Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/274A/1 - 1918 - 1941 - Part 9

[hand drawn sketch-see original document]
 

No. 4673
Registered at the General Post Office Sydney
for transmission by post as a newspaper
X  WAR STORY
CHARTERIS'S DENIAL
Sun
26/10/1925
WIDE DEBATE
CHARGE OF FALSE PROPAGANDA RESENTED

Did the Germans boil down their dead soldiers during the war
to obtain fats for munitions?
This question, which created so much controversy at the time,
has been revived by a statement. credited in New York to General
John Charteris, a high official in Britain's Intelligence Department
in wartime, that he invented the story for propaganda purposes.

This statement, which General Charteris denies having made,
has caused intense indignation in Britain. Many prominent war
figures have expressed their views, and it is pointed out that the
story of the "factory" came originally from German sources.
("Sun" Special)
LONDON, Sunday.
General John Charteris's reported
statement in New York, declaring that
he personally faked the story, that
the Germans boiled their dead soldiers
for the purpose
[photograph-see original document]
Sir Sydney Low
of securing
glycerine for explosives,
has caused
indignation in
Britain.
The "Weekly
Dispatch" declares
that it casts a slur
on the whole of
British propaganda,
and the public
will not rest until
it is threshed out.
The War Office
has ordered an examination of the
official records, and the ex-service
Ms P intend to raise the question in
the House.
Mr. Ian Macpherson, M.P. who was
Under-Secretary for War, 1914-16 and
1916-19, says that the British captured
German orders relating to the disposal
of corpses, and the War Office did not
doubt the story.
Sir Sydney Low, who was a member
of Lord Northchiffes wartime propaganda

committee, the activities of
which eventually demoralised the Germans,
states: "Our main guiding rule
was to tell the truth, but not the
whole truth, which was impracticable
in wartime We did not invent or
knowingly circulate falsehoods. Accordingly,
I am utterly confounded
at General Charteris's stunning declaration,
that he, when one of the
heads of our Intelligence Department,
deliberately forged one of the most
terrible indictments of German brutality
and callousness. When the
Germans explained that their corpse
factory disposed of animals, not of 
human bodies, I accepted the denial.
The question was never settled, because
the Germans refused to allow 
neutrals to examine the fat"
German Evidence
Mr. Baldwin is intervening in the
controversy, but nothing will be done
until Genera! Charteris returns to
England.

 The official viewpoint is that no
Government could do other than disavow
all responsibility for such an
invention.
It is pointed out that the report
that the Germans were utilising human
corpses arose from statements
in Germanys own newspapers. The
Berlin "Lokal Anzeiger's" war correspondent
on April 10, 1917, referred 
to "the great corpse conversion establishment
at Evergnicourt" The
word used was "kadaver verwertangsanstalt.“
Similar statements appeared
In other German newspapers.
The British captured and photographically
reproduced an order to
the Sixth Germany Army, dated December
21, 1916, reading: "It is necessary
to again call attention to the
fact that when corpses are delivered
to the corpse utilisation establishments
details are to accompany them.
showing which troops' units they are
from the date of death, the illness,
and also information regarding epidemics."
A search of the War Museum has
failed to reveal the forged diary to
which Genera! Charteris's speech referred.
Eye-Witness Convinced
The “Dally News's" New York correspondent
rebutts Genera! Charteris's
assertion that he was incorrectly reported,
and asserts that he telephoned
to Genera! Charteris, who admitted
the accuracy of the report, adding:-
"The story was an isolated instance
of a deliberate invention in the cause
of British propaganda."
Mr. Lloyd George, when interviewed,
said: "We knew the story could
not be true; therefore, it was never
officially issued. I did not believe it
then, and I don't believe it now."
Mr. C. F. Masterman, who was director
of Wellington House. (Propaganda
Department), 1914-1918, says:
"We examined the story and found
that the word "kadaver" did not apply
to humans only, but was applicable

horses."
 

