Here is an equally untruthful placard. It was posted up at Cugnon (Luxemburg) early in October, 1914, between the fall of the first forts at Antwerp and the taking of the city. It announces the destruction of the line of forts between Verdun and Toul, and the march on Paris (a month after the battle of the Marne!). Its principal interest lies in the signature: the burgomaster did not know of the placard until it was posted; the military authorities had simply forged his name. This did not prevent them from forcing the commune of Cugnon to pay for the printing of these lies.
M. Max's Denial.
The most interesting example of lying by placard is undoubtedly that which was revealed by the burgomaster of Brussels. On the 30th August one might read, on the walls of the capital, a notice in which M. Max gave the lie to a placard posted at Liége. This is it:—
City of Brussels.
The German governor of the city of Liége, Lieutenant-General von Kolewe, yesterday had the following notice exposed:—
To the Inhabitants of the City of Liége.
"The burgomaster of Brussels has informed the German commandant that the French Government has declared to the Belgian Government the impossibility of assisting it offensively in any way, as it is itself forced to assume the defensive."
To this assertion I oppose the most positive denial.
The Burgomaster,
Adolphe Max.Brussels, 30th August, 1914.
Since their burgomaster declared the assertion to be false, no doubt could remain in the minds of the people of Brussels. But, curiously enough, beside M. Max's placard there remained a German placard, which had been posted two days earlier, and in which it was stated:—
On the 25th inst. the official French newspapers published a communication from the French Government stating that the French armies being forced to assume the defensive would no longer be in a position to assist Belgium in the matter of a military offensive.
Brussels, 23rd August, 1914.
The only serious difference between the two texts was that at Liége the burgomaster of Brussels guaranteed the truth of the communiqué. So the impression was given that it was Herr von Kolewe who had the idea of bringing M. Max's name into this ridiculous statement, in the hope of giving it some weight. But no! Von Kolewe was innocent of the forgery; it was the work of the German General Staff, and was distributed by the Wolff Agency, as we learned a little later. The Liége communiqué is precisely the official German telegram as published everywhere—for example, in Les Nouvelles, "published by the authorization of the German Military Authority," at Spa, on the 30th August, 1914; by the N.R.C., on the 28th August; by the K.Z. (see Kriegs-Depeschen, p. 41); and by the Frankfurter Zeitung (see Der Grosse Krieg, p. 172).
What, then, is the meaning of the first telegram posted in Brussels—that of the 25th August, in which no mention of the burgomaster occurs? Simply this: the German Government was announcing to the whole world an item of "news" whose improbability required to be supported by the word of an honest man, such as the burgomaster of Brussels. A lie so gross and flagrant might be published at Liége, but not in Brussels itself. Unfortunately the Germans had not succeeded in cutting off communication between Liége and Brussels; on the day after its appearance the Liége placard had reached M. Max, and he was able to issue his famous denial. The effect was tremendous. From that moment the people of Brussels no longer believed any "official news."[36] Did the Germans make any attempt to reply to the denial? None: why attempt the impossible? But they prohibited, with their usual heaviness, the publication of any placards, even by the municipality.
Important Notice.
The publication of placards, unless they have received my special permission, is strictly prohibited, those of the municipality of the city being included.
(Signed) von Lüttwitz, General.