Post by lordroel on Jul 19, 2017 17:14:20 GMT
Map: Germany demands (British WWI propaganda poster)
This undated map was printed in London in 1916 or 1917. A pure propaganda effort, it was apparently translated into the languages of neutral nations to show how they were threatened by the Hun grand plans. This is the Norwegian edition.
The accompanying text consists of 36 quotes, outlining German demands for global hegemony. Typical for propaganda, these “demands” do not directly mirror German foreign policy. Rather, they are cherry-picked quotes by individual agitators, presented here as the collective wishes of “the Germans” – be they the government, the populace or vocal individuals. Most claims are obvious pipe dreams. Some are quite outrageous, bordering on deranged (2, 5, 8, 24); others make the list only by mentioning some foreign country in passing (6, 12, 15). And some are just weird (19, 21, 23, 26).
Still, these sentiments sum up a current that was truly felt with a lot of people. And which lived on, even stronger, after the Treaty of Versailles. Today many of these quotes eerily foreshadow what would eventually become official policy during the next war. (3, 12, 34.)
Translation:
1- Holland, its royal family, its european posessions and its colonies in South America, The Indian Islands [Indonesia] and Australasia must become Germany’s allies.
2- If Angola and Congo could be added to the German African posessions, this would form the cornerstone of a worldwide colonial empire. To connect it to Cameroon, French Congo could also be added: 7,500,000 square [German] miles. This would be a start, whereby the German nation could finally achieve its rightful position.
3- Germany will, through economic exploitation and protection, reclaim Turkey’s Asian lands for Culture. This would be for the good of both ourselves and the natives.
4- To preserve the concept of balance, Germany will have to conquer the largest possible tracts of land in the basin between the two main Chinese rivers.
5- In Central America, Germany has lost its chance to conquer Cuba.
6- It would be a blessing to the people of the republics of South America, were they freed from their Portuguese-Spanish heritage and assumed German overlords.
7- Germany must conquer Central Africa, from the mouth of River Orange to Lake Chad and from the Cameroon Mountains to the mouth of Rovnna; it must conquer Asia Minor and the Malay Islands, and finally the southern half of South America.
8- Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia could become to us what Egypt is to the British: Not only an important market for our industrial products, but also a starting point for expantion towards East Asia and Africa. (Tannenberg in “Gross Deutschland”)
9- If it proves necessary to expand our territory and give our people room for development, we will take as much land as we need. We will also go whereever is needed for strategic reasons, to display our unrelentless strength. If we need to, we will establish naval bases at Dover, Malta and the Suez. (Werner Sombart)
10- We must create a Central Europe that can guarantee peace for the continent, from the moment we have driven the Russians from the Black Sea and the Slavs from the South. We must conquer large areas east of our current borders for German settlement. (Paul de Lagarde, in “Deutsche Schriften”)
11- Denmark, dominating the entrance to the Baltic Sea, is of the utmost military importance to us. (General von Bernhard in “Deutschland und der nächste Krieg”.)
12- Our Central Europe will expand and protect the Nordic Countries with naval power, and conquer Southern Europe with ground forces; and we will unite East and West into a single organism, thanks to the law of geography. (Ernst Jäckh in “Deutsche Politik”, 16 June 1916.)
13- It is important to keep open the passage through Øresund and the Great Belt. Dominating these straits would not only secure the Baltic Sea, but also allow us to counterattack the British blockade. (General von Bernhardi in “Deutschland und der nächste Krieg”.)
14- Pan-Germanism also absorbs Scandinavia. (Ernst Hasse in “Zwanzig Jahre Alldeutscher Arbeit”.)
15- The future territory of German expantion must strech from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, from the Netherlands (including Luxembourg and Switzerland) to the Islands of Donau and the Balkans, and would encompass Asia Minor all the way to the Persian Gulf. (Fritz Bley, cited by Andler in “Pangermanism”.)
16- We will annex Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Livonia, Trieste, Venice and northern France from Somme to Loire. This is not a madman’s ramblings, neither is it a utopia. We already have the means to fulfill it. (General Bronsart von Schnellendorf, former Minister of War.)
17- Lax states like Argentina and Brazil, and all these ragtag South American states should – by force or by other means – be made to listen to reason. (Friedrich Lange in “Reines Deutschtum”.)
