Rape Of Belgium Research Paper

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‘The Rape of Belgium’ was a major atrocity that occurred during the beginning of World War I, and caused the destruction of Belgian cities along with atrocious murders of civilians. The five key terms that are relevant to this topic are; atrocity, rape, execution, invasion, and war crime. Atrocity, defined as an event involving harsh use of weapons to brutally injure or kill. Rape (not referring to the literal definition) is used to describe the brutal and atrocious treatment of civilians over the duration of the period known as ‘the Rape of Belgium’. Execution, used to eliminate and terrorize civilians during ‘the Rape of Belgium’, is the course of action to eliminate by murder the Belgian civilians. Invasion, is the operation of occupying…show more content…
14). As at the time, Germany was being threatened by a franco-russian alliance on the western front and eastern front of it’s borders. The plan was to prevent splitting their resources to both fronts and concentrate eliminating France first then switching their resources to Russia. This meant having to penetrating through Belgium. The term “Rape of Belgium” is referring to the mistreatment of Belgian civilians during the occupation of the Belgian cities. German troops, because of a feared attack by French Guerrilla, began massacring Belgian civilians of Dinant, Tamines, Andenne, and Leuven (Galchinsky 20). Mass murders and executions of innocent civilians in the streets, which can be described by the definition of atrocity, were unnecessary and morally wrong as the civilians have no way to protect themselves. This corresponded to the death of sixty thousand Belgian civilians during World War I (Milne Para. 13). More atrocious acts include the intentional burning of the Catholic University of Leuven, destroying three-hundred thousand medieval books and manuscripts, countless homes and businesses burned down, civilians often shot where they stood, and the pillage of raw materials, food supplies and modern industrial…show more content…
According to this treaty, “Belgium within the limits specified in Articles I, II and IV shall form an independent and perpetually neutral State. It shall be bound to observe such neutrality toward all other States” (Article VII). This signified Belgium’s neutrality. However, when German soldiers penetrated and invaded Belgium, the treaty was breached and the British army was forced, by the 1839 treaty of London, to protect Belgium during the events of the war. This war crime committed by the Germans. One of Britain’s most notable impacts during the war was the presence of “trade blockades…to strangle the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs to Germany and its allies” (The national Archives Para. 1). This proves the long term effects on the war, since this lead to the ‘hunger blockade’ which, according to most historians, “contributed hugely to the outcome of the First World War. By 1915, German imports had fallen by 55% from pre-war levels. Aside from causing shortages in important raw materials such as coal and various non-ferrous metals, the blockade cut off fertilizer supplies that were vital to German agriculture” (The national Archives Para. 7). This tragedy was successful to crippled the Germans enough to eventually win the
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