Think As Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: IDENTIfY SUPPORTING EvIDENCE

In 1914, on hearing of German atrocities toward Belgians, the British government undertook its own investigation headed up by Viscount James Bryce, a widely respected scholar, a former ambassador to the United States, and a friend of President Wilson. His committee reviewed the depositions of 1200 witnesses, though they did not do the actual interviewing of the witnesses. Nor were the depositions given under oath. In order to make the report as credible as possible, the committee decided to leave out the most sensational accounts. The final report used 500 of the 1200 reports. It was translated into 30 languages and was reprinted in the New York Times. Even though the most violent and lurid reports were eliminated, the report still detailed many gruesome acts and presented the following conclusions:

“It is proved:

(i) That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate and

the civil population,

systematically organized massacres of

accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages.

(ii) That in the conduct of the war generally innocent civilians, both

men and women, were murdered in large numbers, women violated,

and children murdered.

(iii) That looting, house burning, and the wanton destruction of

property were ordered and countenanced by the officers of the

German Army, that elaborate provisions had been made for systematic

incendiarism at the very outbreak of the war, and that the burnings

and destruction were frequent where no military necessity could be

alleged, being indeed part of a system of general terrorization.

(iv) That the rules and usages of war were frequently broken,

particularly by the using of civilians, including women and children,

as a shield for advancing forces exposed to fire, to a less degree by

killing the wounded and prisoners, and in the frequent abuse of the

Red Cross and the White Flag.

Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the Committee

conceive that they would be doing less than their duty if they failed

to record them as fully established by the evidence. Murder, lust, and

pillage prevailed over many parts of Belgium on a scale unparalleled

in any war between civilised nations during the last three centuries.

Our function is ended when we have stated what the evidence

establishes, but we may be permitted to express our belief that these

disclosures will not have been made in vain if they touch and rouse

the conscience of mankind, and we venture to hope that as soon as the

present war is over, the nations of the world in council will consider

what means can be provided and sanctions devised to prevent the

recurrence of such horrors as our generation is now witnessing.”

Answer the following questions about the evidence in the Bryce report.

1. On what evidence was the Bryce report based?

2. The report states that the accounts were “fully established by the evidence.” Do you agree? Why or why not?

3. What effect, if any, does the final paragraph have on the report’s credibility?

4. Research the impact of the report and the views of historians on its accuracy. What is their overall conclusion?