18- If Belgium joins the war, it will be erased from the map. (Rudolph Theuden in “Wass muss uns der Krieg bringen”.)
19- Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy form a grand empire with would benefit from accession by Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania. (Paul Dehn in “Deutschland und der Orient.)
20- It is sad to consider that neither Paraguay nor Argentina currently belongs to Germany … only in part. (Professor Johannes Unold, Munich.)
21- The Near East is the only part of Earth that has not yet come under control by the truly ambitious nations. And still, this territory is most bountiful. If Germany does not let the chance slip, but seizes these lands before the Cossacks take them, we will have secured the lion’s share of the division of the globe. If some hundred thousand armed colonists were to cultivate these plentiful lands, the German Emperor would become the guardian of peace for all of Asia. (A. Sprenger in "Babylonien, das reichste Land in the Vorzeit und das lohnendste Kolonisationsfeld für die Gegenwart”.)
22- All of Morocco on German hands, German cannons on the roads to Egypt and India, German troops on the borders of Algeria: This would be a goal worthy of great sacrifices. (Maximillian Harden in “Zukunft” 29 July, 1914.)
23- Now we know why war is being waged. It is to hoist the naval flag of the Empire on the canal which opens the way to the ocean. We will stay in the Belgian Netherlands, and add to it the coast toward Calais. From Calais to Antwerp, Fladers, Limburg, Brabant until the French fortifications, the southern triangle of Alsace-Lorraine and Luxemourg. We need land for our industries and a way to the oceans. There has never been a more just war. It will and it shall conquer new provinces for the majesty of the noble German spirit. (Maximilian Harden in “Zukunft” December, 1914.)
24- If Central Europe will not develop, we must take Central Africa. On the other side, a Central Europe without Central Africa cannot be imagined for a moment. (Dr. Paul Leutwein, son of a former governor of German South-West Africa, in “Europäische-Staats-und-Wirtschafts-Zeitung”.)
25- Gemany’s demands narrow down to this: it must keep its position at the entrance to the Northern Sea (Antwerp) and it must conquer the Suez canal. (Vice Admiral Hermann Kirchhof in “Europäische-Staats-und-Wirtschafts-Zeitung”.)
26- To claim our place among the leading nations, we must find a way. This way has been found during the run of this war. It is called community. A political, national, military and economical community. The core of this community is Germany and Austro-Hungary. Natually, Poland also belongs to this community. The Near East is also included, to provide us with food and resources. A bridge is needed to link Central Europe and the Near East. This bridge is Bulgaria. (Paul Rohrbach (the German Department of Colonies), 19 May 1916.)
27- A victorious war would give us Belgian Congo and French Congo. And if Portugal continues its animosity it would also give us their colonies on the Eastern and Western shores of Africa. That will give us a colonial empire which our fathers (who smiled dryly at our attempts at colonisation) would never have dreamt of. But most importantly, we would end the British attempts to rule from the Cape to Cairo. Between Egypt and South Africa there would be a belt of German colonies. And who can say what will happen, when one day the poetic words come true: One day Germanism will save the world. (“Kreuzzug des Ostheeres”, an official magazine published on the Emperor’s birthday, 27 January, 1915.)
28- We must subdue Belgium. The masses agree on this, they consider it a case of honour to keep Belgium.
29- Our friends Austro-Hungary and Turkey will open the Balkans and Asia Minor to us, and so we will secure the Persian Gulf against Russia’s and England’s demands.
30- We need the freedom of the seas. To reach this goal, we must take Egypt. (From “The Manifest of German Professors.)
31- The necessity of strengthening our nation’s agriculture demands a considerable extention of the Empire and Prussia to the east, by annexation of the Baltic Sea provinces and the territories south of it.
32- The security of the German Empire demands a total annexation of Luxemboug and Lorraine, including the fortifications of Longwy. (From the Manifest of the Six Industrial Associations.)
33- We need the freedom of the seas. To reach this goal, we must take Egypt. (From "The Manifest of German Professors.)
34- The necessity of strengthening our nation’s agriculture demands a considerable extention of the Empire and Prussia to the east, by annexation of the Baltic Sea provinces and the territories south of it.
35- The security of the German Empire demands a total annexation of Luxemboug and Lorraine, including the fortifications of Longwy. (From the Manifest of the Six Industrial Associations.)
