New-York tribune., 1916-06-25
SOME. GERMAN WAR DIARIES
,homPa the Remarkable Collection OF Va" Records Which the
Wounded dromPr ExpHhaton FHghhuness

damn grings los; Dorf mach dem snl.rn &,
Flammen; dber Field and Aeker nit Rad b,
wir damn an Strassengrsben Ksmen, wo ~,
damn Kirschen Assem-"
October z, f9l4.-PeruK is the first yill,y.
burned, then things break loose: 1 yir,y.
after another 20 the flames; over field az
meadow with the cycle We then come 70 ~.
roadside bitches, where we ate cherriesv
10 Is all in the days work the burning =,
villages. the murder % peasants. the ea,lry
Of cherries. We have 20 30 FAR back in bi,.
tory 20 find It's ike Travellers among ,,v.
age tribes have told o. living among thsr
for years, and then suddenly IN a fash the IN.
most soul OF the tribe has revealed Itself /,
some sudden mystical debauch Of blood Thar.
is an immense unbrided cruelty IN certain q,
these German soldiers expressing itselt /,
strange. abnormal ways. This is the explar,.
ton Of some Of the outrages, some o, n.
mutilations. But, FOR The most part. N,
cruelty is not peryersion. nor a fierce iealov,
hate. 10 i merely the blind, brutal expre,
sion Of imperfectly developed natures. who's.
hate and fury have been fed on the lies told
By their officers.
Gottsche, non-commissioned officer Of N.
s5th Infantry Regiment, 9th Army Corp,
writes:
"The captain summoned US together ard
said: In the fort which is TO be taken there
are apparently Englishmen ! wish 20 see no
Engishmen taken prisoner by the COMPANY,
4 universal bravo OF agreement was the a..
swer"
"Ich wunsche aber Keinen gefangenen Eng
lander bci der Kompagne 20 sehen Eir
allgemeines Bravo der Zustmmung war d,
Antwort."
Forty-three years OF preparedness on ever
detail Of treachery and manslaughter. bu,
not one hour of thought on what responses
organized murder would call our from n.
conscience of the world, nor what resistsnea
such cruelty would create. Il is curious the
way they set down their own infsmy. Their.
Is all the naivet6 Of primitive people Once
a black man from an African colony came 70
where a friend Of mine was sitting. Es was
happily chopping away with his knife q.
human skull which be wore suspended from
his neck He was as innocent in the act ass
child jabbing a pumpkin with his isckknit.
So it has been with the Germans. They burn
plunder, murder. with a light-hearted. almost
gleeful, enjoyment.
A Few Outraged Souls.
There are noble souls among them who
look on with sad and wondering eyes. What
manner of men are these, they ask themselves
in that intimacy OF the diary, which is ike
the talk Of a soul with It's maker These men
our fellow-countrymen, who behave obseeneiy
who pour out foulness-what a race is this
Of oursl That is the burden OF the self
communion which high minded Germans have
written down, unconscious tha. their sadness
would be the one light in the dark affair u-.
aware that only in such revolt as their oVr
is there any hope at all Of future for their
race.
The most important diary Of all s that o.
an officer whose name I have before me a.
/ write. but ! shall initiate the chiyalry o.
the French government and not publish ;hs
name. It would only subject his family 70
reprisal By the German military power lie be.
longs 70 the 46th Reserve Infantry Regiment
9TH Reserve Corps He has a krack az honey
details. He enters a deserted house wher'
tho pendulum Of the clock still swings ag'
ticks and sounds the hours. lie believe d'r
self under the direct protection and guita
Of God. He sees 10 when a shell explode
killing his comrades. HE speaks OF tn
beauty of the wounded French officers, as be
sees them lying in railway station. He be-
skeptical about the lies told against French
and Belgians. He realizes that the ofieer'
are whipping up a fury in the men, so thar
they will obey orders 70 kill and burn.
Berlin the Inspiration.
In his pages you can see the mighty ma
chine ar work, manufacturing the hate which
will lead to murder. The hand on the lever
at Berlin sets grinding the wheels, and esc'
little cog yibrates and moves in unison. He
is a simple. pious man, shocked by the wick
edness of his soldiers. offended by the cruelty
of the officers, hating war, longing for rs
end lie plans 10 publish his memoirs Of the
campaign with photographs, which he viii
return 10 France 10 make after the war
He is a natural philosopher. Most Of al,
he loves his quiet smoke, which keeps hin
good humored. lie has written page IN
his diary in praise Of tobacco: 81 smoke sbou'
ten cigars a day. And if 81 hadn't been for
these cigars my good humor In these dsn-
gers and fatigues would be much less Smok-
ing gives me TO a degree calm and content
With II I have something 20 occupy n
thoughts. II is necessary for me 70 see these
things in order 20 understand"
Again, he writes:
October IS, 1914. II had been planned e,
first that we should 90 into quarters az Billy
BILLY us-Nangiennes) where the whole
civil population had been already forced OF
and whatever was movable had been taken
away or made useless. This method OF con
ducting war Is directly barbarous. an IS
tonshed how We can make any complaint
over the behavior Of the Russians. We con
duct ourselves In France much worse, and on
every occasion and on every small preteHt
we have burned and plundered. But 1od
is just and sees everything. His mills GRIND
slowly, but exceeding small"
"Diese Art Kriegfuhrung ist direst bar.
barisch bel jeder Gelegenheit wird
unter irgend einem Norwsnde gebrannt und
geplundert. Aber Gott st gerecht und sient
allies: seine Mhhlen mahlen langsam soer
schrecklich klein"
These extracts which have given are from
diaries OF which I have examined the orig
mails and gone word by word over the Ger
man. in the pencilling Of the writer Inc
revelation Of these diaries is that the Ger
mans have not yet built their moral founda'
tions. They have shot up 70 some heights
But 10 is not a deep-centred structure they