Patriotism Through Education Series Pan-Germanism The Chief Causes of the Present War A LECTURE AND ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS BY Earl E. Sperry, Ph. D. Librarian and Professor of History in Syracuse University Issued by the Committee on Patriotism Through Education of the National Security League, Inc. Public Speakers, Teachers, and others are invited to use this material freely, thus cooperating in the Campaign of Patriotism Through Education . . NEW YORK NATIONAL SECURITY LEAGUE, Inc. 19 WEST 44th STREET 1918 NATIONAL SECURITY LEAGUE, Inc. (19 WEST 44th STREET, NEW YORK CITY) is a non-political, non-partisan league of American men and women who are DOING EFFECTIVE WORK IN PROMOTING PATRIOTIC EDUCATION AND UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING AND SERVICE. Honorary President — Elihu Root, New York. [Note— Mr. Choate was Honorary President from the date of the organiza- tion of the League until his death, May 14, 1917.] Honorary l/ice-P resident — Alton B. Parker, New York. President — Charles E. Lydecker, New York. Vice-Presidents — George Wharton Pepper, Philadelphia. Willet M. Spooner, Milwaukee. Luke E. Wright, Memphis. James W. Gerard, New York. Myron T. Herrick, Cleveland. Educational Director — Robert McNutt McElroy, New York. Educational Secretary — Henry D. Thompson, Princeton. Secretary — Franklin Remington, New York. Treasurer — Alexander J. Hemphill, New York. Executive Secretary — Henry L. West, New York. Assistant Secretary — Emerson Smalley. COMMITTEE ON PATRIOTISM THROUGH EDUCATION Robert McNutt McElroy, Educational Director, Chairman. Mrs. Thomas J. Preston, Jr., Secretary. Henry J. Allen, Wichita, Kans. Philander P. Claxton, Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. John Houston Finley, University of the State of New York, Albany. Albert Bushnell Hart, Harvard University.- Charles E. Lydecker, New York. Shailer Mathews, University of Chicago.' Mrs. Philip North Moore, National Council of Women. Thomas F. Moran, Purdue University, Ind. Charles P. Neill, Washington, D. C. Calvin W. Rice, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Arthur M. Wolfson, High School of Commerce, New York. Jacob H. Schiff, New York. Henry D. Thompson, Princeton University. Hermon C. Bumpus, Tufts College, Massachusetts. The purpose of this committee is to enlighten the public mind with reference to the war, to emphasize the necessity of a sound, well administered system of public education as the basis of democracy, and to bring about a closer union of all the edu- cational forces of the country with reference to the fundamental problems of popular government. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ADDRESS THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR, N. S. L., 19 west 44th street NEW YORK CITY 2x. afc PAN-GERMANISM It may very properly be asked why anyone should try to understand Pan-Germanism or spend time in dis- cussing it. The answer is that Pan-Germanism was the chief cause of the present war. It was not, as some believe, the sole cause. Its aggressive, annexationist policy, however, adopted by the German government, was the decisive factor in producing the world’s great- est catastrophe. A knowledge of Pan-Germanism is indispensable, therefore, if one is to understand the fundamentals of the war. The prefix, pan in the word Pan-Germanism, is the Greek word for all. Pan-Germanism accordingly might be thought to mean the addition to the German Empire of adjacent regions containing a population predominantly German in speech and race, the in- clusion of all Germans in central Europe in one great, national state. Or it might signify the union with Ger- many by annexation or confederation of those states which, like Holland and Denmark, are inhabited by people of Germanic descent. But Pan-Germanism has no such restricted content as this. It means the ac- quisition of all the territories, no matter by what races they are occupied, or on what continent situated, which the German government may desire. Though having other features, it is primarily a vast program of con- quest unparalleled in the history of Europe. The Powerful and Influential Pan-German League The heart and center of the Pan-German movement is the Pan-German League, founded in 1890. It con- sists of 268 chapters, 23 of which are in foreign lands, there being two in the United States, one in New York and one in San Francisco. The organization is not large, having only 30,000 members, but possesses an influence out of all proportion to its size. This is due, first of all, to its composition. It includes many of the “Junkers,” the landed and military aristocracy of Prus- sia. This class completely dominates and directs the government of Prussia, which in territory is nearly two thirds of Germany, and has great control over the cen- tral or imperial government of the entire Empire. In shaping the policies of the German Empire the “Junk- ers” have a decisive voice and they are Pan-German to the core. The Pan-German League also includes a large num- ber of college professors. On its board of directors in 1894 there were seventeen, among them Prof. Haeckel of the University of Jena. These men, being in contact year after year with thousands of students, have an unrivalled opportunity to teach Pan-German views. And as their students include the men who become the 4 PAN-GERMANISM rulers, publicists, diplomats and generals of Germany, the Pan-German college professors have put their stamp on the ruling class. From the first the League has included German statesmen and men active in practical, political life. Its principal founder was Dr. Karl Peters, a German colonial governor ; Bismarck was an honorary member, and in 1916, a typical year, fifteen members of the Reichstag belonged to it. On its roll, too, are the names of high officers of the army and navy, as General von Bernhardi, General Keim and Admiral Breusing. The League also includes dignitaries of the church, authors, doctors, lawyers, manufacturers and leading merchants — in a word, men who have a chief part in forming public opinion. Unceasing Diffusion of Pan-German Views Another reason for the influence of the League, in addition to the position of its members, is the unremit- ting activity with which it has infused its ideas into the daily thought of the German people. For the pro- pagation of belief in its foreign policies the League publishes a small weekly paper, the Pan-German Gazette. It also circulates millions of pamphlets and sends out many lecturers. Pan-German writers have access to the columns of the leading daily newspapers and through them Pan-German ideas have .been spread to every corner and every class in Germany. Certain great daily papers, as the “Deutsche Tageszeitung” of Berlin, make the preaching of Pa^Germanism a lead- ing feature of their journalistic policy. Some periodi- cals also, of which “Deutsche Erde” is a specimen, are saturated with Pan-German ideas and aspirations. Several other organizations with high political con- nections also disseminate Pan-German doctrine. Among them are the Army League with a membership of 55,000; the Navy League with a membership of 1,250,000; the