Schrecklichkeit
Encyclopedia
Schrecklichkeit is a word used by English speakers to describe an assumed military policy of the German Army
towards civilians in World War I during the invasion of Belgium
, France
and Poland
as well as in Russia
.
According to the traditions of warfare in Europe, a nation's resistance was expected to end when its armies had been beaten. In Belgium, civilians continued to resist German troops and the Germans adopted harsh measures (schrecklichkeit), to try and crush this resistance. Hostages were shot, priests thought guilty of encouraging the resistance were killed and crimes committed by German soldiers, such as rape, were not seriously punished. In the Belgian city of Leuven
, heavy artillery, including the Big Bertha
cannon, was used against the town centre. One German officer later wrote about the town, "We shall wipe it out...Not one stone will stand upon another. We will teach them to respect Germany. For generations people will come here and see what we have done".
The harsh measures, hastily decided upon in the urgency of the German attempt to outflank Allied forces, proved to be a propaganda disaster for the Germans as their publication caused a wave of indignation which aided the Allied cause.
. John Horne and Alan Kramer in the book "German Atrocities 1914 : A History of Denial" contest this. Based on several sources, they contend that the German Army faced no irregular forces in Belgium and France during the first two and a half months of World War I.
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
towards civilians in World War I during the invasion of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as well as in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
According to the traditions of warfare in Europe, a nation's resistance was expected to end when its armies had been beaten. In Belgium, civilians continued to resist German troops and the Germans adopted harsh measures (schrecklichkeit), to try and crush this resistance. Hostages were shot, priests thought guilty of encouraging the resistance were killed and crimes committed by German soldiers, such as rape, were not seriously punished. In the Belgian city of Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, heavy artillery, including the Big Bertha
Big Bertha (Howitzer)
Big Bertha Bertha") is the name of a type of super-heavy howitzer developed by the famous armaments manufacturer Krupp in Germany on the eve of World War I...
cannon, was used against the town centre. One German officer later wrote about the town, "We shall wipe it out...Not one stone will stand upon another. We will teach them to respect Germany. For generations people will come here and see what we have done".
The harsh measures, hastily decided upon in the urgency of the German attempt to outflank Allied forces, proved to be a propaganda disaster for the Germans as their publication caused a wave of indignation which aided the Allied cause.
Analysis
The main German argument for many years was that the actions in Belgium were result of civilian resistance. According to German argument Belgians were to blame for civilian resistance which was "illegal warfare." Echoes of this can be found as late as the 1990s in such works as Thomas Nipperdey’s "Deutsche Geschichte" or in 1996 edition of BrockhausBrockhaus
Brockhaus may refer to:* Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus , German encyclopedia publisher and editor** Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, German-language encyclopedia**Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Russian-language encyclopedia...
. John Horne and Alan Kramer in the book "German Atrocities 1914 : A History of Denial" contest this. Based on several sources, they contend that the German Army faced no irregular forces in Belgium and France during the first two and a half months of World War I.