[From an article in the Revue de Paris for January, 1915.]
I purpose to show that the German armies cannot altogether escape the
reproach of violating on occasion the law of nations. I shall establish
this by French methods, through the use of documents of sound value.
My texts are genuine, well vouched for, and I have taken pains to
subject them to a critical examination, as scrupulous and minute as
heretofore in times of peace I expended in weighing the authority of
some ancient chronicle, or in scrutinizing the authenticity of some
charter. Perhaps this care was born of professional habit, or due to a
natural craving for exactness, but in either case it is a voucher for
the work, which is meant for all comers--for the passer-by, for the
indifferent, and even for my country's foes. My wish is that the veriest
looker-on, idly turning these pages, may be confronted only with
documents whose authenticity will be self-evident, if he is willing to
see, and whose ignominious tale will reach his heart, if ye have a
heart.
I have, moreover, sought for documents not only incontestably genuine
but of unquestioned authority. Accusation is easy, while proof is
difficult. No belligerent has ever been troubled to find mountains of
testimony, true or false, against his enemy; but were this evidence
gathered by the most exalted magistrates, under the most solemn judicial
sanction, it must unfortunately long remain useless; until the accused
has full opportunity to controvert it, every one is free to treat it as
false or, at the best, as controvertible. For this reason I shall avoid
resting the case upon Belgian or French statements, though I know them
to be true. My purpose has been to bring forward such testimony that no
man living, be he even a German, should be privileged to cast a doubt
upon it. German crimes will be established by German documents.
These will be taken mainly from the "War Diaries," which Article 75 of
the German Army Regulations for Field Service enjoins upon soldiers to
keep during their marches, and which were seized by the French upon the
persons of their prisoners, as military papers, as authorized by Article
4 of The Hague Convention of 1907. The number of these is daily
increasing, and I trust that some day, for the edification of all, the
complete collection may be lodged in the Germanic section of manuscripts
in the National Library. Meantime, the Marquis de Dampierre,
paleographer and archivist, graduate of the Ecole des Chartes, is
preparing, and will shortly publish, a volume in which the greater part
of these notebooks will be minutely described, transcribed, and
clarified. Personally, I have only examined about forty of them, but
they will answer my purpose, by presenting relevant extracts, furnishing
the name, rank, and regiment of the author, with indications of time and
place. Classification is difficult, mainly because ten lines of a single
text not infrequently furnish evidence of a variety of offenses. I must
take them almost at random, grouping them under such analogies or
association of ideas or images as they may offer.