[.ca] German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial (ISBN 0300107919)

Serious History:
John Horne and Alan Kramer have written a detailed and comprehensive account of the war crimes committed by the German army during its invasion of Belgium and France in 1914. Their book is well researched, citing evidence from numerous sources. This is the work of serious historians who have attempted, as far as is possible, to evaluate the evidence fairly. They have looked at both German and Allied accounts of the events, discounting stories from both sides which do not stand up to scrutiny. This book is well argued and reasonable. It is also well written and very readable. The central claim of the book is that the German army in the course of its invasion deliberately killed approximately 6,500 civilians and engaged in a campaign of destruction against towns and villages. They used civilians as human shields while attacking opposing armies, deported civilians and raped numerous women. The authors are unwilling to accept some of the more lurid Allied accounts of German atrocities. For example, they reject as propaganda stories of Germans mutilating children by cutting off their hands. The evidence however that the German army killed thousands of civilians is overwhelming, not least because the German's at the time did not deny it. The German justification for their action was that the civilians were unlawfully fighting against them. Horne and Kramer show that the German army was obsessed with the idea that francs-tireurs (free-shooters, or civilian guerrillas) were opposing the invasion. It is shown however, that while there was some sporadic civilian resistance, the Germans massively overestimated it. The book explores the origins and the reasons for why the German army became so deluded as to believe that there was a civilian uprising, when in fact there was no such thing. This is a really powerful book. Works about the First World War normally focus on the horrors of the trenches. This book shows that there was a different and equally horrific aspect to the fighting. The accounts of civilians being rounded-up and shot are very moving. Horne and Kramer have written an important book, for the accounts of German atrocities in 1914 have largely been denied and dismissed as Allied propaganda. This denial had terrible consequences, for it is now possible to see these crimes for what they were, as a stepping stone towards the far greater crimes committed, by the sons of the soldiers of 1914, a generation later.

Tell a lie often enough..........:
It amazes me that after 90 years there are people still trying to revive old anti-German propaganda myths from WWI. All these supposed attrocities were investigated after the war and found to be totaly false.Even the Belgian government,when it investigated the allegations made in the infamous Bryce Report,couldn't find any evidence to support the stories.And I think you will have a pretty tough time trying to convince people that the Belgians were covering up for the Germans!