This undated map was printed in London in 1916 or 1917. A pure propaganda effort, it was apparently translated into the languages of neutral nations to show how they were threatened by the Hun grand plans. This is the Norwegian edition.
The accompanying text consists of 36 quotes, outlining German demands for global hegemony. Typical for propaganda, these “demands” do not directly mirror German foreign policy. Rather, they are cherry-picked quotes by individual agitators, presented here as the collective wishes of “the Germans” – be they the government, the populace or vocal individuals. Most claims are obvious pipe dreams. Some are quite outrageous, bordering on deranged (2, 5, 8, 24); others make the list only by mentioning some foreign country in passing (6, 12, 15). And some are just weird (19, 21, 23, 26).
Still, these sentiments sum up a current that was truly felt with a lot of people. And which lived on, even stronger, after the Treaty of Versailles. Today many of these quotes eerily foreshadow what would eventually become official policy during the next war. (3, 12, 34.)
Translation:
1- Holland, its royal family, its european posessions and its colonies in South America, The Indian Islands [Indonesia] and Australasia must become Germany’s allies.
2- If Angola and Congo could be added to the German African posessions, this would form the cornerstone of a worldwide colonial empire. To connect it to Cameroon, French Congo could also be added: 7,500,000 square [German] miles. This would be a start, whereby the German nation could finally achieve its rightful position.
3- Germany will, through economic exploitation and protection, reclaim Turkey’s Asian lands for Culture. This would be for the good of both ourselves and the natives.
4- To preserve the concept of balance, Germany will have to conquer the largest possible tracts of land in the basin between the two main Chinese rivers.
5- In Central America, Germany has lost its chance to conquer Cuba.
6- It would be a blessing to the people of the republics of South America, were they freed from their Portuguese-Spanish heritage and assumed German overlords.
7- Germany must conquer Central Africa, from the mouth of River Orange to Lake Chad and from the Cameroon Mountains to the mouth of Rovnna; it must conquer Asia Minor and the Malay Islands, and finally the southern half of South America.
8- Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia could become to us what Egypt is to the British: Not only an important market for our industrial products, but also a starting point for expantion towards East Asia and Africa. (Tannenberg in “Gross Deutschland”)
9- If it proves necessary to expand our territory and give our people room for development, we will take as much land as we need. We will also go whereever is needed for strategic reasons, to display our unrelentless strength. If we need to, we will establish naval bases at Dover, Malta and the Suez. (Werner Sombart)
10- We must create a Central Europe that can guarantee peace for the continent, from the moment we have driven the Russians from the Black Sea and the Slavs from the South. We must conquer large areas east of our current borders for German settlement. (Paul de Lagarde, in “Deutsche Schriften”)
11- Denmark, dominating the entrance to the Baltic Sea, is of the utmost military importance to us. (General von Bernhard in “Deutschland und der nächste Krieg”.)
12- Our Central Europe will expand and protect the Nordic Countries with naval power, and conquer Southern Europe with ground forces; and we will unite East and West into a single organism, thanks to the law of geography. (Ernst Jäckh in “Deutsche Politik”, 16 June 1916.)
13- It is important to keep open the passage through Øresund and the Great Belt. Dominating these straits would not only secure the Baltic Sea, but also allow us to counterattack the British blockade. (General von Bernhardi in “Deutschland und der nächste Krieg”.)
14- Pan-Germanism also absorbs Scandinavia. (Ernst Hasse in “Zwanzig Jahre Alldeutscher Arbeit”.)
15- The future territory of German expantion must strech from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, from the Netherlands (including Luxembourg and Switzerland) to the Islands of Donau and the Balkans, and would encompass Asia Minor all the way to the Persian Gulf. (Fritz Bley, cited by Andler in “Pangermanism”.)
16- We will annex Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Livonia, Trieste, Venice and northern France from Somme to Loire. This is not a madman’s ramblings, neither is it a utopia. We already have the means to fulfill it. (General Bronsart von Schnellendorf, former Minister of War.)
17- Lax states like Argentina and Brazil, and all these ragtag South American states should – by force or by other means – be made to listen to reason. (Friedrich Lange in “Reines Deutschtum”.)
