They commit unbelievable horrors, because the thing that moves
them is raw force, untouched by fine purpose and the elements of mercy.
When I think of Germans, man by man, as they lay wounded, waiting for us
to bring them in and care for them as faithfully as for our own, I know
that they have become human in their defeat. We are their friends as we
break them. In spite of their treachery and cruelty and cold hatred, we
shall save them yet. Cleared of their evil dream and restored to our
common humanity, they will have a more profound sorrow growing out of
this war than any other people, for Belgium and France only suffered
these things, but the great German race committed them.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH BAEDEKER
When I went to Belgium, friends said to me, "You must take 'Baedeker's
Belgium' with you; it is the best thing on the country." So I did. I
used it as I went around. The author doesn't give much about himself,
and that is a good feature in any book, but I gathered he was a German,
a widely traveled man, and he seems to have spent much time in Belgium,
for I found intimate records of the smallest things. I used his guide
for five months over there. I must say right here I was disappointed in
it. And that isn't just the word, either. I was annoyed by it. It gave
all the effect of accuracy, and then when I got there it wasn't so. He
kept speaking of buildings as "beautiful," "one of the loveliest
unspoiled pieces of thirteenth century architecture in Europe," and when
I took a lot of trouble and visited the building, I found it half down,
or a butt-end, or sometimes ashes.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58