The first had to do with Britain.
The German militarists persisted in the belief that the United Kingdom
was degenerated by democracy, intent upon the acquisition of wealth,
distracted by strife at home, uncertain of the Empire, and thus would
selfishly remain aloof while the Kaiser's armies overran and enslaved the
continent. What happened, to Germany's detriment, was the instant
socialization of Britain, and the binding together of the British Empire.
Germany's second great blunder was an arrogant underestimation of a
self-reliant people of English culture and traditions. She believed that
we, too, had been made flabby by democracy, were wholly intent upon the
pursuit of the dollar--only to learn that America would lavish her vast
resources and shed her blood for a cause which was American. Germany
herself provided that cause, shaped the issues so that there was no
avoiding them. She provided the occasion for the socializing of America
also; and thus brought about, within a year, a national transformation
which in times of peace might scarce in half a century have been
accomplished.
Above all, as a consequence of these two blunders, Germany has been
compelled to witness the consummation of that which of all things she had
most to fear, the cementing of a lasting fellowship between the English
speaking Republic and the English speaking Empire. For we had been
severed since the 18th Century by misunderstandings which of late Germany
herself had been more or less successful in fostering.
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