The Rape of Belgium: The Untold Story of World War I

by Larry Zuckerman

In August 1914, the German Army invaded the neutral nation of Belgium, violating a treaty that the German chancellor dismissed as a "scrap of paper." The invaders terrorized the Belgians, shooting thousands of civilians and looting and burning scores of towns, including Louvain, which housed the country's preeminent university.
The Rape of Belgium recalls the bloodshed and destruction of the 1914 invasion, and the outrage it inspired abroad. Yet Larry Zuckerman does not stop there, and takes us on a harrowing journey over the next fifty months, vividly documenting Germany's occupation of Belgium. The occupiers plundered the country, looting its rich supply of natural resources; deporting Belgians en masse to Germany and northern France as forced laborers; and jailing thousands on contrived charges, including the failure to inform on family or neighbors. Despite the duration of the siege and the destruction left in its wake, in considering Belgium, neither the Allies nor the history books focused on the occupation, and instead cast their attention almost wholly on the invasion.
Now, The Rape of Belgium draws on a little-known story to remind us of the horrors of war. Further, Zuckerman shows why the Allies refrained from punishing the Germans for the occupation and controversially suggests that had the victors followed through, Europe's reaction to the rise of Nazi Germany might have taken a very different course.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Belgium, Military History, World War I, War, European History

339 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2004

Reviews

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about a subject that is not well-known, at least it wasn't to me until I saw the WWI series on "American Experience" on PBS. As much as I was interested in this topic, the invasion and abuse of Belgium by Germany during WWI, the book had the problems a lot of history books written for the layman have. The author threw an awful lot of names at the reader, most of which will be unfamiliar to non-historians, and many of which drop in and out of the narrative so that you are likely to have forgotten who they were when they reappear. What would have been really useful in this and many other history books is a glossary of the names of important people with short summaries of who they were.

More people should become familiar with this topic. It was an indication of how Germany would behave during war (what the hell is wrong with that country?) and how unwilling people would be to acknowledge that atrocities were occurring.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book whose claims I think are well argued, but whose style I did not care for. There wasn’t anything that ‘anchored’ the narrative. Usually, popular histories tend to behave as novels and choose one or two major figures to focus upon. Zuckerman did not do that. Initially it seemed as if the Belgian King might be the focus of the book, but then that changed to the German military governor for a bit, then to Herbert Hoover, then to Robert Lansing and Woodrow Wilson, then to David Lloyd George, they were all trotted out and then they faded away. The real character is Belgium-almost like Dos Passos’ USA trilogy minus any of Dos Passos’ skill.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put a terrific book and accounting of History to Belgium in which now nearly 100 years since the conclusion of this war. This History is important and facts within this book cannot be ignored – Herbert Hoover and the Commission for the Relief of Belgium (CRB) played at the time a vital role in feeding a Nation and one in which is now lost to History in that Hoover negotiated the ability with waring nations of Europe prior to the United States involvement and Declaration of War in 1917. As Hoover, himself later wrote, "The knowledge that we would have to go on for four years, to find a billion dollars, to transport five million tons of concentrated food, to administer rationing, novel relief organization, which went by the name of the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB), possessed some of the attributes of a government. It had its own flag, it negotiated "treaties" with the warring European powers, and its leaders parleyed regularly with diplomats and cabinet ministers in several countries. It even had a "pirate" leader in Hoover, who enjoyed price controls, agricultural production, to contend with combatant governments and with world shortages of food and ships, was mercifully hidden from us." Hoover is more times often lost to History than what he should be credited with – the Colorado Compact of 1922 is but one other example that occurred later and one to which the Upper and Lower Basin States of the American South West can thank for the current ability and access and infrastructure to water. Former President Theodore Roosevelt also got involved and this lends to the overall credibility of the book in question and summarization of relief that went to a Nation in desperate need of assistance. America at the time proved her capabilities (then) and for future financial and food provisions going forward. Hind Sight is 20/20 – the war to end all wars was the war to become the Grandfather of all of them for the 20th Century – it could even be argued that the 1917 Balfour Declaration led to the unrest we have today in the Middle East. Ho Chi Minh even attempted to gain an audience in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference to which he was denied; the Japanese dignitaries were also denied an audience and territories in the north of the equator in the Pacific rim owned by Germany were transferred to Japan; many in part that belonged to China. The Racial Equality Clause as proposed by Japan was thwarted and prevented from being included in the final draft.