Landowners’ League and the Central In- dustrial Society. These societies employ the same means to reach the public as does the Pan-German League, with the addition of moving pictures. Testimony from within the German Empire itself concerning the power and influence of the Pan-German League has particular value and interest. Llere is an extract from an article by Kurt Eisner, a writer of re- pute on public affairs, which appeared in Die Neue Zeit, a progressive and reliable periodical. “Who wields the decisive influence on the trend of foreign politics in Germany? Who gives the life impulse to economic driving -forces? Abso- lutely none other for a quarter of a century than the Pan-Germans. They have acquired a greater influence on the shaping of national policy than even the mightiest combination of great landown- UNCEASING DIFFUSION OF PAN-GERMAN VIEWS 5 ers and capitalists. In the course of years they have put through more measures than all the po- litical parties and all the parliamentary subdi- visions of Germany taken together.” The Pan-German League having spread its ideas with such energy and success that the government has adopted them, if indeed they were not largely derived from government sources, let us now consider certain of the aims and aspirations of the Pan-Germans. Aims of The Pan-Germans Prof. Ernst Hasse of the University of Leipsic, a leader of the Pan-German movement and for many years president of the League, thus states its aims for the future expansion of Germany. ‘‘The future territory of German expansion, sit- uated between the territories of the eastern and western powers, must absorb all the intermediate regions; it must stretch from the North Sea and the Baltic through the Netherlands, taking in Lux- emburg and Switzerland, down to the lands of the Danube and the Balkan peninsula and will include Asia Minor as far as the Persian Gulf.” (Hasse, Weltpolitk, Imperialismus und Kolonialpolitik, 1906, p. 65.) Here is a more specific statement by Bronsart von Schellendorf : “We intend to absorb one after another all the provinces which border on Prussia. We shall suc- cessively annex Denmark, Holland, Belgium, northern Switzerland, then Trieste and Venice, fin- ally northern France from the Sambre to the Loire. This program we fearlessly announce. * * * The empire we intend to found will be no Utopia. We have ready to hand the means of founding it and no coalition in the world can stop us.” (Quoted by Fisher in The War, Its Causes and Issues, 1914, p. 16.) What, now are the reasons why the Pan-Germans in- tend to annex, or at least subject to German control, all the countries named above? The reasons vary in each case and accordingly the several countries must be con- sidered separately. DENMARK. Denmark includes the many islands lying off its eastern coast and if Germany annexed that country, her fdrtifications and batteries could command the narrow waterways between them, thus giving her complete control over the entrance to the Baltic Sea. Not only could the Russian navy be confined to the Baltic in case of war with Germany and the warships of an ally excluded, but all commerce with other countries 6 PAN-GERMANISM could be cut off from the Baltic ports of Russia, the country thus deprived in part of indispensable supplies and also weakened financially because unable to export its own commodities. HOLLAND. The annexation of Holland is intended for several reasons. Germany has for many years de- sired more colonies. She seeks them because they are a source of military strength,; because they would afford homes for her surplus population which in the past has emigrated to other states thus giving strength to Ger- many’s rivals; because she could obtain from them raw materials for manufacture without purchasing from the subjects of 'Other states or being in danger of having her supply arbitrarily cut off ; and because in them she could have a preferred and perhaps exclusive market for the great quantities of manufactured goods which she pro- duces with such cheapness and facility. Holland has in. the East Indies extremely rich colonies, Sumatra, Java, Celebes, a part of Borneo and of New Guinea. Their annexation by the German Empire would add greatly to its wealth and strength. Holland also has some excellent ports, as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and sites where more could be con- structed. The more ports, the more commerce and as Germany aims to become the greatest commercial power in the world, she covets these ports. Llolland, too, has a great mercantile marine which would become German by annexation. Germany’s resolve to become the fore- most commercial power in the world without the effort and expense of attaining that position by legitimate means is strikingly shown by the action of her sub- marines in sinking over 856 merchant ships belonging to Norway, a neutral country. The Lower Rhine, moreover, is within Dutch terri- tory. Germany looks on the Rhine as a peculiarly Ger- man river and wishes to possess it throughout its whole length. She feels about it much as the United States would feel if a foreign country held the lower Hudson or Mississippi. But there is a very special reason why Germany wishes to possess the entire Rhine. There is a vast German commerce up and down the river, flowing as it does near the great industrial district which centers about the cities of Essen, Barmen and Elberfeld. This com- merce passes through the territory of Holland, a foreign state, and so is subject to the legislation and general con- trol of the Dutch government. And in case of war with Holland it could be entirely stopped. If Germany held the Rhine throughout its entire length, moreover, she would have the invaluable right to use its lower waters for military purposes. BELGIUM. The Pan-Germans have planned the an- nexation of Belgium for several reasons. Belgium in the first place has a colony, the Belgian Congo, of extra- ordinary-fertility and richness in natural resources. Its AIMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 7 annexation, with the addition of the Portuguese colonies which the Pan-Germans have talked of seizing, would give Germany a great belt of colonial possessions ex- tending completely across the continent of Africa and would make impossible the execution of England’s plan to link up her South African and Egyptian colonies. Furthermore, if the plan of seizing Egypt from Eng- land and Morocco from France were carried out, Ger- many would be the master of Africa. Germany, too, has envied the mineral wealth of Bel- gium, its rich mines of coal, iron and other metals which have been the basis of its great industrial development. But most important of all perhaps in Germany’s plans concerning Belgium are the Belgian ports and coast line. If Germany possessed them, she would then have sites for naval bases from which to make the attack on England when the time comes. For the destruction and dismemberment of the British Empire has been a Pan- German aim for many years. Germany’s present ports are several hundred miles from the mouth of the Thames, but if she annexed Belgium, she would have in per- manent possession Antwerp, Ostend and other