My Four Years in Germany

by James W. Gerard

The Chancellor and the Foreign Office, however, through sheer weakness did nothing to prevent the insults to our flag and President perpetrated by the "League of Truth"; although both under the law and the regulations of the "State of Siege" this gang could not operate without the consent of the authorities. So far as I was concerned personally, a few extra attacks from tooth carpenters and snake dancers meant nothing, but certainly aroused my interest in the workings of the Teutonic official brain.

On my return everyone in official life,--the Chancellor, Zimmermann, von Stumm who succeeded Zimmermann, von der Busche, formerly German Minister in the Argentine, who had equal rank with Stumm in the Foreign Office--all without exception and in the most convincing language assured me that cases like that of the Marina, for example, were only accidents and that there was every desire on the part of Germany to maintain the pledges given in the Sussex Note.

And the great question to be solved is whether the Germans in making their offers of peace, in begging me to go to America to talk peace to the President, were sincerely anxious for peace, or were only making these general offers of peace in order to excuse in the eyes of the world a resumption of ruthless submarine warfare and to win to their side public opinion in the United States, in case such warfare should be resumed.

Had the decision rested with the Chancellor and with the Foreign Office, instead of with the military, I am sure that the decision would have been against the resumption of this ruthless war. But Germany is not ruled in war time by the civilian power. Hindenburg at the time I left for America was at the head of the General Staff and Ludendorf, who had been Chief of Staff, had been made the Quartermaster General in order that he might follow Hindenburg to General Headquarters.

Hindenburg, shortly before his battle of the Masurian Lakes, was a General living in retirement at Hanover. Because he had for years specialised in the study of this region he was suddenly called to the command of the German army which was opposing the Russian invasions. Ludendorf, who had been Colonel of a regiment at the attack on Liège, was sent with him as his Chief of Staff. The success of Hindenburg in his campaigns is too well known to require recapitulation here. He became the popular idol of Germany, the one general-in fact the one man--whom the people felt that they could idolise. But shortly before my trip to America an idea was creeping through the mind of the German people leading them to believe that Hindenburg was but the front, and that the brains of the combination had been furnished by Ludendorf. Many Germans in a position to know told me that the real dictator of Germany was Ludendorf.

My trip to America was made principally at the instance of von Jagow and the Chancellor, and, in my farewell talk with the Chancellor a few days before leaving, I asked if it could not be arranged, since he was always saying that the civilian power was inferior to that of the military, that I should see Hindenburg and Ludendorf before I left. This proposed meeting he either could not or would not arrange, and shortly after my return I again asked the Chancellor if I could not see, if not the Emperor, at least Hindenburg and Ludendorf, who the Chancellor himself had said were the leaders of the military, and, therefore, the leaders of Germany. Again I was put off.

In the meantime and in spite of the official assurance given to me certain men in Germany, in a position to know, warned me that the government intended to resume ruthless submarine war. Ludendorf, they said, had declared in favour of this war and, according to them, that meant its adoption.

At first I thought that Germany would approach the resumption of ruthless submarine war via the armed merchantman issue.

The case of the Yarrowdale prisoners seemed to bear out this theory. A German raider captured and sunk a number of enemy vessels and sent one of the captured boats, the Yarrowdale, with a prize crew to Swinemunde. On board, held as prisoners, were a number of the crews of the captured vessels; and among those men I learned "under the rose," were some Americans. The arrival of the Yarrowdale was kept secret for some time, but as soon as I received information of its arrival, I sent note after note to the Foreign Office demanding to know if there were any Americans among the prisoner crews.

For a long time I received no answer, but finally Germany admitted what I knew already, that Americans taken with the crews of captured ships were being held as prisoners of war, the theory of the Germans being that all employed on armed enemy merchant ships were enemy combatants. I supposed that possibly Germany might therefore approach the submarine controversy by this route and claim that armed merchantmen were liable to be sunk without notice.