The German White Book Explained

The German White Book (de|Das Deutsche Weißbuch) was a series of propaganda publications by the WWI German government. The full title of the 1914 version was "The German White Book about the outbreak of the German-Russian-French war" and documents German claims on the causes of the war.^[1] An authorized English translation appeared in 1914.^[2] The book contained extracts of diplomatic material intended to portray the war's cause as defensive on the part of Germany. A second White Book, "The conduct of the Belgian People's War in violation of international law" ^[3] was published on 10 May 1915 in response to the Bryce committee report into German atrocities in Belgium, though it was already in preparation eight months earlier. This book featured manipulated testimony intended to show that German actions were the result of Belgian guerilla warfare. It was not found convincing by most outside readers^{[4] [5]} though it found a second life with revisionists after the war.

Other combatants in the war published similar books: The Blue Book of Britain,^[1] The Orange Book of Russia,^[1] and the Yellow Book of France.

The 1914 book comprised two sections:

• "How Russia and Her Ruler Betrayed Germany's Confidence and Thereby Caused the European War"
• "How the German-Franco Conflict Might have been Avoided"

and an Appendix with communications between Prince Lichnowsky and Sir Edward Grey.

In a report for the parliamentary investigative committee on the question of Germany's guilt in triggering World War I, Hermann Kantorowicz examined the White Book and reported that about 75 percent of the documents presented in it were falsified, with the goal of denying Germany's responsibility for the outbreak of World War I.

See also

• Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War
• Color books
• German entry into World War I
• Propaganda in World War I
• Causes of World War I

Works cited

• Book: de . Kantorowicz . Hermann . Geiss . Imanuel . Gutachten zur Kriegsschuldfrage 1914 . Report on the War guilt question 1914 . 4 October 2020 . 1967 . Europäische Verlagsanstalt . Frankfurt . 654661194.
• Book: Kempe, Hans . de . Der Vertrag von Versailles und seine Folgen: Propagandakrieg gegen Deutschland . The Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences: Propaganda War against Germany . Vaterländischen Schriften . 7 Kriegschuldlüge 1919 [War Guilt Lies 1919] . 2008 . Reinhard Welz Vermittler Verlag e.K. . Mannheim. 978-3-938622-16-2 . 4 October 2020 .

References

Notes

Footnotes

Further reading

• Book: Beer, Max . "Das Regenbogen-Buch": deutsches Wiessbuch, österreichisch-ungarisches Rotbuch, englisches Blaubuch, französisches Gelbbuch, russisches Orangebuch, serbisches Blaubuch und belgisches Graubuch, die europäischen Kriegsverhandlungen . 4 October 2020 . 1915 . F. Wyss . Bern . 16– . 9427935 . The Rainbow Book: German White Book, Austrian-Hungarian Red Book, English Blue Book, French Yellow Book, Russian Orange Book, Serbian Blue Book and Belgian Grey Book, the European war negotiations.
• Book: Documents diplomatiques français (1871-1914) . French diplomatic documents . 3e Série, (1911-1914) . France. Ministère des affaires étrangères . Commission de publication des documents relatifs aux origines de la guerre de 1914 . Tome X, (17 mars-23 juillet 1914) . 1936 . Imprimerie Nationale . 769058353.
• Book: Documents diplomatiques français (1871-1914) . French diplomatic documents . 3e Série, (1911-1914) . France. Ministère des affaires étrangères . Commission de publication des documents relatifs aux origines de la guerre de 1914 . Tome XI, (24 juillet-4 août 1914) . 1936 . Imprimerie Nationale . 769062659.
• Book: Germany. Auswärtiges Amt . The German White-book: Authorized Translation. Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the War, with Supplements . 4 October 2020 . 1914 . Liebheit & Thiesen . 1158533.
• Encyclopedia: Colour books . Hartwig . Matthias . Bernhardt . Rudolf . Bindschedler . Rudolf . Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law . Encyclopedia of Public International Law . 5 October 2020 . 9 International Relations and Legal Cooperation in General Diplomacy and Consular Relations . 12 May 2014 . North-Holland . Amsterdam . 978-1-4832-5699-3 . 26– . 769268852.
• Horne, John, and Alan Kramer. German atrocities, 1914: a history of denial (Yale University Press, 2001).
• Huebsch, B.W. The German Army in Belgium: The White Book of May 1915 (1921).
• Foreign Affairs . Schmitt . Bernadotte E. . France and the Outbreak of the World War . dead . . 1 April 1937 . 26 . 3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181125112233/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/france/1937-04-01/france-and-outbreak-world-war . 25 November 2018 . 5 October 2020.

External links

• Official translation in English

Notes and References

1. Web site: German White Book. https://web.archive.org/web/20040722073603/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/document_packs/p_whitebook.htm . July 22, 2004 . dead . The National Archives. United Kingdom. 23 January 2017.
2. Book: Germany. Auswärtiges Amt . The German White-book: Authorized Translation. Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the War, with Supplements . 4 October 2020 . 1914 . Liebheit & Thiesen . 1158533.
3. Book: Huebsch, B.W. . The German Army in Belgium: The White Book of May 1915. 1921.
4. Book: de Zayas, Alfred . 1989 . The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939–1945. 0-8032-9908-7. 5-6.
5. Book: Lipkes, Jeff. Rehearsals: The German Army in Belgium, August 1914. 2007. 581-583.