ports which are only a few miles from the English coast. From these points of vantage she would be able not only to launch naval and military attacks in case of sudden onslaught against England, but could act as a constant menace to England’s great commerce pass- ing through the Straits of Dover. Antwerp, too, is geographically the natural outlet on the western coast of Europe for Germany’s great indus- trial center mentioned above. At present the immense manufactured product of this region which is exported must be shipped from a Belgian port, or sent down the Rhine through Holland, or transported a long distance by rail to one of Germany’s own ports, as Bremen or Ham- burg.' And of course imports to this region must fol- low the same routes. Germany naturally wishes to pos- sess the European port which is nearest her great manu- facturing district. FRANCE. The Pan-Germans have long intended to annex approximately that portion of northern France now occupied by the German armies, including the coast line not yet in their possession. The first reason is that this region includes the chief industrial towns of France and their addition to the German Empire would strengthen it enormously. The second reason is that about 80 per cent, of the coal and iron mines of France are in these northern departments. Their possession by Germany would destroy the very foundations of French industry, would make France dependent on Germany for its supplies of these indispensable materials and thus an economic tributary. After the Franco-Prussian war Germany annexed Lor- raine which contained nearly all the French iron mines then worked. But northwest of the city of Metz were 8 PAN-GERMANISM mines containing phosphoric ores from which the metal could not be extracted by any process then known. These mines the Germans left to the French. Since 1871 methods of working the phosphoric ores have been dis- covered and the Germans are now planning to rob the French of these mines toor In two of the northern de- partments of France are the coal mines which the Ger- mans have long intended to seize. The northern coast line of France extending from the Belgian border to the mouth of the river Somme is also included in the German program of annexation and some of the bloodiest and most obstinate battles of the present war have resulted from Germany’s effort to conquer this region. She desires it, because it includes the three French ports, Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne which com- mand the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. Most coveted of all is Calais, only twenty miles from the English coast, an ideal point from which to launch naval attacks when the time comes to destroy the British Em- pire. And Calais in the hands of Germany would be an unceasing menace to England’s commerce. Another portion of France marked for annexation is the district along the eastern border which includes the Vosges Mountains and the line of French fortresses ex- tending from Verdun to Belfort. This would deprive France of all natural and artificial defenses on the east and place her at the mercy of Germany in a military sense, just as the annexation of the northern departments would do the same in an economic sense. One essential feature of the Pan-German plan for France is that the owners of all industrial establishments and farms or landed property in the annexed districts shall be dispossessed and compensated for their losses by the French government. SWITZERLAND. The northern cantons of Switzer- land are largely German both in race and speech and were to be included in the Pan-German Empire. If possible all of Switzerland was to be annexed, for it has immense military value. Being a small country, the Pan- Germans have not thought that armed conquest would be necessary. After the great powers of Europe had been defeated, Switzerland would see the folly of resistance and peacefully unite with the Empire. RUSSIA. Turning now to eastern Europe, we find that the Pan-Germans planned the annexation of con- siderable areas of the Russian Empire. They desired all or part of the Baltic provinces of Courland, Esthonia and Livonia. This would give Germany fertile districts for the production of food, additional ports on the Baltic Sea and would thus cut off Russia in part from that com- mercial outlet, crippling her trade even in times of peace for the benefit of Germany. The western part of Rus- sian Poland also is to be annexed. It is the richest in- dustrial region in Russia and also includes immense areas of fertile soil which are to be colonized by Ger- AIMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 9 mans after the extermination of the natives and made a source of food supplies for Germany. The greater part of Russian Poland is to be organized into a separate kingdom nominally independent, but in fact vassal to Germany. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. Another phase of the Pan- German scheme consisted not of the outright annexation of territory to Germany, but of its subjection to German control in all vital policies. The first country to be so treated according to the Pan-German plan is Austria- Hungary. This Empire is to be united to Germany in a customs union, that is, the two Empires would have a common tariff. The effect of the arrangement would be the complete subordination of Austria-Hungary in econo- mic affairs to the German Empire. For Germany has surplus capital and great manufactures, while Austria- Hungary is an agricultural and borrowing state. This economic dependence would lead to a political and mili- tary dependence on Germany, which of course was de- signed by the Pan-Germans. Indeed they do not hesitate to discuss openly the annexation to Germany of the Ger- man-speaking portions of Austria, in spite of the fact that Austria is their ally. The result of the plan would be to make Germany and Austria a unit so far as ex- ternal relations are concerned and would ultimately lead to the absorption of Austria. BALKAN STATES. The small Balkan states of course could not resist this powerful economic and politi- cal bloc and would be compelled to submit to its dic- tation. They would be cajoled or coerced into joining the customs union and would become subject nations of the two empires, or, if they offered serious resistance, be forcibly annexed. Austria’s ultimatum to Serbia in July of 1914 and the annihilation of the latter for rejecting a part of it are specimens of the treatment which this group of lesser states would receive from its powerful neighbors. ITALY. Italy was looked on by some of the Pan- Germans as an insignificant and negligible factor in the problem of constructing the new empire. Being a mem- ber of the Triple Alliance, it was taken for granted that she would become a subordinate and vassal member of the customs union Her small size, poverty and sup- posed military incompetence were thought to make re- sistance vain. She would, however, be a valuable acqui- sition because of her splendid ports, her strategic posi- tion in the Mediterranean and her consumption of Ger- man goods. In case Italy remained outside the new fed- eration, it was suggested that the