It is impossible to describe those days. And for this reason: here we were, a German Colony, a German fortress, the greater proportion of the Kiao-Chow population consisting of officers and soldiers. Moreover, to judge by externals, Kiao-Chow had become international. Russians, French and English lived with us as our guests. It was a cross-current of opinions and feelings, such as could hardly have been found elsewhere.
The main question—I should like to say the question—which occupied all our minds was: Will there be war with England? Only those who have lived in the East can judge what this question meant to us.
On the 2nd of August we were informed of our offer to England. I rode out that day with an English lady, and it was natural that this subject should form the chief topic of conversation. My companion’s opinion, as that of all her friends, was that a war between England and Germany was unthinkable, as it would sound the death-knell of the prestige of the white race, and give the yellow Jap the opportunity of gathering the fruits of our dissension.
Our minds, of course, were filled with this contingency. The tension was even worse than during the first days of mobilization. And when, on the 4th of August, we got the news that war had been declared against England, it came as a deliverance—the die was cast in Europe!
It is impossible to pretend that we felt particularly happy: quite the contrary. Again and again we remembered that we were far away in Kiao-Chow, whilst at home those lucky devils, our brothers and comrades, were rejoicing to the full in the glorious days of mobilization. They were going to war against a world of enemies, they were to be allowed to defend our holy and beloved Fatherland, their wives and children, whilst we sat here, powerless to help! The thought alone was enough to drive us mad. For we knew that neither English, Russian nor French, by whom we were so greatly outnumbered, would find the courage to attack us here. However, the hope persisted: “Perhaps they will!” Oh, what a warm reception we would have given them!
Of course no one for a moment thought of Japan!
In the midst of all the work which the days of mobilization brought in their wake, we did not forget our guests. Nearly all of them were enemies, but they remained our guests.
Their excitement was comprehensible. The more so, as news of the absolutely brutal treatment of the Germans by the English in the British Colonies was already reaching us.
It was natural that we should break off our relations with the foreigners, but it was also a matter of course—and I should particularly like to point this out to the English—that all foreign subjects were treated with a consideration to be expected from “Huns” alone.
The foreigners were informed that they could stay on or depart from Kiao-Chow without any let or hindrance, and that the Governor would give them due warning at what time they would be expected to leave the Colony. It was only requested that no one should move beyond the confines of the city, go near the fortifications, or carry on espionage. Let who will compare this with the behaviour of our dear cousins at Hong-Kong and so many other places in the world. All who went through these experiences could write volumes about them. One consolation remained to us: the Daily Wireless from home!