Germany Before the War

Baron Beyens was a senior member of the Belgian diplomatic service who was posted to Berlin in 1912. His book, published in early 1916, is in part the result of his personal observations in Germany from 1912 until late 1914, when he departed the country after the German invasion of neutral Belgium at the beginning of the First World War. He had contacts with the political elite in Germany - including the Emperor - and knew their views on the key issues that contributed to international tension.