The author, Danish theology professor J.P. Bang (1865-1936), was highly critical of Germany. He based his criticisms on not only military and political actions, but also on the words of German cultural figures like poets, religious leaders, and professors. The "Hurrah and Hallelujah" part of the book title came from a German collection of poems about the war.
Bang's criticisms were also based on his Danish identity. Much of Denmark is a peninsula that extends from the northern part of Germany. Before World War I, the histories of the two countries included struggles over territory. Denmark's worst fears about Germany later came true in World War II when the Nazis occupied Denmark for about five years.
Also, the people of Denmark identified strongly with the sufferings of the people in small countries who had been overrun by the Germans in World War I, including Belgium and Luxembourg.
Hurrah and Hallelujah tried to make the case that Germany was arrogant in its view of its place in the world. Many people quoted by Bang felt that Germany had made special contributions to the world, which gave it the right to pass judgment on other countries.
Germany seemed to have a special hatred for England as the cause of the war. Bang quoted from many poets who were intensely loyal to Germany and very critical of England.
The foremost place, however, in German war-poetry, at least as far as publicity is concerned, is due to the notorious Hymn of Hate against England which, at the beginning of the war, was written by Ernst Lissauer, and was distributed by the Crown Prince of Bavaria to his army. It had an immense success, and actually became a kind of national song, being sung and played everywhere. The following quotation will suffice to give an idea of its style:
"We will gather together to judgment, and take an oath face to face, an oath for our children and children's children; hear the word and repeat it, let it roll through the whole of Germany: we will not desist from our hatred: we all have but one hatred, we love together, we hate together, we all have but one enemy, England."Bang quoted religious leaders who sounded like they saw a divine role in Germany's attempts to defend itself and lead the world. These religious leaders talk about the German form of Christianity as the highest form of Christianity. One German writer compared Germany to Israel, saying that Germany had been chosen to deliver a divine message to the world.
 |
| Rev. Fr. Jakob Weis, Zeibrücken, 1916 |
Although the book is very critical of Germany, it includes many quotations from German cultural figures about the German point of view about the war. It can be seen as a valuable companion to the book The War and America (1914), by Hugo Münsterberg.
In the excerpted quotes, Germany's enemies are contrasted with Germany in many ways—racially, religiously, culturally. One German writer is quoted as saying:
"Only a moral and pious people can be the heart of the world. Never will a nation in which the sense of duty is lacking, in which fraud and theft are the order of the day (as in Russia), or a nation in which frivolity and lack of earnestness and depth of character prevail (as in France), or a nation in which greed of money and the shopkeeper spirit suppress all nobler motives of action (as in England), or a nation in which treachery and cowardice permeate politics (as in Japan), or a nation in which unbridled passion and want of reverence agitate the people (as in Serbia)—never will such a nation be able to elevate mankind by inward strength and depth of soul."Many German professors were quoted by Bangs. Their general view was that Germany had the war forced on it, and Germany's superior culture (always referred to as Kultur) would help it win and achieve world power.
Bang wrote that Germany's success in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 helped give it confidence in World War I. The years after the Franco-Prussian war were seen by many people as a high point in German history and culture. Since that time, there had been a gradual decline in the health and strength of society. This decline had only been halted by the unified effort to fight Germany's enemies in World War I.
The irony of Germany fighting with Turkey is discussed. Many of the writers referenced by Bang said that Germany was driven by Christian principles in World War I. How then did Germany end up uniting in battle with a Muslim country, Turkey?
The author asserted his Danish identity in the closing pages of the book. The people of Denmark felt threatened by Germany's desire to take over smaller states, and by the superior attitude of the German Lutheran church towards the Lutheran church in other countries.
Hurrah and Hallelujah was published in England in late 1916. It was published in the United States with a special introduction by Canadian novelist Ralph Connor around March 22, 1917, when it was mentioned in the "New Books Today" column of The Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle. Front page headlines in that day's Daily Eagle included:
- GERMAN RETREAT HALTS; OPEN BATTLE IN WEST NEAR / German and Entente Cavalry Engaged. French Drive Wedge in German Line—Hindenburg Planning for Open Field Action, Which May Be Decisive.
- WILSON TO FLAY GERMANY / Mr. Wilson Prepared to Go to the Limit in Framing His Indictment Against Teuton Attacks on American Rights—Official Washington Accepts War as Inevitable.
Online versions:
Newspaper information from Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/)
Photograph by Michael Buchberger (Im Purpur bei den Feldgrauen) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
No comments:
Post a Comment