and trouble--into death. The mad coincidence may arise to-day, may
call them to-morrow, or at any minute, and all, all of them will
go--obeying damnable necessity, but still obeying. At first they will
whine on seeing their bit of earthly happiness snatched away, but soon,

however--although their consciences may not be quite clean--they will
be possessed by the general frenzy to murder and be murdered." Franz
Pfemfert in die Aktion.
Although this article appeared on August 1st, it had evidently been
written before the proclamation of martial law. It was one of the last
political articles which the paper published, for the next number but
one contains the announcement that "the Aktion will in future only
publish articles on art and literature." The reasons are not far to seek.
In justice to the pacifist elements it must be stated that they were up
against bayonets. The only pity is that British public opinion, or any
section of it, had been led to believe that it could ever have been
otherwise. Austria had committed an unpardonable act of provocation,
which at first reasonable opinion in Germany openly condemned.
Simultaneously the German Government set in motion an avalanche of
racial feeling to play off against the just and moderate measures taken
by other powers to checkmate Austrian aggression. In addition to the
racial hostility, which had been lashed into bitterness during the spring
of 1914, came Germany's morbid conception of national and personal
honour. Lastly the fear of a Russian invasion was astutely inoculated
into the nation.
It is the author's firm conviction, and the military events in Poland and
Galicia have only strengthened this opinion, that from the very
beginning Germany could