Germany's War Brutality
Germany Becomes the Villain of WWI
Event Information
World War One
Germany first enters this war by assuring Austria-Hungary support against Serbia.
When?
Sunday, Jul 5, 1914, 01:00 PM
Where?
Austria-Hungary
Brutal Artillery and Harmful Gas
On April 22, 1915 Germany attacked the Allied Forces with gases in Ypres. This was the first time chemicals were used against anybody, so people were unprepared and defenseless against it. Not only were people unable to prevent it, they suffered greatly from it. Mustard gas which was also a product of Germany, and blistered the skin, eyes, and lungs. By using these gasses as chemical warfare, Germany was committing a war crime. Germany also was the first to use Big Bertha against Belgium and France. They also had a blimp which was used for bombing, called the Zeppelin. Finally, Germany used torpedoes to blow up ships bringing supplies from America to Britain. These were not the only things they did, but the most extreme.
Harmful Effects of Mustard Gas
Battle of Ypres
Bandaging After Harmful Gas
Germany Forced Belgium to Join the War
During the execution of The Schlieffen Plan, Germany had to cross through Belgium who was previously neutral. The Germans demanded passage through the country and invaded Luxembourg when their demands were refused. The British government started to support Belgium which led Germany to declare war on the Belgians. While in Belgium, German soldiers killed people in cruel and unusual ways amounting to a total of 100,000 Belgian deaths. About 60,000 of these casualties were defenseless civilians.
Overall Treatment of People by Germany
Germany held over one million prisoners of war in just the one year they had so far been involved. These people often had to sleep in fields causing them to suffer from exposure and were treated as laborers, forced to build their camps. A severe typhus epidemic broke out in the camp which caused the death of thousands. This was due to the poor sanitary conditions in the camps. Many also died of cold and starvation. Many families were left without a source of income after the man of the house left for war. This left Germany with many beggars. There was also an extreme lack of production because there wasn't anybody there to produce. This caused many health problems, mainly malnutrition. School became less important leaving the children uneducated, as teachers left for war.
Greatest Villain of WWI - Jessica Lopp, Maddie Beal
Works Cited
“Germans Introduce Poison Gas.” History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-introduce-poison-gas>.
“Prisoners of War.” British Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. <http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/prisoners-of-war>.
“The ‘Rape of Belgium’ Revisited.” World War I Centenary. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://ww1centenary.oucs.ox.ac.uk/memoryofwar/the-rape-of-belgium-revisited/>.