in the minds of the German people. Many more unarmed citizens perished in our country behind the front line than in the countries of the Entente. The submarines only injured such individuals as were in dangerous zones; there were relatively only a few Zeppelins, whereas the blockade caused everyone to suffer without exception. Special suffering was caused to the diseased, the poor, the aged, and the children. Among these sections the war reaped a rich harvest. If we failed to conquer the enemy, or if we were not prepared to throw ourselves entirely upon his mercy, we had to face seeing the population of part of our possessions given over to starvation, and therefore a feeling was created which led us to desert all feeling of consideration and to choose any means which promised success. It was not cruelty but consideration which was regarded as a crime against the Fatherland and women and children.
It is a terrible thing, and perhaps the most tragic element of the catastrophe which has fallen upon the world, that highly cultivated nations, which stood upon a lofty moral basis, were plunged into such an attitude of mind. For this reason it is neither true nor just to condemn single nations, because every nation which took part in the war has shown brutal traits, and everyone was more or less criminal. Let us look within and recognize that much of the beast clings to man. He who resorted to the weapon of the blockade has no right to despise and to condemn the party who resorted to submarine warfare, and this argument applies vice
