Diary of Annie's War (8 page)

I went this morning to help with the hot milk for the poor Catholic children at the folk school or board school. We gave about one and a half gills of hot milk to each child and they brought their own bread and lard. I was very astonished to find the one hundred and sixty children were all boys. Of course I asked where the girls were. The answer was: ‘We must look after our boys first. They are our future soldiers'.

I asked: “And aren't your girls the future mothers of soldiers?”

But there was no reply. If that is not enough to breed a German Mrs. Pankhurst I don't know what is. Being in a strange land I did not say much. I felt very indignant for I think the idea is to breed selfishness in the men. The German man is selfish enough.

Today I went to Woltershausen with Herr Mumers. I only wanted seven hours leave from Hildesheim and had to wait six days to obtain it. We got our papers all right and the day was beautiful. I could not say how very beautiful the place was. Herr Mumers says it is much more beautiful in the winter than the summer. Everything was covered with three or four inches of snow and it really was a picture. Our house looked lovely. All the trees round it were thickly covered with snow and the bushes were quite as big again. The pond was frozen over and it looked so very nice. We had a treat of a day.

Steinoff tells us that he has received notice to kill or sell so many pigs. He has to give up to the government all food stuffs – grain, potatoes, straw, hay – being only allowed to keep fifty pounds of wheat for each person in the household and food for a few pigs. The others must be killed to save food. Also no bakehouse dare bake white bread of any kind and no household must do ditto. Everyone is liable to a severe penalty. So much barley or potato must be put with it. The soldiers' bread is all rye flour.

The Germans ridicule the idea that Germany lost The
Blucher
and England no boat. They say they distinctly saw one go down but could not see her name. They say that the reports extracted from the English papers say that the English did not lose any. The German papers question it.

It is the Kaiser's birthday and there is great rejoicing here. All the flags are out in all the churches and it is a general holiday. The poor boys only got their milk.

We hear of a German victory over the French with a number of French and English killed and wounded.

I was speaking this morning to a schoolmaster. His son is at home for a few days, not being well. He was by Arras and has told his father that the orders these past few weeks were to show no mercy to the English. This was because the latter on one occasion had shown the white flag. When the Germans went towards them they fired on them. So since then no mercy is to be shown to the English.

We have, every Sunday, lectures on the English and it closes with songs and recitations on the hatred of England. I remarked last week that they should change The Lord's Prayer at once and pray ‘Forgive us our trespasses but punish all who trespass against us'. The hatred is unbelievable. I shall be afraid to be here if such a thing happened that England won a battle.

They say here that it was a mere nothing on Sunday last but the quotations from English papers read different. We cannot get to know the name of the English ship that is supposed to be lost.

We read today that the boat lost last Sunday was the
Lion
. They do not say how many lives were lost. They also remark that two torpedo boats of the English were sunk.

There is announced today the loss of an airship (Zeppelin) in Russia. The men were saved but imprisoned. We also hear that the Germans have made headway in France.

I went to see Grebe the agent for the estate today. He says the war will last another twelve months.

No news today, only that of the seven flyers (French) three were shot down by the Germans and a famous flyer was killed.

I went a little way on my own today in the forest for it was so very beautiful. We have had this frost nearly a week and everything is lightly covered with snow. They are tobogganing on Galgen (gallows) Hill and it is a lovely sight. The trees have a covering of ice on all the branches and just look like huge glass chandeliers with the sun shining through them. Some of the icicles hanging down from the trees are half a yard long. When a slight wind comes they ring as they touch one another and then fall to the ground. I have never seen anything like it. Not even on the stage.

I stood half an hour watching the young people with their sledges. The view was magnificent off the hill and for miles and miles nothing but snow. Then I saw a long black line just like a snake. It was the soldiers going to the shooting range and the others coming back. In the distance there was the constant shooting where the men were learning to shoot human beings. Perhaps some of them, before two days older, would be dead themselves. To my back was the lovely forest and over all there was such a beautiful blue sky and brilliant sunshine. One could not believe that a war was raging and that a thousand of these soldiers are going away tonight.

We hear today of ten thousand Russians being captured. It's a very large amount. This week they have given the amount of prisoners they have in Germany. It is enormous.

Russian officers 3,575 – men 506,294 – Generals 18.

French officers 3,459 – men 215,905 – Generals 7.

Belgian officers 612 - men 36, 825.

English officers 492 - men 18,824.

Rye bread has risen in price and is two pence a pound. When one remembers it is not as nutritious as white bread you think it dear. White bread is sold by the small dinner cob, not by weight at all.

Steinoff writes me he has sold the fowls. He could not buy food for them.

I hear this morning that the German undersea boats have sunk three steamers. Two near Liverpool and one near Le Havre but the men were saved. They were trading vessels taking food into England.

Went to the bank and sent the money to Königswinter and to Lamspringe but find I have other rates to attend to.

I hear that Herr Allorn who was in Ruhleben with Arthur has gone to the mad house. He first went to Hannover to go in the army but his complaint grew much worse and he is now put away. I thought him queer when I last visited him.

There is nothing to report. The Kaiser has gone to Poland. The Russians have been making headway. The Germans are glad one of the boats sank because it had so much food on it and because it was going to Belgium.

I went out to tea today and we talked of the shortage of supplies. They fear a famine and we are told that there will be a shortage of meat after this week.