General J.V. Campbell, nicknamed
"The Hunting Horn, V.C.", states: "I
visited the St. Quentin tunnel and saw
the vats. I am convinced that bodies
were being refined down.
Charteris's Denial X
NEW YORK, October 24.
General John Charteris indignantly
denies the statements broadcast by an
American news agency, that in a New
York speech he boasted that the British
invented for propaganda purposes
the story that the Germans
boiled their dead soldiers, thus obtaining
fats for munitions.
X "Soldiers Didn't Believe It
An ex-soldier, who fought at Mont
St. Quentin, declares that the "corpse
factory" story was current in 1918,
but the troops did not believe it. Nobody

saw any of the organisation that
would be necessary to carry on the
collection of corpses, such as activity
in No Man's Land at night time.
Moreover, the German trenches were
full of dead when captured. It was
hardly credible that the Germans
would place a "corpse factory" in the
front line for the purpose of "encouraging"
troops, but possibly they
attempted to cremate their dead in
the Interests of sanitation.

Sun 30/10/22
THE TUNNEL HORROR
"R.S.R" was there:-
The cable “Gruesome-Find" which
appeared in "The Sun" doubtless refers
to the Canal Tunnel near Bellicourt,
on the Hindenburg Line. This area
was captured and occupied by the
Australian troops in 1918. A room
over one end of the tunnel contained
a built-in copper, and three dead Germans,
with their clothes badly torn,
one badly smashed up, had been
blown into the copper. A single shell
hole in the roof accounted for the
condition of the bodies and clothes.
The room was too inaccessible and
small for a corpse conversion factory,
and after an inspection one had not
the slightest doubt the men had been
killed by a shell.
 

Sydney Bulletin
Sept. 1923
" Smike": Probably the German corpse-
factory yarn began with a discovery near
Bellicourt. The canal there runs for some
distance through a tunnel. An exploring
Tommy, accompanied by an Aussie, ventured
into the darkness one day with an electric
torch. A few feet from the entrance they
came to a small door, and on pushing it open
found a flight of steps leading to gloom
above. They mounted the stairs to a large
apartment, and in the light from a hole
showing a patch of sky aloft they saw that
a big shell had played tricks with the interior.
There were 10 corpses, and the trunk
and head of one of them had been hurled
into a large dixie half-full of something that
was slowly stewing over a fire. Others afterwards
saw the gruesome mess, and the yarn
filtered down from the front to the back,
growing more hideous and bloated at each
stage of the journey, until it attained the
dimensions of a national undertaking and
provided the fuel for another Hate. But I
never met a soldier who believed the slander,
though it was readily swallowed by many
civilians. It was, by the way, an officer
whose home address was THE BULLETIN Office
who took Bean, the historian of the war, to
see the cook-shop, and laugh with him over
the weird story that had just begun to circalculate;
but as far as I know he has never
written a line about it. 
 

To the Editor of
the Bulletin,
Sydney.
Tuggranong,
Federal Territory,
30/9/23

Dear Sir,
the gentleman who says that he showed me the alleged
"Corpse-factory" in the St Quentin Canal is not as accurate in
his facts as one would expect from one "whose home address was the
Bulletin office." To begin with the "corpse-factory yarn" did not
begin with the discovery in the Canal at Bellicourt, but with an
article published in the Berlin "Lokal Anzeiger" of 10 April 1917
a year and a half before. This contained a reference to a "Carcase-
Utilisation-Establishment" which was mis-translated by some overenthusiastic
Belgian ^writer in the "Independence Belge" who - I have no doubt in good faith - who rendered
it as applying to human corpses. The word "kadaver", which, in
a dictionary that I have beside me at the moment, is xxxxxxx translated
"corpse" appears to be usually employed of the carcases of animals.
But The mistranslation had gone a long way before the Germans
denied the story; ^but it received a certain credence, to my
knowledge, both among soldiers and civilians; many of whom did not
believe the denial. And when there was discovered in the Bellicourt
tunnel (built by Napoleon) a chamber containing thirteen
corpses, one of them in a copper, and some tins of fat, the story
circulated - certainly originating either with American or Australian
soldiers who saw it - that a "corpse factory" had at last

