It is with some satisfaction that the Editor has been able to make a fresh beginning in these New Volumes toward a revival of this cooperation, by including German, Austrian and Hungarian contributors, in addition to those from the countries allied or associated with the British Empire and the United States during the war. In the material structure of the New Volumes, and their sub-editing, the same note of Anglo-American solidarity is struck as in the Eleventh Edition; and this is again emphasized by their being dedicated jointly to the two Heads of the English-speaking peoples, by express permission of King George V. and President Harding. Nowhere except in Great Britain and the United States would it have been possible, under the world-conditions of 1921, to find the standard of poise and perspective required in their construction. Any other assumption, throughout these New Volumes, than that the terrible war of 1914–9 was won by those who had right and justice for their cause, would manifestly be impossible in the Encyclopædia Britannica; and historical justification for this belief is indeed given in the proper articles. On the other hand, many of the more violent criticisms of German action current during the war are now shown, in the Anglo-Saxon spirit of fair play, to have been exaggerated for “propaganda” purposes. Opinion on the incidents and issues of the war-period will probably continue to be revised by succeeding generations over and over again, as the weight of evidence, so much of it still undisclosed, increases; but a start is made here toward the acceptance of such conclusions as already represent a judicial view, expressed without favour or malice, free from any conscious bias, and backed by a presentation of the relevant facts on authority that is either admittedly unimpeachable or so far unchallenged. It was an integral part of the editorial policy to put aside any war-prejudice in inviting the assistance of contributors from among the nations which had fought against the Allies, so far as might be practicable without the intrusion of “propaganda,” especially for narratives of the domestic history of the enemy countries, about which so little information had penetrated outside during the war-period. The list of writers of ex-enemy nationality, and of the articles contributed by them, shows that a considerable section of the contents, including the military history of the war itself (to which British, American, French, Italian, Belgian, German, and Austro-Hungarian soldiers have contributed), is derived from such sources; and this fact alone gives these Volumes a special interest. Consistently with this policy, the Editor has encountered only very rare disappointments in carrying out his plan of obtaining the best contributors available from all foreign countries, including Germany and Austria, in order to provide the most authoritative information on their own affairs according to their own respective standpoints. In this connexion it will be noted that, for the first time in the history of the Britannica, the article on Japan is contributed by a Japanese. The Editor is glad here to acknowledge the help of the distinguished historian, Prof. A. F. Pribram, of Vienna, in organizing, with the collaboration of Dr. Redlich, the eminent Austrian jurist, the whole series of articles dealing with Austro-Hungarian subjects. He had also the valuable assistance of Mr. George Saunders, formerly The Times correspondent in Berlin, in obtaining the coöperation of German contributors and in supervising the translation and editing of their articles; while Mr. George Adam, The Times correspondent in Paris during 1913–9, performed the same function in respect of France. In the case of Russia, the Editor was fortunately able to rely on the great authority of Sir Paul Vinogradoff. The Editor’s thanks for useful advice
