Читать книгу Boche and Bolshevik. Experiences of an Englishman in the German Army and in Russian Prisons онлайн

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No such memories haunted the bulk of the German people. The whole of Bonn was delirious with joy at the declaration of war. They were absolutely certain of victory, and already treated foreigners, and especially Englishmen, with withering contempt. They seemed to be glad to throw off the mask they had been wearing for years. The Great Day had arrived when Germany was to reach a pinnacle of glory unattained by any other nation in history. She was to become the arbitress of the destinies of the whole human race. This, at any rate, was the feeling that chiefly struck foreign observers. But I do not think we shall ever do justice to the Germans until we realize that for most of them the war came as a surprise. To the very last they thought the crisis would pass over as so many others had done. I can best illustrate the prevailing mood by what happened to myself. The day before Germany was declared in a state of war, I bade good-bye to my students for the term, and said I hoped no war would prevent us from meeting again in October as usual. I was answered by a loud burst of laughter. Yet even while I was speaking a detachment of troops was marching past the University in order to take up a position guarding the bridge across the Rhine. The intoxication of the Germans at the opening of hostilities was the natural reaction from the long years of strain and preparation for war, and it was the more violent because it was so unexpected.