been found. ^The majority of Australians did not believe it, but I fancy that it eventually reached some London
news-paper. but I cannot find in the Australian papers press of the
time any reference at all to this chamber it except a my cable. from
myself explaining very  clearly and fully exactly what the place
was - a regimental kitchen. Yrs faithfully C.E.W.B.
 

Not Sent
To the Editor,
The Bulletin,
Sydney.
Tuggranong,
Federal Territory,
30/9/23

Dear Sir,  "The Corpse Factory."
if the gentleman who says that he showed me the alleged
"corpse factory" in the St Quentin Canal tunnel was a member of t
the staff of the "Bulletin", neither his facts nor his innuendo
seem to be quite up to the form of your newspaper. It is to be inferred
from his article that he showed me the "factory"; that we
had a good laugh over the absurdity; and that I went away and
[[?]] up the lie by never ("as far as he knew") writing a
word about it. How he expects to "know" without looking in the
newspapers to which I wrote, I cannot conjecture. But if he looks
in the Australian newspapers of the week following the incident
he refers to he will find a cablegram explaining fully and clearly
what the place really was.
So much for the innuendo. Now for the facts. The absurd
story of the institution of "Corpse-factories" did not, as your
informant imagines, originate with the discovery in this tunnel.
It was an old story at that date, and
It ^ began, I believe, with the mis-translation by some over-enthusiastic
intelligence officer of an a captured German order. This
order enjoined that carcases should be sent to a "Carcase-administration
establishment." The word Kadaver, which the translater
rendered as "corpse" is so given in some dictionaries, but
appears to be used usually, xxx xxxx naively, of the carcases of
animals; but the authorities had foolishly published the mistranslation
(which received a certain credence among soldiers
before it was suggested to them that they had made a mistake. I
do not think this was ever officially acknowledged, and indeed
there existed ^to the end of the war a quite honest division of opinion concerning the
facts, though I fancy most people realised that a blunder had
been made.
As far as the Australians were concerned - we only came
into the controversy by reason of the reported discovery, either
by some of our own men or by the Americans who were fighting
beside us, of an actual "corpse-factory" in the St Quentin
Tunnel. The report came from the front on September 29th, but I
 

2
personally had never believed ^in the "corpse-factories" and on
October 1t I went with a friend to see the place. Fortunately I
kept a full diary throughout the war; and on turning to that
date I find an account of that actually did come upon visit. As it is probably the
only authoritative account of the "corpse-factory" which exists,
your readers may be interested in the quotation:
Oct.1. . . . . . . .We went down to the tunnel mouth. On the way
down a couple of young officers asked us to have a look at the
'Corpse-Factory' which was supposed to have been found in a
chamber just inside the entrance. They lent us a German torch to
light us. . . . . . . . . . .Inside the tunnel we found immediately a
stone stairway in the brick tunnel-wall, leading sharply up to
the right. It was quite dark but the German torch guided us up
the stone steps. At the top, evidently somewhere over the entrance
of the canal tunnel, the steps led into a long narrow brick chamber.

