The war led to condemnation of the German tradition in Canada and rising anti-German sentiments. Actions by the German Empire – including the violation of Belgium's neutrality, their use of poison gas, the execution of Edith Cavell, the sinking of the RMS "Lusitania", and an apocryphal story of German troops crucifying a Canadian soldier – contributed to anti-German feelings. In a 1 March 1916 letter to the "Berlin News Record", the chair of the North Waterloo recruiting committee stated: "The fact remains that Berlin was named after the capital of Prussia and is to-day the capital of the German Empire, whence have emanated the most diabolical crimes and atrocities that have marred the pages of history." A fire at Parliament Hill in February 1916 was falsely assumed to have been set by German arsonists. Although many accounts of wartime atrocities were later shown to be fabrications and British propaganda, most Canadian citizens took them to be true.