CORRESPONDENCE.
THE DISCOMFITURE OF A GERMAN ARCHITECT. (To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTRTOR21 Sur,—In view of the wanton damage wrought by the German armies in France during their recent retreat, it seems every day more urgent that Germany should be made to understand that she will have to pay for the destructive mania of her soldiers, whether in money or in kind. Opinions may differ concerning the form which such payment should take, but we all agree on the principle.
This will not come as a surprise to the Germans who, as far as Belgium is concerned, have already done their very best to wipe out the traces of the burning of the various towns sacked during the invasion. When we heard from time to time that Dinant, Liege, Battice, and other places had been condemned to heavy fines ranging from £3,000 to £20,000 for refusing to clear the wreckage, we thought at first that it was only a question of propaganda, and that the Germans wanted the Belgians to set their house in order— at their own expense—merely to be able to show to sympathetic neutral visitors that the atrocity reports were grossly exaggerated. But their plans seem to have been much more systematic, if the declaration made recently by Herr Stubben in the Deutsche Bauzeitung are to be relied upon.
Herr Stubben may be considered an authority in the matter. Like most of the Germans who came in Bissing's train to "heal the country's wounds," he had been working hard in. Belgium before the war. It seems therefore quite natural that he should have been called upon to restore the towns and villages wrecked by the military exuberance of his less cultured countrymen. This talented architect deplores that very little work has been accomplished, and that, at the beginning of this year, " no great activity of recon- struction was displayed throughout the country." Who is to bo blamed ? The Belgians of course. The German authorities did all in their power to encourage reconstruction, but their efforts were thwarted by the obstinacy of the " communes," which would not avail themselves of the opportunities so generously afforded them. First the Belgian banks were appealed to. " As they would not collaborate, other means had to be found." According to a decree of April, 1916, credits up to three-quarters of the price were offered on condition that the plans were first submitted to the German Commissioner of the district, who was authorized to pay 10 per cent, of the coats to the architect. These credits were, of course, taken from the Belgian Budget. Herr Stubben complains bitterly that towns and owners refused these proposals. " Passive resistance, evidently inspired by the Government at Havre, was shown by all concerned. It is clear that by the perpetual sight of these ' pieces of evidence' Belgians are trying to evoke horror and maintain witnesses of the war rage of Germany." Note the foolishness of these Belgians invited to repair the damage done to them with their own money, under German supervision, encouraged and advised by German experts, preferring to wait until they could restore their country with German money, and under the advice of their own architects !
Finally Governor von Biasing put his foot down. In a new decree dated September 12th, 1916, he announced that, "for military reasons and for public security," he would no longer tolerate the present state of destruction, and therefore ordered the total destruction of all buildings not yet in process of restoration. The communes tried to resist (most of the fines mentioned above were inflicted at that time), but had finally to yield, and the removal of the ruins at Louvain, Matinee, Dinant, and other places began slowly—as slowly as possible. " The German administration showed a special proof of its solicitude by submitting artistic plans for the reconstruction of towns which had suffered especially by the war. These projects, however, met with passive resistance, and they rarely received a favourable reception from the local authorities."
Herr Stubben is not only a great architect, he is also a groat humorist. To wreck Aerschot, Termonde, Dinant, Louvain, or Matinee is open to any barbarian. But where the genius of Kultur shows itself is in the wonderful project to rebuild these towns at the expense of the victims and for the greater benefit of the culprit. Huns could only destroy, Germans can also restore. There they wore ready to build Neu-Aerschot, Neu-Dinant, Neu-Termonde, and Neu-Louvain. The damage had been done according to plan— German military plan ; it would be repaired according to plan— German artistic plan. Force and Beauty walk hand-in-hand in the wake of the Kaiser's armies.
Unhappily some of these plans miscarry. The Kaiser's armies were threatened in Flanders, and in August, 1917, three months after Bissing's decree had been enforced, the subsidies were stopped. as wore the transport and the provision of material. The need of the military apparently became too pressing, and the genius of Herr Stubben and his colleagues had to be sacrificed. The great architect has gone back to the Vaterland. He comforts himself in thinking that some day it will be recognized that " German administration has
done everything in Belgium to heal the wounds inflicted by the war." The Belgians who have so deeply disappointed him may, in their turn, declare that they have done their utmost to keep these wounds
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