greater part of the province of Venetia be annexed to Austria, the pretext being to strengthen Austria’s defenses against an in- vasion by Italy. TURKEY. The Turkish Empire, too, was included 10 PAN-GERMANISM in the Pan-German scheme of territorial aggrandizement. In Asia Minor are mineral wealth and millions of un- cultivated acres. Mesopotamia, when rightly cultivated, is one of the most fruitful regions of the earth. Here was ample room for the surplus population of Germany, for a numerous and powerful German colony. Here were natural resources almost unlimited for the ex- ploitation of Germans. On this territory also are such desirable ports as Salonika and Kavala and most impor- tant of all, Constantinople and the head of the Persian Gulf. The Turkish Empire is an indispensable part of the Pan-German Empire. PAN-GERMAN DREAM NOW REALIZED. The Pan-German scheme, in a word, is the creation of a vast confederation of states subject to the dictation of Ger- many, extending from the Baltic and the North Seas through the heart of Europe to the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. This plan, which is so vast as to seem chimerical and fantastic, has been carried out in almost every particular by the German government. It holds Belgium and northern France. It has reduced Austria to a subordinate position, controlling completely the economic, military and foreign policies of that coun- try. The states of the Balkan peninsula, except Greece, are wholly under German control. Servia and Monte- negro have been obliterated ; Bulgaria is at the mercy of Germany ; Roumania has little more than a nominal ex- istence. Not only has Germany conquered all the Rus- sian territory which the Pan-Germans intended to take, and set up the new kingdom of Poland as designed, but has caused the disintegration of the Russian Empire into nine or ten separate states. Russia has been plunged into anarchy. The most rapacious and fanatical of the Pan-Germans did not expect such success. Turkey has become the vassal of Germany, is utterly helpless in her hands and subject to German dictation in every essential particular. SOME PROBABLE CONSEQUENCES. This Pan- German confederation, if it continues, will be the strongest empire . known to history, surpassing even the Roman. Because of its great population and mineral and agricultural resources it will be wholly self-sustaining, can put in the field 20,000,000 men under the unified con- trol of Germany and thus would be irresistible. No state in the world could refuse its demands or refuse submission to its dictation. Possessing the ports of Con- stantinople and Saloniki, it could cut off England’s com- merce with the east through the Mediterranean, seize the Suez Canal and have military and naval bases from which to conquer Egypt. With a port at the head of the Per- sian Gulf and a railroad running thence to Berlin, Ger- man soldiers could be brought to the very gates of India and that colony conquered. The British Empire would be doomed. The seizure of Persia would be easy and in AIMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 11 the future partition of China, if that takes place, the new empire would have /the decisive voice. With her former colonies in Africa enlarged by the Portuguese posses- sions, the Belgian Congo and Egypt, Germany could seize whatever additional territory on thai continent she might desire. That she has designs on the French pos- sessions in Algiers and Morocco is proved by the dis- patches of Bethmann-Holwegg to Sir Edward Grey. The Pan- German confederation would thus form the territorial, economic and military base from which Ger- many could master Asia and Africa and become the dic- tator of the world. This confederation is to be con- structed on the ruins of five of the European powers. France and Russia are to be crushed, Austria-Hungary and Italy absorbed and then the British Empire de- stroyed and its choicest portions appropriated. NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. There is no possibility that any foreign government can acquire ter- ritory within the limits of the United States, but the Pan- Germans and the German government, nevertheless, have a plan for our future. It is that there shall be on the soil of the United States a branch of the German nation con- sisting of the people of German descent who dwell here. An organized and systematic effort has been made by many societies in the German Empire, acting with the approval of the German government, to teach the Ger- man-Americans that they are members of the German rather than the American nation, that although Amer- ican citizens, they owe their first allegiance and affec- tion not to the United States, but to Germany. They are to have a German nationality distinct and apart from their American citizenship. Within the United States this work has been carried on by the German language press, by many of the Ger- man- American societies and the German- American lead- ers, by many of the German parochial schools, by German teachers in other schools and universities and by many of the German clergy Their aim has been to segregate people of German descent from other Americans and consolidate them into a distinct national unit, based on common race, the use of the German language and the possession of a part at least of German Kultnr. The reason for doing this is to have in the United States a firmly compacted organization which in time of need shall serve the interests of the German government. More specifically, this organization was a part of the German plan to achieve world dominion. The expecta- tion was that when the armed conflict came, that branch of the German nation residing in the United States would through political pressure compel our government to act in a way favorable to Germany. That an attempt was made to realize this expectation is proved by the events of the past four years. German- American societies and lead- ers have endeavored to force the United States to adopt pro-German policies by threatening to prevent the elec- 12 PAN-GERMANISM tion of President Wilson for a second term and of sen- ators and representatives who refused to vote for the measures demanded by the German-Americans because helpful to Germany. The National German- American Alliance, a federation of nearly 10,000 German-Amer- ican societies, took official action to prevent the nom- ination of Mr. Roosevelt for the presidency and the re- nomination of President Wilson, because they opposed pro-German policies. Similar action was taken to pro- cure the nomination of senators and representatives who were supporters of the German cause and therefore would vote for' the measures favored by the Alliance. Among these measures were the surrender of certain American rights at sea, in order to make submarine war- fare easier for Germany, an embargo on war material exported to the Allies, and a law forbidding American bankers to make loans to the Allies. All of these meas- ures had the support of the German language press. The German-American National Alliance showed its real national affiliations when it raised $800,000 for German war relief and not one penny for American war relief. At