14.2 The Early Treatment of British Nationals
in Germany
6
The early opinion of the German state after the outbreak of war was that
enemy civilians should eventually be allowed to go home, but not until the
army had completed its mobilisation. This opinion however raised a number
of issues regarding the German obligations to the well-being of such foreigners in the meantime. If they were of military age—as in the case of Robert
Le Rossignol—should they be treated as prisoners of war, permanently prevented from returning home and clothed and fed according to the Hague
convention of 1907? If not prisoners of war, what obligations remained
regarding their welfare and repatriation? And what to do if some of these
people were subsequently found to be spies or saboteurs? By 14 August 1914,
some rough guidelines had begun to emerge from the Reich Office of Interior
after consultation with the Federal States.
7 Just for now these said, no citizen
of an enemy state could leave the district in which they were living without
the permission of the local military commander. A curfew on such people
could be considered, but the advice urged moderation and there should be a
‘mild’ supervision of foreigners—if only in consideration of the interests of
German citizens held in other countries. These guidelines followed those
already issued by the acting military commander for Berlin, General von
Kessel, on 10 August 1914 to which Robert was subject, such that; enemy
aliens living within the police district of Berlin,
… as long as they are not suspected of any crimes, and as long as they have a
fixed address or a regular job, are to be placed under police supervision … but
are otherwise to be left to get on with their lives.
8
For the British in particular, these early apparently lenient guidelines meant
that after the initial German hostility towards enemy nationals had (hopefully) subsided, their position should have been relatively secure and
respected. Britons on the whole were well integrated into German society.
They were not over represented in certain professions or trades; they were
northern Europeans and so did not stand out in looks, mannerisms, culture
or habits and frequently spoke German with a high degree of fluency. This
was particularly true of the Le Rossignols of course, who were educated,
professional and of both German and British blood. Had this early policy
remained throughout the war then the ‘lot’ of the British national may well
have been bearable. However, the ‘guidelines’ were just that, and as public
276
D. Sheppard
in Germany
6
The early opinion of the German state after the outbreak of war was that
enemy civilians should eventually be allowed to go home, but not until the
army had completed its mobilisation. This opinion however raised a number
of issues regarding the German obligations to the well-being of such foreigners in the meantime. If they were of military age—as in the case of Robert
Le Rossignol—should they be treated as prisoners of war, permanently prevented from returning home and clothed and fed according to the Hague
convention of 1907? If not prisoners of war, what obligations remained
regarding their welfare and repatriation? And what to do if some of these
people were subsequently found to be spies or saboteurs? By 14 August 1914,
some rough guidelines had begun to emerge from the Reich Office of Interior
after consultation with the Federal States.
7 Just for now these said, no citizen
of an enemy state could leave the district in which they were living without
the permission of the local military commander. A curfew on such people
could be considered, but the advice urged moderation and there should be a
‘mild’ supervision of foreigners—if only in consideration of the interests of
German citizens held in other countries. These guidelines followed those
already issued by the acting military commander for Berlin, General von
Kessel, on 10 August 1914 to which Robert was subject, such that; enemy
aliens living within the police district of Berlin,
… as long as they are not suspected of any crimes, and as long as they have a
fixed address or a regular job, are to be placed under police supervision … but
are otherwise to be left to get on with their lives.
8
For the British in particular, these early apparently lenient guidelines meant
that after the initial German hostility towards enemy nationals had (hopefully) subsided, their position should have been relatively secure and
respected. Britons on the whole were well integrated into German society.
They were not over represented in certain professions or trades; they were
northern Europeans and so did not stand out in looks, mannerisms, culture
or habits and frequently spoke German with a high degree of fluency. This
was particularly true of the Le Rossignols of course, who were educated,
professional and of both German and British blood. Had this early policy
remained throughout the war then the ‘lot’ of the British national may well
have been bearable. However, the ‘guidelines’ were just that, and as public
276
D. Sheppard