The far end of this chamber had been prolonged in the shape
of a narrow gallery fitted with the ordinary double layers of
bunks (wood and wire-netting), for about 15 men. On the left-
hand side of the brick chamber, just inside the stairs, was what
looked like one of those long French waggons for carting trees.
It consisted of two old cart-wheels at the near end, then a pair
of long narrow poles covered with wire-netting. Beyond this, on
the left, was a low counter of cement into which had been let
two coppers about 2 ft. 6in. across. Continuing this counter was
a wooden table on which were some tins or other gear of a cookhouse.
Under the copper there must have been a fire, because a
large kitchen stove-pipe led through the wall, or at some time had
done so.
On the floor between the wooden table and the brick wall
were 11 Germans lying in all positions, mostly facing the table,
quite clearly lying exactly as they had fallen when some disaster
killed them. Between the furthest waggon wheel and the wall was a
twelfth man lying crumpled up like a dead mouse in this narrow
space. In the first of the two coppers was a thirteenth man, xxxx
shaken to bits, with his head below the surface of the copper and
his shoulder-blade showing clearly through the tattered grey
cloth of his coat. The red brick-dust and shattered earth of some
explosion was sprinkled all over them, giving them the appearance
that books have which have lain for months on the shelves of some
dusty library.
The fact that this man was in the copper and the others
lying dead in the place, and that two or three tins of fat were
lying in the room, had given rise to the story that this was at
last the German Corpse-Factory which had been discovered in actual
operation when the Hindenburg tunnel was seized. No story is too
wild for some people to believe it and this had been related to
the war-correspondents; and I heard afterwards that even some
senior officers had expressed a belief in it. General . . . . . . told
me that at first when he saw the place he believed it really was
a corpse-factory, but afterwards, on consideration, he decided
that it was a mere accident - this was after examining it with an
engineer.
It took not ten seconds after we had got into the room for
us to decide quite positively what had happened. The theory of a
corpse-factory was out of court in the first second. But whether
these men were had been killed while trying to lay a mine, or
were effectively slaughtered by a shell, was for a few seconds in
doubt. One almost immediately noticed the mark of a shell-burst
across the floor and the wall- the typical pitting in two lines,
as though the shell fragments had been sprayed from the point of
the shell-burst in those two directions. The shell had burst
slightly beneath the floor at the right-hand side, just inside
the chamber from the staircase. Wooden boards had been placed over
 

3.
the gap in the floor since, this probably in order to help the
Germans to get out some men wounded in the distant chamber,
where the bunks were. On the wall, above the copper where the
body was, one noticed a round hole which at first sight seemed to
be the one through which the stove-pipe had previously been
carried. A second glance showed, on the cement, the typical
boring of a shell, with the groove made by the rifling on the
driving band clearly marked. It was about a 6 in. shell, and it
had come in from the direction of Pontruet, had bored clean thro
three or four feet of masonry and earth which protected the chamber
from the outside air- mad a slightly curved channel exactly
as I have seen shells do at Anzac, and burst on reaching the flo
on the opposite side of the chamber. One man had been thrown int
the copper, in a shattered condition by the explosion; and anoth
thrown behind the waggon wheel - it is possible that they were
sitting on the edge of the copper and the wheel, but it is more
likely that they were pitched up against the ceiling first. Anyw.
the dust of the explosion still lay over both of them. The eleven
men lying on the ground were "all of a heap" and I could not swear
that there might not have been another. One mans head was completely
blown off; another's skull was cracked like an eggshell
and the explosion had flung pieces of them on to the walls.
The chamber was filled with the most sickly stench, and
I heard one hardened Australian mule-driver, who had come to
see the "Chamber of Horrors", saying that it was too much for him
and that he would have to get out. An American was explaining to
his mates -"Well, I never believed it before, but now I have seen
it I can write hom and tell them that I have seen it with my own
eyes." Several Australians, who were wandering over the place
with candles, were a good deal more critical, One young chap
said -"If this is the way they do it - one man at a time- all I
can say is that it must be a b----- long job."
I was nearly sick before we reached the open air. The
place was evidently one which had been used by the Germans either
as a cookhouse or a messroom. The chamber had probably been constructed
originally for the raising and lowering of the old wooden
portcullis gate, part of which still remains in a slot at the
entrance of the tunnel; and the waggon wheels are, I imagine,
some antiquated machinery connected with this.
It is only necessary to add that, in case the in order to
ensure the possession of absolute proofs, in case the ^question xxxxxx of
the work carried on in that chamber should ever in after years
be raised, we secured for the Australian Records Section one of
the "food-containers" in which hot rations were taken from this
kitchen to the German troops. The container brought away was
pitted and riddled by the sane shell which killed the Germans
in the chamber, and therefore afforded a proof of every
part of the ^true story. It can bee seen in the Australian War Museum
in Melbourne today.