the time the Lusitania was sunk with the loss of 114 American citizens there was a probability that the United States would declare war on Germany or at least sever diplomatic relations. In order to prevent the United States at this crisis from taking any action, even in self-defense, which might embarrass the German gov- ernment, the President of the National German-Amer- ican Alliance, Dr. C. J. Hexamer, sent the following telegram to the presidents of the forty-five state alliances : “Telegraph to President Wilson that your mem- bers and an overwhelming majority of the citizens of your states do not approve of any drastic meas- ures against Germany, since they are unjustified, and cause all your branch societies likewise to send in telegraphic protests.” The telegrams were sent by the local organizations in accordance with instructions. This was precisely the kind of aid to the German government which was ex- pected by the Pan-German League and similar societies when they began the organization of the foreign branches of the German nation. Dr. Hexamer has been decorated by the Kaiser for his services to Germanism in America. The German government naturally approved the work of these societies and co-operated with them very ef- fectively by the enactment of Delbriick’s law. This statute provides that when a German emigrant to a for- eign country is about to be naturalized, he may apply to a German consul and receive the privilege of retaining his German citizenship after he has been vested with that of his adopted country. He is to be a citizen of two countries, owing two governments all the duties and obligations of citizenship. The hope and intention ob- viously is that in time of crisis his duties as a German citizen shall outweigh those owing to the country in which AIMS IN AMERICA 13 he lives. One of the problems before us at present is to destroy among our citizens, no matter of what origin, every vestige of political attachment to any foreign state. We must teach them in an unmistakable manner that we expect and demand that they shall be wholly and exclu- sively American. Thousands of German- Americans are of course entirely loyal. This movement to extend the German nation beyond the limits of the German state has not been carried on in the United States alone, but in every country where there are numerous citizens of German descent. Some of the other countries in which the Pan-Germans have been at work are Denmark, Holland, Belgium, northern France, Switzerland, Bohemia and other provinces of Austria, the Baltic provinces of Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile and the Argentine Republic. In South America, however, they aspired to accom- plish more than the organization of Germanic national units. Certain of their writers have specified the states which should be subjected to German rule or influence. These are Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, the southern part of Brazil and the southern third of Bolivia. Here Germany could find wheat, cattle, minerals and other raw materials, a preferred market for her products and an outlet for surplus population. Germany has made more than one effort to get a foot- ing in the western hemisphere, the most serious being in 1902 when she desisted from armed intervention in Vene- zuela only at the threat made by President Roosevelt to send the American fleet in the South Atlantic against the German warships. The American protectorate over San Domingo will make impossible a repetition of her at- tempt at pacific penetration there and the purchase by the United States of the Danish West Indies has closed to Germany that avenue of approach to the American coast. OTHER. AIMS. It was the Pan-Germans who orig- inated the propaganda which aimed to teach the world that the Germans were superior to all other peoples. This would afford a justification for carrying out, by force of arms if necessary, another great purpose, the extension of German Kultur or civilization to all nations. The world is to be organized and disciplined as the Ger- mans are and benefited thereby. The world-wide use of the German language is to accompany this spread of Ger- man Kultur and also to prepare the way for it. Hence the activity of the National German-American Alliance in forcing the German lauguage into the schools of the United States and the almost exclusive use of German in certain public schools in some of the western states and in many of the Lutheran parochial schools. Illustrative Extracts. It should be clearly understood that the following ex- cerpts from German writings are not unique, but rather 14 PAN-GERMANISM are typical of many hundreds produced during the last quarter century Nor are such excerpts the expressions of obscure or fanatical men, whose words are without weight and effect and therefore can be ignored. They are, rather, the utterances of the spokesmen and leaders of the German nation, of its statesmen, publicists, party leaders, historians, scientists, authors, college professors and journalists — in a word, of those men who express national aims and aspirations and who shape national policies. “Our historical development and our economic needs show that we are once more hungry for ter- ritory. * * *” Daniel Fryman, Wenn Ich der Kaiser ware, 21st ed, 1914, p. 9. “And' over all these, over the Germans, French, Danes, and Poles in the German Empire, over the Magyars, Germans, Roumanians, Slovaks, Croats and Serbs in Hungary, over the Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and southern Slavs in Austria, let us imagine once again the controlling concept of mid- Europe.” F. Naumann, Central Euorpe, 1916, pp. 108, 109. “The establishment of a sphere of economic in- fluence from the North Sea to the Persian Gulf has been for nearly two decades the silent, unspoken aim of German foreign policy.” Dr. Spiethoff in Die wirtschaftliche Annaherung zwischen dem Deutschen Reiche und seine V erbun- deten, 1916, I, p. 24. “* * * the Balkan peninsula, including Euro : pean Turkey, would form a portion of Middle Europe.” Franz von Liszt, Ein mitteleuropaischer Staaten- verband, 1914, p. 32. “The Scandinavian countries, the German Em- pire, Austria-Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria and Turkey ought to form one community.” Karl von W inter stetten, Nordkap-Bagdad, das politische Program des Krieges, 1914, pp. 8-9. “There is no other solution for Austria than that of becoming a colonial state of Germany.” Paid de Lagarde, Deutsche Schriften (1878), 1891, p. III. “Germany must lay her mighty grasp upon Asia Minor. * * * The Turk has lost his rights. * * “Amicus Patriae,” Armenien und Kreta, eine Lebensfrage fur Deutschland, 1896, pp. 13, 15. “With the help of Turkey, India and China may be conquered. Having conquered these, Germany should civilize and Germanize the world and the ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS 15 German language would become the world language." Theodore Springman in Deutschland und der Orient, 1915, p. 308. “What we desire for our future therefore is a strong, self-dependent Germany, strong enough to secure that Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey shall find