18- If Belgium joins the war, it will be erased from the map. (Rudolph Theuden in “Wass muss uns der Krieg bringen”.)
19- Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy form a grand empire with would benefit from accession by Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania. (Paul Dehn in “Deutschland und der Orient.)
20- It is sad to consider that neither Paraguay nor Argentina currently belongs to Germany … only in part. (Professor Johannes Unold, Munich.)
21- The Near East is the only part of Earth that has not yet come under control by the truly ambitious nations. And still, this territory is most bountiful. If Germany does not let the chance slip, but seizes these lands before the Cossacks take them, we will have secured the lion’s share of the division of the globe. If some hundred thousand armed colonists were to cultivate these plentiful lands, the German Emperor would become the guardian of peace for all of Asia. (A. Sprenger in "Babylonien, das reichste Land in the Vorzeit und das lohnendste Kolonisationsfeld für die Gegenwart”.)
22- All of Morocco on German hands, German cannons on the roads to Egypt and India, German troops on the borders of Algeria: This would be a goal worthy of great sacrifices. (Maximillian Harden in “Zukunft” 29 July, 1914.)
23- Now we know why war is being waged. It is to hoist the naval flag of the Empire on the canal which opens the way to the ocean. We will stay in the Belgian Netherlands, and add to it the coast toward Calais. From Calais to Antwerp, Fladers, Limburg, Brabant until the French fortifications, the southern triangle of Alsace-Lorraine and Luxemourg. We need land for our industries and a way to the oceans. There has never been a more just war. It will and it shall conquer new provinces for the majesty of the noble German spirit. (Maximilian Harden in “Zukunft” December, 1914.)
24- If Central Europe will not develop, we must take Central Africa. On the other side, a Central Europe without Central Africa cannot be imagined for a moment. (Dr. Paul Leutwein, son of a former governor of German South-West Africa, in “Europäische-Staats-und-Wirtschafts-Zeitung”.)
25- Gemany’s demands narrow down to this: it must keep its position at the entrance to the Northern Sea (Antwerp) and it must conquer the Suez canal. (Vice Admiral Hermann Kirchhof in “Europäische-Staats-und-Wirtschafts-Zeitung”.)
26- To claim our place among the leading nations, we must find a way. This way has been found during the run of this war. It is called community. A political, national, military and economical community. The core of this community is Germany and Austro-Hungary. Natually, Poland also belongs to this community. The Near East is also included, to provide us with food and resources. A bridge is needed to link Central Europe and the Near East. This bridge is Bulgaria. (Paul Rohrbach (the German Department of Colonies), 19 May 1916.)
27- A victorious war would give us Belgian Congo and French Congo. And if Portugal continues its animosity it would also give us their colonies on the Eastern and Western shores of Africa. That will give us a colonial empire which our fathers (who smiled dryly at our attempts at colonisation) would never have dreamt of. But most importantly, we would end the British attempts to rule from the Cape to Cairo. Between Egypt and South Africa there would be a belt of German colonies. And who can say what will happen, when one day the poetic words come true: One day Germanism will save the world. (“Kreuzzug des Ostheeres”, an official magazine published on the Emperor’s birthday, 27 January, 1915.)
28- We must subdue Belgium. The masses agree on this, they consider it a case of honour to keep Belgium.
29- Our friends Austro-Hungary and Turkey will open the Balkans and Asia Minor to us, and so we will secure the Persian Gulf against Russia’s and England’s demands.
30- We need the freedom of the seas. To reach this goal, we must take Egypt. (From “The Manifest of German Professors.)
31- The necessity of strengthening our nation’s agriculture demands a considerable extention of the Empire and Prussia to the east, by annexation of the Baltic Sea provinces and the territories south of it.
32- The security of the German Empire demands a total annexation of Luxemboug and Lorraine, including the fortifications of Longwy. (From the Manifest of the Six Industrial Associations.)
33- We need the freedom of the seas. To reach this goal, we must take Egypt. (From "The Manifest of German Professors.)
34- The necessity of strengthening our nation’s agriculture demands a considerable extention of the Empire and Prussia to the east, by annexation of the Baltic Sea provinces and the territories south of it.
35- The security of the German Empire demands a total annexation of Luxemboug and Lorraine, including the fortifications of Longwy. (From the Manifest of the Six Industrial Associations.)
