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| '''''Schrecklichkeit''''' (German "terror" or "frightfulness") was a military response of the ] to civilian resistance in World War One during the invasion of ], ]<ref name="Schrek"></ref><ref>"German policy was based on Schrecklichkeit ('dreadfulness' or 'frightfulness'). During their advance through Belgium in 1914 the German Army massacred hundreds of civilians and burned down towns and villages in reprisal for acts of resistance, real or imagined, and to deter the population." ''War, Culture, and the Media''. | '''''Schrecklichkeit''''' (German "terror" or "frightfulness") was a military response{{fact}} of the ] to civilian resistance in World War One during the invasion of ], ]<ref name="Schrek"></ref><ref>"German policy was based on Schrecklichkeit ('dreadfulness' or 'frightfulness'). During their advance through Belgium in 1914 the German Army massacred hundreds of civilians and burned down towns and villages in reprisal for acts of resistance, real or imagined, and to deter the population." ''War, Culture, and the Media''. | ||
| Ian Stewart. Page 57. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1996.</ref> and ]<ref>''History of the World War''. Francis Andrew March, Richard J Beamis page 63 Plain Label Books, 1918.</ref> as well as in ]. | Ian Stewart. Page 57. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1996.</ref> and ]<ref>''History of the World War''. Francis Andrew March, Richard J Beamis page 63 Plain Label Books, 1918.</ref> as well as in ]. | ||
| According to the traditions of warfare in Europe, a nation's resistance was expected to end when its armies had been beaten in the field. In Belgium however, civilian snipers continued to harass German troops, and the Germans adopted harsh measures (''schrecklichkeit''), to try and crush this resistance quickly. 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.<ref name="Schrek" /> In the Belgian city of ], heavy artillery, including the ] 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". | According to the traditions of warfare in Europe, a nation's resistance was expected to end when its armies had been beaten in the field. In Belgium however, civilian snipers continued to harass German troops{{fact}}, and the Germans adopted harsh measures (''schrecklichkeit''), to try and crush this resistance quickly. 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.<ref name="Schrek" /> In the Belgian city of ], heavy artillery, including the ] 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. | 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. | ||
Revision as of 11:02, 21 September 2008
Schrecklichkeit (German "terror" or "frightfulness") was a military response of the German Army to civilian resistance in World War One 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 the field. In Belgium however, civilian snipers continued to harass German troops, and the Germans adopted harsh measures (schrecklichkeit), to try and crush this resistance quickly. 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 Louvain, 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.
References
- ^ Haverford University “Schrecklichkeit"
- "German policy was based on Schrecklichkeit ('dreadfulness' or 'frightfulness'). During their advance through Belgium in 1914 the German Army massacred hundreds of civilians and burned down towns and villages in reprisal for acts of resistance, real or imagined, and to deter the population." War, Culture, and the Media. Ian Stewart. Page 57. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1996.
- History of the World War. Francis Andrew March, Richard J Beamis page 63 Plain Label Books, 1918.
See also
  | This German history article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |