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Through the Iron Bars - Two Years of German Occupation in Belgium by Emile Cammaerts
page 62 of 68 (91%)
the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle
against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call
them--democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of
the civilised world--they will do their work relentlessly, every day of
the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the
immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has
become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the _Lusitania_,
the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have
contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin
or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago
or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom,
of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect
of the whole war.

When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into
a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the
mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège,
waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the
desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh
and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be
reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the
Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world,
every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they
shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning
pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian
slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of
the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel
more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the
haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and
still smiling face pressed against the iron bars.
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