By John Marks, Curator of Collections and Exhibits
Last month’s blog ended with Frank Herendeen’s entry from
July 25, 1914, when Austria declared war. Hotel guests immediately began
fleeing by auto and carriage. The Herendeens stayed put for almost a week. On July 31 “came a dispatch that the entire Austrian army was to mobilize, and
immediately great excitement prevailed in the hotel.” The family left the
next day, along with about 200 other guests; they traveled through Cortina to
Bozen, then took a train to Munich. Frank wrote: “The
whole country is full of moving troops and horses, etc….Train after train of
soldiers and reserves passed.”
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| Fanny, wearing a Tyrolean outfit, and Frank Herendeen, in a studio portrait taken in Geneva after their return |
The family reached Munich on August 3 and found the city
under martial law. On August 4 England declared war on Germany, sparking a
backlash that would continue during the Herendeens’ time in the country.
English names were removed from hotels, banks would not issue money on letters
of credit from English banks, and Americans were advised to wear small US flags
on their clothing to separate themselves from the English.
Nonetheless, Frank continued to write about daily affairs.
He found a fine hotel and hired a teacher for Fannie. They spent their days
sightseeing and shopping while thousands of Americans were fleeing the country.
“We shall remain here in Munich for the
present…we are comfortable and safe here.” The US Embassy was advising
citizens not to rush to the Netherlands or Belgium unless they had passage to
America, as those countries could not handle more people. In mid-August Frank
purchased steamship tickets to sail home from Holland in mid-October. The
family moved to Berlin on September 6 and remained there until it was time to
go home.
Frank was an ardent supporter of Germany and was confident
of their victory. “No soldier can surpass
the German soldier & the people have a right to be proud of their Army. To
put in the field within 10 days 8,000,000 trained soldiers is a very wonderful
thing – no other nation could do it.”
A month before leaving, he wrote, “I would, in fact, personally, like to remain here till the War is over,
it would be a wonderful sight to see the victorious Army march through their
Capitol [Berlin].” After returning to the United States, he expressed
nostalgia for Germany: the streets were cleaner, the food was cheaper, and the
war news was accurate.
Annie Herendeen kept a diary of the trip as well, and wrote
a long letter home to her mother recounting the events of July and August. She
shared a different perspective from her husband. As they left Karersee to
travel to Munich, troops were mobilizing and she wrote, “One could scarcely look without sympathetic tears at the partings of
father and son, husband and wife, sister and brother. There were many affecting
scenes and the little balconies along the line of march were filled with red-eyed,
sad faced women. At Lobloch where all assembled to take the trains night was
made hideous by shouting and singing men in the cafes and streets.”
She also wrote of the Germans’ crackdown on suspected
spies. One story involved the Herring
sisters who were friends of Emma Herendeen. “They are unusually large, stout girls and were arrested in the street
last week and surrounded by an angry crowd and accused of being men – spies –
in disguise. The officer was intensely rude and took them finally to some
station and had them undress and minutely examined by a woman and then did not
even apologize for his mistake. Needless to say they were badly frightened as
well as very furious.” As bad as this was, they were fortunate; Annie went
on to write that a chauffeur who was slow in stopping his car and giving his
name “was shot dead on the spot!”
The Herendeens arrived home in Geneva on November 8. As with
any travelers, the first week was spent unpacking and visiting friends and
family; in this case, they wanted to hear about the war. “Everyone
I meet is interested to hear about our experiences in Europe and seem surprised
that we had no disagreeable experiences or trouble of any sort. Practically every
person I have talked with here feels that Germany in the End will lose in the
great struggle, and no one has any clear idea of the great strength in every
way of Germany, and of her ability to continue the war a long time.”
Frank continued to write about the war over the next four
years. I have not read Frank’s diaries through 1918 to see if his opinions
changed as the United States entered the war. He was not alone in either supporting
Germany or American neutrality; some people held to their views throughout the
war. History is often reduced to simple terms of “good/bad” and “won/lost”, but
it was always more complicated as it unfolded. We are fortunate to have primary
sources in our collection that offer different perspectives on history.
