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Belgium Neutral and Loyal--The War of 1914

1916; University of Michigan Law School; Volume: 14; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1276713

1939-8557

J. S. R., Émile Waxweiler,

World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

The War of 191 4 of the most coveted posts in factories and laboratories.Then came the great financial or commer- cial firms in which a German staff managed German capital, or representatives of German houses who travelled through town and country to establish their business and strengthen their relations with their customers.Even in the case of certain enterprises which remained Belgian, either nomi- nally or actually, the participation of German financial groups introduced influences whose eflect was often very far-reaching.This invasion, it is true, gave rise to a certain amount of doubt and reserve among those who were injured in their private interests by the competition of the foreigner, but these formed only a very small minority; the public at large set a high value on the zeal and the exact and deep knowledge of the young Germans, and these foreigners were often held up as an example to the young men of the country who were too apt to take no trouble to keep the places which the invaders took from them.Every year, in the summer, more than 20,000 German families visited the watering places on the Belgian coast; Blankenberghe, Heyst, Knocke, and even the more modern resorts of Westende and Duinbergen were considered almost as German 5 Year's Day.Committees to study conditions in Germany were sent to that country; close per- sonal ties were formed.The true reason for the economic activity of the present day became obvi- ous.In Germany, just as in the United States, it was through "Organization" that capital as well as labour produced an unexpectedly pro- ductive return.German Organization and Co-ordination were found in the powerful groups of manufacturers which lined both frontiers, and were the cause of the periodical meetings of representatives of metal, glass, and chemical works as well as textile manufactories from Belgium, Germany, and other countries.The War of 191 4 against German}''; they were concerned for the most part only with the pro-Flemish movement, and the pro-Flemish movement, in spite of appearances to the contrary, was in no way helped by Germans in Belgium.Such was the state of mind that had gradually grown up among the Belgian population during the course of the last twenty-five years.What had been the attitude of Government policy during this period?King Leopold II.died at the end ot 1909.King Albert succeeded him.It is an open secret that during the latter part of the reign of Leopold II.there was no particular cordiality between the Belgian and the German Courts.The King's colo- nial policy and various other circumstances had unfavourably affected official circles in Berlin.With the commencement of the new reign there was a change.The personal relations between the royal couple and the Crown Prince were well known ; it is common knowledge that the Emperor was very favourably disposed to the marriage of Prince Albert with the Duchess Elizabeth in Bavaria, and that he had a great affection for the young Belgian King.A few months after their accession in June, 1910 , the King and Queen fertile influence has made itself felt for cen- turies on the whole of humanity.Our thinkers, our artists, our writers in the French tongue, attached though they be to the characteristics of their race, know well what they owe to France, to the lucidity of her genius, to the perfection of her taste, to that sense of the artistic which adorns everything which she produces.