their greatest safety and prosperity through the Ger- man connection and only through Germany.” Dr. Georg Kerschensteiner in the Europaische Staats-und-Wirtschaftszeitung, December 16, 1916. “Room; they must make room. The western and southern Slavs — or we ! Since we are the stronger, the choice will not be difficult.” Tannenberg, Gross-Deutschland, die Arbeit des 20 ten Jahrhunderts, 1911, pp. 74-75. “All depends upon Germany’s obtaining in middle and western Europe by the subjection of France and the incorporation at the same time or afterwards of the German provinces of Austria in any form that may suit our racial purposes.” /. L. Reimer, Ein pangermanisches Deutschland, 1905, pp. 119-120. “Besides the razing of all Russia’s western for- tresses, especially the fortresses on the sea, it would be necessary to take from her Finland, Esthonia, Eivonia, Courland, Poland, Yolhynia, Podolia, Bes- sarabia, portions of little Russia and of south Rus- sia, Taurida and the Caucasus. * * * In the Balkans * * * two kingdoms, Servia and Mon- tenegro, should be wiped com'pletely off the map. A. Oelzelt-N ewin, Welclie Strafe soil die treffen, die Schuld am Weltkrieg tragen? 1915, pp. 12-16. “From such points of view the idea of establish- ing a federation which carries us over the Balkans and through Turkey to the gates of India and of Cape Colony becomes of new significance ; and we see that this solution will be attained because it must be attained. * * * ” Franz Kohler, Der neue Dreibund, 1915, pp. 82-83. “The lands we shall demand from Russia must be extensive enough to maintain permanently all Rou- manians, even those of Austria and Turkey, in Bes : sarabia and to the northeast of Bessarabia. * * * as subjects of King Charles. This policy is some- what Assyrian, but there is no other way.” Paul de Lagarde, Deutsche Schriften, M878), 1891, p. 391. “France must be so completely crushed that she can never again come across our path.” F. von Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War (1911), tran. 1914, p. 106. 16 PAN-GERMANISM “France then must be crushed. We must de- mand further that so much of French soil be ceded to us as we shall need for final security. * * * We could finally take such of her colonial possessions as we need. * * * ” Daniel Fryman, W enn Ich der Kaiser ware, (1911), 21st ed., 1914, p. 152. “The security of the German Empire in a future war requires therefore imperatively the ownership of all mines of iron ore, including the fortresses of Longwy and of Verdun, which are necessary to de- fend the region.” Petition of the six Industrial Associations to the Imperial Chancellor, May 20, 1915. “One can say the same of France as of Belgium, to wit, that some day they must renounce a part of their possessions.” Kolnische Zeitung, May 9, 1914. “All Morocco in the hands of Germany; German cannon on the route to India and Egypt ; German troops on the Algerian frontier ; this would be a goal worthy of great sacrifices.” Maximilian Harden, Zukunft, July 29, 1911, p. 151. “Above all things we must get to the channel. * * * We have occupied Belgium against France, we need it against England.” Prof. Martin Spahn in Hochland, Heft I (Oct. 1914), p. 26. “The old frontiers of Lorraine and Burgundy ap- parently anticipated the extent of territory which our strategists will today deem it advisable to annex to the Empire at the cost of France.” Prof. Martin Spahn in Hochland, Heft I (Oct., 1914), p. 26. “We are not willing to forget that the Nether- lands, of which Belgium is the southern part, are old German imperial territory. * * * ” Prof. F. Rachfahl in the International Monat- schrift fur Wissenschaft, Kunst und Technik, March, 1915. “As regards Belgium and Holland * * * it may be said openly that such little states have lost any absolute right to exist; for today only those states can assert a right to independence that can secure it sword in hand.” Daniel Fryman, W enn ich der Kaiser ware, 1914, p. 167. “Besides Belfort, France must cede to us that part of Lorraine which is bounded by the Moselle, and in case of 1 obstinate resistance, also the part bounded by the Meuse. * * * If Belgium takes ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS 17 part in the war, it is to be wiped off the map. * * * The Belgian Congo would fall to Germany and thus the idea of a German middle Africa would be rea- lized. * * * If the Netherlands come into Ger- many as a federated state, * * * there might be oc- casion to consider the entire or partial incorpora- tion of Flemish Belgium in the Netherlands. * * * Norway and Sweden (to which Finland might be added) and Switzerland (possibly enlarged by por- tions of Savoy) will necessarily seek the protection of Germany and enter into a confederate relation similar to that of Austria.” Rudolph Theuden, Was muss der Krieg bring en, 1914, pp. 9-10, 12-13. “The northern part of Venetia, the districts of Friuli and Treviso, up to a line running from the south end of Lake Garda to the mouth of the Piave, must be taken * * * to ward off from Austria’s Adriatic coast all future menace.” Albert Ritter, Der Organische Aufbau Europas, 1916, p. 28. “We had intended to buy this west African col- ony (Angola) ; but it would be better to pay noth- ing for it and to take the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands and Madeira to boot. * * * ” Alfred Ruhemann, Die V ernichtung der englischen Weltmacht, 1915, p. 145. “ * * * we admit that at times in our country nationalistic covetousness has extended itself to South America.” Karl Mehrmann, Grossdeutschland, 1915, p. 7. “Also South America must and can easily become a habitation for German or Germanoid races ! “The lands will be settled by people of Germanic blood, the non-Germanic inhabitants being driven into reservations or at best to Africa. * * * ” Klaus Wagner, Krieg, 1906, pp. 165-166. “Germany takes under her protection the repub- lics of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, the southern third of Bolivia, * * * and the southern part of Brazil, where Germans predominate. * * * ” Tannenberg, Gross-Deutschland: die Arbeit des 20ten Jahrhunderts, p. 250. “The Germans seemed marked by their talents and by their achievements to be the teachers and the intellectual, economic and political leaders of these peoples (the Spanish and Portuguese Amer- icans).” I. Unold, Das Deutschtum in Chile, 1899, pp. 62-65. “We must desire that at any cost a German country containing some twenty to thirty million Germans 18 PAN-GERMANISM may grow up in the coming century in south Brazil — and that, too, no matter whether it remains a por- tion of Brazil, or becomes an independent state, or enters into close relationship with our empire.” Gustav von Schmoller, Handels-und Machtpolitik, I, p. 36. “ * * * it is to be hoped that by the reorganiza- tion of South America, when the half-breed popula- tion — a cross between the Indians and the Latin races — has disappeared, the vast basin of the Plata will become German territory.” Tannenberg, Gross Deutschlands Die Arbeit des 20ten Jahrhunderts, p. 295. “The German people must take possession of cen- tral Africa from the mouth of the Orange River to Lake Tchad and from