Lieut. Jack Smyth has sent us an interesting leaflet he came across in the Front Line. It is a translation of an article supposedly written by a Lieut. Colonel Kaden in the March 3rd edition of the  ‘Lille War Gazette’, a German weekly newspaper, which came into English hands when found on a German prisoner captured in recent fighting.

It is printed under the title, ‘A Nation Gone Mad’ and marks the birthday a hundred years ago, on  April 1st, of the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who famously created modern Germany out of ‘blood and iron.’

“Let every German, man or woman, young or old, find in his heart a Bismarck Column, a pillar of fire now in these days of storm and stress. Let this fire, enkindled in every German breast, be a fire of joy, of holiest enthusiasm. But let it be terrible, unfettered, let it carry horror and destruction! Call it HATE! Let no one come to you with ‘Love thine enemy!’ We all have but one enemy, England! How long have we wooed her almost to the point of our own self-abasement. She would have none of us, so leave to her the apostles of peace, the ‘No War’ disciples. The time has passed when we would do homage to everything English – our cousins that were!

‘God punish England!’ ‘May He punish her!’ This is the greeting that now passes when Germans meet. The fire of this righteous hate is all aglow!

You men of Germany, from East and West, forced to shed your blood in the defence of your homeland through England’s infamous envy and hatred of Germany’s progress, feed the flame that burns in your souls. We have but one war-cry ‘GOD PUNISH ENGLAND!’ Hiss this to one another in the trenches, in the charge, hiss as it were the sound of licking flames.

Behold in every dead comrade a sacrifice forced from you by this accursed people. Take ten-fold vengeance for each hero’s death!

You German people at home, feed this fire of hate!

You mothers, engrave this in the heart of the babe at your breast!

You thousands of teachers, to whom millions of German children look up with eyes and hearts, teach HATE! Unquenchable HATE!…

What CARTHAGE was to ROME, ENGLAND is to GERMANY. For ROME as for us it is a question of ‘to be or not to be.’ May our people find a faithful mentor like Cato. His ‘ceterum censeo, Carthaginem esse delendam’ for us Germans means – ‘GOD PUNISH ENGLAND’”

The translator adds, “It is of interest as showing the hatred of Great Britain which is being sedulously cultivated in Germany. This hatred is being encouraged and fostered officially by every possible means.”