Translation:An das deutsche Volk!
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To the German people!
Since the Founding of the Empire it has been my and my ancestors effort for 43 years, to keep the peace in the world and to support our powerful development. But the enemies are jealous of the success of our work.
We have so far endured all the open and secret enmity from East and West, from across the sea, in the awareness of our responsibility and strength. But now they want to humiliate us. They demand, that we watch with crossed arms, how our enemies gear up for a treacherous raid, they don’t want to tolerate, that we are standing in determined loyalty to our ally, which fights about it’s reputation as a great power and with it’s humiliation also our power and honour is lost.
So now the sword must decide. In the midst of peace, the enemy attacks. So, rise up! To arms! Any dithering, any faltering would be treason to the Fatherland.
About being or not-being of our empire it’s about, that our fathers founded themselves. About being or not-being of German power and German essence.
We will defend ourselves until to the last breath of man and horse. And we will survive the battle even against a world of enemies. Germany was never defeated, when it was united.
Forward with God, who will be with us, how he was with the fathers!
Berlin, 6th August 1914.
Wilhelm.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1941, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 82 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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