President Wilson time and again attempted to counter emotion with sound judgement, but did so in a manner that to this day makes him look religiously pompous without having concern for the victims. Clemenceau once commented during the Paris Peace Conference that “God was satisfied with 10 commandments – Wilson gave us 14.” This was also followed by another statement of Clemenceau in reference to President Wilson’s personal attempt to remove emotion from the process in which he (Clemenceau) stated that “Nothing is done without emotion. Was not Jesus Christ driven by passion on the day when he drove the merchants from the temple?” This biblical reference of Clemenceau was used against President Wilson in which three of the “big four” at the Peace Conference were quite literally tired of all the religious aspects that Wilson was attempting to embed for his personal beliefs to the outcome. The world would have to learn later following a war that would begin 20 years later.

The author spent much time researching the effects of the destruction of Belgium which began at the outset of the war – Belgium’s neutrality was raped and the title of this book is wholly appropriate. This war and destruction to Belgium and France certainly laid the ground work of what would occur two decades later; only during the next war it would be much worse and nations including Poland would be raped in whole different and excruciating manner. The references in the last chapter to the events that occurred, the politics that played out in 1919 and the hind sight effect of the Second World War cannot be ignored. I enjoyed this book and the historical essence of the time was captured well and clear.

[Maude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read stories/books before which touched on the destruction and horror which Belgium was subjected to in WW I by the Germans. The truth is even worse. Sixteen miles east of Brussels lay Louvain, a city founded in the 11th century and known for its Gothic architecture. When fighting began near this city, based on false rumors that the locals had fired on the Germans, the city was almost destroyed including the Halles de l'Universite library which was three centuries old and held about 230,000 volumes, including 800 ancient manuscripts and books. Belgian workers were also forced to work in factories for the Germans. Before 1914, Belgium had been the world's sixth-ranked industrial power, but the Germans plundered it so thoroughly that it never regained its former place. The Germans deported more than a hundred thousand Belgium workers to make weapons and tortured the majority who refused.The entire story of The Rape of Belgium cannot be told here but if you are interested in history and truth, I would certainly suggest you read this book. Occupied Belgian in 1914 and on was a forerunner of Nazi Europe. Too much is forgotten, ignored, or given up at the end of war. The failure to address and punish the worst grievances of this war left the door open for WW II, at which time German AGAIN invaded Belgium.

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an interesting topic which the author has managed to submerge beneath copious news paper references and quotations which only serve to diminish the event, not enhance our understanding of it. The comparison to the treatment of the Jews in ww2 was apt but not sufficiently developed. The Actual reports of the travesties committed in the early part of the war were brushed over ad not dealt with sufficiently. We were left still unsure whether the author really did believe it was all overblown in the press or he just didn't want to talk about it. Ironic, when it is the main subject of the book. The writing is dry, verbose and i likened it to watching paint dry. This book could get an educated insomniac to sleep, all be it with mildly interesting dreams.

[degelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the driest non-fiction I've ever read. At first I wondered if it came across that way after reading King Leopold's Ghost but after a hundred or so pages it became clear- this is a strictly objective blow-by-blow of Germany's first invasion of Belgium. There is little to no dependence on primary sources or accounts from people who survived it, just an overview of the political and military maneuvers taking place day by day, week by week, and month by month. It also becomes exponentially harder to keep all of the players straight or tell them apart- they simply supply sound bites and abruptly drop from the text never to be mentioned again.

I really tried to roll with it but became tired and frustrated at times. It was like hearing someone describe a chess game but the repercussions were thousands of deaths and destroyed lives that are never addressed. People just become numbers and the rest of the information is "Britain did this, Germany did this, France did this, Belgium did that..." It was a slog to get through and by the time it was over I felt like I had sat through a pretty long-winded lecture that was a bird's eye view of something terrible happening on the ground. I wanted to be closer to that, to hear directly from people on both sides and different facets of how the country was affected by the destruction, plundering and deportations.

If you're looking for that, this isn't the book. I'm going to keep looking for that.

[Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

its ok i read it for a research paper