A letter has been received from a doctor from this town who is in Russia. He must be out of the regular track of the war as he asks for supplies. He says he is in a dreadful fix and has to take the shirts off the men to tear into bandages. They have no beds or necessaries and he must put the men, partly naked, in straw on the floor and the men are constantly dying off. His letter was very dreadful to read. I did thank God that none of mine were in the war in Russia.

Wichman, the electrician from Lamspringe, came to see me today. He is an under officer here and trains the men. He tells me this last lot are all Landstorm and many are forty-two and forty-five years old. Some of them have never been in the army before. They were not accepted because of their eyes or other ailments. Now all must go up and it's so very difficult to drill them. Many often have five and six children and some of them have sons in the army. He says the work is hard.

Women are now to do men's work and they have women as porters, signalmen, ticket collectors etc. They also work in the post office and in the town as snow shifters. There is no one else to do it.

During February and after there is to be no more white bread.
War bread
is to be baked made from oats, rye, potatoes and barley and all people must eat it. If a baker is caught baking any white bread, even for his own family, he is subject to a severe penalty.

Most of the Schnapps breweries have been closed for some time for they dare not buy potatoes or corn for the schnapps. In fact all luxuries are forbidden. Of course we can do without drink if we could get the food. The beer is still there but the breweries are short of men. The hotels are feeling the shortage of food and I cannot buy many little things myself. People are not allowed to buy large quantities of food as it all must be evenly distributed.

Hermenia came from Woltershausen and she says all is well there. Several men have returned cripples and one will not get better. She says all the corn and potatoes have gone to the army. The farmer is only allowed enough to seed his land and fifty pounds for each person in his house. So regards horses this is bad as he is only allowed to feed them with two pounds of corn a day. The rest must be straw or chaffs. No horse can work on that. Our ‘Moor' used to get fourteen pounds a day and all other horses got ten to twelve pounds. I feel so sorry for them.

We read of the coal strike in England and it gives the Germans great pleasure. They say that the English people are quite sick of English laws and that they do not know how to govern workers.

Belle has told me of the intention of Germany to block all the neutral waters and shipping. They say here that the neutral lands are sick and tired of being dictated to by England, who rules the waves, and are glad another power has stepped in to show her her place. I myself cannot see the neutral lands quietly sitting down to that. We are told that after this blockade begins on the 18
^th
of February the war is only a very short time to the finish. I wonder what England thinks of it.

There is a very strange article in the papers. I believe it is to the effect that England has decided to fly neutral flags on all her ships to repay Germany for what she intends doing regarding the blockade. The papers here say that it is the Admiralty's orders. I flatly said I did not believe that. For if it was so, and allowed, then why had not Germany or England done it before. Also that this was not allowed at sea and I did not think that even if England could see herself being beaten she would play a false game. She was too sportsmanlike for that.

We hear nothing from anywhere only from the German bureau and no news of the enemy. Only that each day they are sent further back. Where to? They do not say. It's my opinion these things are only put in the papers to take the people's thoughts off the war because there is no definite news

Yesterday there was the weekly lecture on the war and the hatred of England. The people were told that it is not German man against English man but also German woman against English woman. The women of Germany must remember that. I wonder if ever there will be a revolution here and the people will use these words again. It is not a pleasant time to live in. Thank God there are a few of nature's women left but yet there are so very few. In some things one hears you can fancy you are among people of the early ages. Perhaps these are reborn again and are from the time of the Barbarians. Surely never before in the age of Christianity have the people said such things that we hear today.

A great day all over Europe for peace – in the Catholic churches of course. I do not hear much of the Protestant.

I hear today from a lady that she had a letter from a nephew in England, a German, and he says that only two thirds of the Germans are prisoners and that the remainder are free. I wonder if this is true. At the time of Arthur's arrest the papers here said that even people up to sixty years of age were imprisoned in England and that their wives and children were in dreadful poverty.

Today the papers announce they have lost a few shooting graves in France. This is the first time they have announced their losses. They also say that a terrible battle is raging in Poland. A battle the like of which the world has never been seen before. There are so many people in it. I forget how many Germans are there but it is enormous.

We hear there is a great to-do about coal in England for their use. They must mean a strike.

The Socialists have had a meeting and say the war must go on to the bitter end. Here they are confident of victory and we are anxiously awaiting the 18
^th
.

There is serious news today from the baker here. You can only get bread from the baker as no one else sells it. We are informed that after the 12
^th
of this month only so much per person is to be allowed. Each person gets a paper from her baker and she has to write how many people she requires bread for and she is told how much per day she can have and no more. It is to make the people eat more potatoes because they fear a famine in corn and they must have what oats there are for the horses. Indian corn or maize we have not had since September.

Two thousand eight hundred men leave here today for Russia. Hindenberg, the General, says that they must take Warsaw at any cost of men and ammunition before the 18
^th
.

Such a lot of Landstorm are called up. Poor fellows, I do feel sorry for them. They look bewildered. It seems that the Landstorm up to forty-five years old that had already done their military duty were called up at the end of November.

The same aged men who for some reason or other had not done military duty were left until later. These are the men we see now. Many of them have scarcely seen a town. They are from far in the country and you can tell that by their clothing. They stop everywhere in the street to ask where is the address they must go to, for they know nothing of the place. Their language is
so broad
as we say, (‘platt' here), that many of the people do not understand them. It is much more pitiful in a strapping man of forty-five than in a raw country lad of twenty.