Lord Bryce's Investigation into Alleged German Atrocities in Belgium, 1914-15

Bibliographic Data

ID10074725
AuthorsTrevor Wilson (0000-0002-4154-0834, corresponding author)
Year1979
Volume14
Issue3
Pages369-383
Publication date1979-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/002200947901400301
OpenAlexW2055424019
LanguageEN
Citations received11

The first half of 1915 was a special time of hate in Britain: for in this phase of the Great War atrocity-mongering reached its peak. Tales of outrages committed by Germans replenished the queues at the recruiting offices and triggered off indiscriminate violence in Britain against residents of German origin or (supposed) proGerman sympathies. But more importantly, they reinforced the conviction that although the end of the struggle might be much farthei off than had initially been expected no resolution of the conflict was acceptable short of total victory. The principal atrocity, of course, was war itself. The grievous casualties (if small by later standards) suffered by British forces at Second Ypres and Neuve Chapelle and Cape Helles imposed on a growing number of British families a heavy deprivation, and one only acceptable because it could be seen as a stepping-stone to their nation's ultimate triumph. But in addition to the established round of death by gunfire, a series of events rendered Germany peculiarly repugnant at this time. These were the use of poison gas against British combatants; the first Zeppelin raids upon British cities; the sinking of the passenger-liner Lusitania; and the publication of the Bryce Report, which proclaimed German forces guilty of widespread sadistic outrages during the invasion of Belgium. It was a particular stimulant to hate that, in all but one of these excep

Ancient history · Archaeology · German · Political science · History · Law · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

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