the Kamerun Mountains to the mouth of the River Rovuma ; of the near East ; of the Malayan Islands ; and finally of the southern half of South America.” Tannenberg, Gross-D eutschland , p. 231. “Holland needs our settlers and our might for its overseas possessions, which of itself it cannot pro- tect and develop. We need these new Dutch terri- tories, already fertilized by German blood, for the in- dispensable expansion of our economic dominions. We need free traffic on a German Rhine to its mouth, a traffic which the silent resistance of Hol- land now keeps from us.” Frits Bley, Die alldeutsche Bewegung und die Niederlande, 1897, pp. 6-7. “If , middle Europe wishes to become a world power, it will have to find its way to the shores of the Indian Ocean, and that way is through Bagdad. Once it has gained a footing on that sea, it will also be able to defend those precious possessions which Holland, in order not to lose them, will have to en- trust to the protection of Middle Europe — the Dutch Indies. Holland has no longer any choice in this new era, when the map of the world is being remade, and when states are being gathered together into vast empires.” Karl von Winterstetten, Nordkap-Bagdad: das politische Program des Krieges, 1914, p. 23. “The new situation shortly to be created in Asia Minor would hasten the break-up of the British Empire, which was already beginning to totter.” Liepsiger Volkseitung, March, 1911. Quoted by £5. S. McClure, Obstacles to Peace, 1917, p. 13. “England can be attacked and mortally wounded by land from Europe only in one place — Egypt. The loss of Egypt would mean for England not only the end of her dominion over the Suez Canal and of her connections with India and the far East, but would ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS 19 probably entail also the loss of her possessions in central and east Africa.” Paul Rohrbach, Die Bagdadbahn (1901) 1911. Quoted by S. S. McClure, Obstacles to Peace, 1917, p. 19. “We must get to the English Channel, even if we should have to begin all over again, and if we have to conquer once more all the old strongholds.” From speech by Herr Paasche, Vice-President of the Reichstag, April 18, 1918. “And we shall know how to retain for all future the lands which have been fertilized with German blood. * * * Let us then hold on to that which we have gained and acquire in addition that which we need.” Statement by Herr Basserman, leader of the Na- tional Liberal Party, December, 1914. “If, as we hope-and believe, we shall be victorious, we must before all completely overthrow England, our most dangerous enemy, and deprive it of its colonies and fleet. * * * Belgium should become part of the German Empire. * * * ” Dr. Oppenheimer in Das Monistische J ahrhundert , Dec. 10, 1914. “The coast of all continents, except the American, which can protect itself, must henceforth be domi- nated by German naval guns. * * * ” “Particularly, we must get to the channel.” Prof. Martin Spahn in Hochland, Oct., 1914. “We must, at whatever price, enlarge Germany’s territory on the continent. It does not suffice if we connect the new territories merely by a customs union, for- we must be their master diplomatically and militarily as well. * * * ” “If people should ask whether we intend to be- come a world power which overtops the other world powers so greatly that Germany would be the only real world power, the reply must be that the will to world power has no limits.” Dr. Adolf Grabowsky in Das Neue Deutschland, Oct. 28, 1914. “May our frontiers be extended as far as is re- quired in the interest of our future security and as far as we can advance them without diminishing our ability of defending our territories.” Prof. Dr. E. Brandenburg in Die Reichsqrundunq , Liepzig, 1916. “We must attach to Germany the districts neces- sary for increasing the stock of our raw materials, such as ore deposits of Lorraine.” Prof. Dr. H. Sievekinq in Unsere Aufqaben, Ber- lin, 1915. 20 PAN-GERMANISM “One thing is certain: we shall not give up the coast (of Belgium) with its valuable harbors which make us England’s direct neighbors on the other side of the big ditch. * * * ” In Kontinentalpolitik, Bonn, 1915. “Germany, being an industrial and creditor state, demands sufficient territory not too far away from the homeland. The Belgian Congo would fulfil this double need without compromising the colonial in- terests either of France or of England.” Prof. G. von Schultze-Gaevernitz, in La Mer Libre, Stuttgart, 1915. “If it is our war aim to give Germany permanent security from France and to establish the freedom of the seas, then northeastern France up to the mouth of the Somme * * * must be annexed to Germany, as a considerable number of eminent poli- ticians have demanded. * * * And the acquisition of Belfort and surroundings for the protection of South Germany is thoroughly justified. * * * No words need be lost about the attaching of Belgium to central Europe. That is a matter of course.” Konrad von Wintersletten in Der Organische Auf- bau Europas, Berlin, 1916. “TIolland may learn from the co-operation of the three Scandinavian kingdoms that she can find a guarantee of security only if she enters into a coali- tion and abandons her independence. Would it not be wise and provident of the Dutch to consider already today that the German Empire requires ad- ditional naval bases on the North Sea, that in some form or the other it must obtain these either on the coast beyond Belgium or on the mouths of the Rhine?” Alfred Ruhemann in Die Grenzboten, Dec. 23, 1914. “The great continental area of the unified politi- cal system attached to the German- Austrian Alliance reaches from Antwerp and Hamburg to Libau and Vilna and to Syria and Mesopotamia. It must be politically organized for all time.” Dr. Conrad Bornak in Die Grenzboten, Mar. 15, 1916. “Not only the fact that the larger part of the minette ore deposits lie in France, but also the po- sition of the much discussed fortresses of Liege, Namur, Verdun, Toul, and Belfort compels us to push forward the German frontier in the west.” Dr. Konrad Olbricht in Die V ernichtung der englischen Weltmacht. 1915. ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS 21 “Holland and Switzerland will also come into the union, because the economical position of small states is precarious.” Dr. Karl Jentsch in Der Weltkrieg und die Zu- kunft des deutschen Volkes, 1915. “In the first place we must come out of the war with a far larger colonial empire than we possessed previously.” Dr. Paid Leutwein in Weltwirtschaft, May, 1916. “The final defeat of France and Belgium must bring to the Germans the connection of Cameron Colony and the East African colony. A central African New Germany will arise right across the black continent.” Dr. Karl Mehrmann in Gross-D eutschland , 1915. “We must strive to acquire bases for our fleet and our oversea troops. “We must proclaim the national task of becoming a real colonial power in Africa. * * * “We require territorial acquisitions in Europe.” Kuno Waltemath in Preussische Jahrbucher, Jan., 1916. As an index of the sentiments and aspirations of the German people one of the most valuable and significant documents which has appeared since the war began is the manifesto of the Six Industrial Associations pre- sented in May, 1915, to the German Chancellor, Beth- mann-EIollweg. These associations, which have an enor- mous membership, reach to all parts of the Empire, and include all strata of the population, land owners, manu- facturers, peasants, members of the middle class, the workers alone excepted. Their demands, formally pre- sented to the government, are therefore fairly represen- tative of at least a great body of public opinion in Ger- many. A few extracts from this manifesto follow : “ * * * we shall find no protection in treaties, ■ which, when the fitting moment comes, would again be trodden under foot, but only in a weakening of our enemies, both industrially and militarily, car- ried to such an extent that by it peace will be se- cured. * * * ” * * * Belgium must be subjected to German imperial legislation, both in military and tariff mat- ters, as well as in regard to currency, banking and post. Railways and canals must be incorporated in our transport system. * * * ” “ * * * the possession of the coastal districts (of France) bordering on Belgium, as far as the neigh- borhood of the Somme * * * must be regarded as a vital matter for our future position at sea.” “The necessity of strengthening also the sound agricultural basis of our nation * * * requires a considerable extension of the imperial and Prussian 22 PAN-GERMANISM frontiers in the east by the annexation of least parts of the Baltic provinces and of those territories which lie to the south of them. * * * ” “The security of the German Empire in a future war also imperatively requires the possession of the whole adjoining territory of Luxemburg and Lor- raine, including the fortifications of Longwy and Verdun, without which this territory cannot be held.” A confidential petition signed by 1,352 men of position in Germany was adopted at a meeting in Berlin for pre- sentation to the German Chancellor. Among the signers were 352 college professors, 158 other teachers and clergymen, 145 administrative officials, 182 business men, 252 artists, writers, etc. It accordingly may be consid- ered expressive of the opinions prevailing in an influen- tial social class. A few extracts follow. “For the sake of our own existence we must ruth- lessly weaken her (France) both politically and eco- nomically, and must improve our military and strat- egetical position with regard to her. For this pur- pose in our opinion it is necessary radically to im- prove our whole western front from Belfort t.o the coast. Part of the north French Channel coast we must acquire, if possible, in order to be strateget- ically safer as regards England and to secure better access to the ocean.” “Furthermore, it is necessary to impose a merci- lessly high war indemnity upon France. * * * ” “On Belgium, for the acquisition of which so much of the best German blood has been shed, we must keep firm hold, from the political, military, and economic standpoints. * * * ” “We need liberty of the seas, which was the real cause of the war between England and Germany. To obtain it we must have Egypt, the connecting link between British Africa and British Asia. * * *” All the political parties of Germany, except the Social- Democrats, have made strong official declarations in fa- vor of annexation. And while the Social-Democratic party has with words opposed a policy of conquest, its members in the Reichstag have voted for the budgets necessary to prosecute the war, and many individual leaders have heartily approved the annexation of terri- tory. The significance of these facts as an index of sen- timent in Germany is obvious. “In the name of all the members of this house, the Socialists excepted, I wish to make the following declaration. * * * We are looking forward to the peace negotiations in which the military, economic, financial, and political interests must be safeguarded in their full extent and with all means, including those acquisitions of territory which are required for that purpose.” From a statement made in the Reichstag by Herr ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS 23 Spahn, leader of the Roman Catholic Center party in the name and by the direction of all parties, ex- cept the Socialists. “ * * * Germany’s power should be strengthened in every direction, its territories should be consider- ably enlarged beyond the present frontiers, in as far as possible the occupied territories should be retained and the country should be indemnified for its monetary expenditure.” From resolutions adopted by the Free Conserva- tive Party. Dec. 5th and 6th, 1915, in Berlin. “The Committee of the Conservative Party is aware that among the great tasks of the world war the most important is to bring England down on its knees with all means. * * * The Committee in ac- cordance with the whole Conservative party * * * is resolved to establish an honorable and lasting peace which will secure Germany’s future. As a matter of course it will support the necessary en- largement of territory required for this purpose.” From resolutions of the German Conservative Party in October, 1915. “Particularly it was declared to be necessary * * * to attach to the German Empire in the west the necessary territories, politically, militarily and eco- nomically. We should acquire in the east not only better strategetical frontiers, but also new land suit- able for settlement.” From a statement of the National Liberal Party concerning its parliamentary activity, June, 1915. * * * only an expansion of Germany’s land and sea frontiers in the east, in the west and overseas can give Germany the necessary real guarantee for its future military, political and economic security.” From resolutions by the National Liberal Party, May 2 1st, 1916. “The party regards it unconditionally necessary that Germany’s future should be safeguarded by military and economic measures and by the neces- sary enlargements of territory.” Declaration by Progressive People’s Party, Auq 8, 1918. The above extracts are from “Germany’s Annexa- tionist Aims,” by Grumbach and Barker, New York, 1917; and from “Conquest and Kultur,” published by the Committee on Public Information, Washington, 1918. To American Teachers, Publicists, and Others. ftgrfg Education is the only basis upon which can be erected a successful democracy. I he National Security League is striving to give to the people knowledge of our national purpose and ideals, and with this end has been able to distribute free! to teachers and others much text-book - and related material for the dissemina- tion of knowledge of the causes and i issues of the war. mm Will you help us in this work ? Will you get a mem ber ? DO YOUR DUTY TO YOUR COUNTRY Make all Checks payable to NATIONAL SECURITY LEAGUE, Inc. O Certificate of Membership and Official Receipt will be mailed from Headquarters National Security Teague, Inc. 19 West 44th Street, New York X DIFFERENT MEMBERSHIPS .1 AMOUNT 1 Founder mssm o o o' o Life $25.00 1 Contributing Yearly 1 $5.00 1 I Annual gg $1.00-1 Donor Over IlOO Name of Applicant Address City (8-13-18-Z) DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 27706