I am
Yours etc.,
C.E.W.Bean.
 

"Kadaver"
see notes on p 187

Vol XII
Army Quarterly

Note
General Rosenthal's private diary
is in Mitchell Library
 

Sydney Morning
Herald
4/7/31

PROPAGANDA N THE WAR.
----
"Spreading Germs of Hate" by Mr. George
Sylvester Viereck, is an account of the propaganda
disseminated in America during the
war. The author, is of German descent.
Whie America remained neutral his sympathles

were not unnaturally with the land of
his forbears, and he conducted a pro-German
newspaper. After America came in his allegiance
to her was wholehearted, but his previous
activities were remembered and exposed
him to some annoyance. He claims that
he has made a special study of the art of
influencing public opinion by disguised
methods, and after the war, In certain libel
proceedings, was called as an expert witness on
the subject.
in the personal column of the London "Tines"
The English Government has denied that it
engaged in propaganda in America. It contented
itself with counter-propaganda, the correction
of false reports. Be that as it may,
Mr. Viereck thinks that the British were far
more successful in their operations than the
Germans, who were obtrusive and clumsy in
their technique. The members of the British
service who were apparently most prominent
in the campaign were stool pigeons. Their
function was to attract the surveillance of the
German agents and to divert attention from
the real principals, who, from behind the
scenes, pulled the string and did the work.
Another difference was that the German emissaries
were required by their Government to
keep records of everything they did and every
item of expenditure. When these fell into the
possession of the British, by what means it
were best not to inquire too closely, they were
published with explosive effect The British
agents, however, were given a free hand and
kept no records, hence raids on their premises
revealed no incriminating documents. Moreover,
despite the alleged efficiency of German
espionage, again and again the Germans were
outwitted by British vigilance, in which there
were no loopholes. Thus early in 1917 Herr
Zimmerman, the Germen Foreign Secretary,
sent a secret note urging Mexico to reconquer
her lost provinces, New Mexico, Texas, and
Arizona, and to enter into an alliance with
Japan against America. This note had been
part of a code message despatched to Count
Bernstorff in Washington by courtesy of the
American Embassy in Berlin, and was therefore
a gross violation of confidence. Count
Bernstorff forwarded it on to Mexico through
several separate channels. Each of these was
watched by the British, who decoded it and
transmitted it to the State Department. Its
publication astounded the American people
and rendered a rupture of relations inevitable.
Mr. Vlereck asserts that either side was quite
unscrupulous in its methods. As an instance
of British mendaclty, he quotes the "corpse
factory" story—the German term "Kadaver,"
which actually means the carcase of an animal
was translated as "corpse" in order to
mislead. But the official explanation has been
given. The photograph of the German notice
and the translation were not intended to deceive
Europeans and Americans, and did not
two countries. But the sinking of the Inn
deceive many, for the word "Kadaver" is seen
clearly in the photograph. The production
was for consumption in India and China,
where there is a cult of ancestor worship
 

Mr. Vlereck said that the British statement
that the German submains were guilty of
atrocities was false: they were guilty of no
breaches of international law. Surely that
contention is ridiculous. The German Government
has admitted that the policy of "sink
at sight and leave no traces" was adopted, but
pleads that necessity knows no law. Incidentally
we are told by the author that neither the
German Government nor the German Embassy
at Washington had any foreknowledge of the
projected sinking of the Lusitania. The
warning to passengers published not long before
the vessels departure on her last voyage
had no reference to her, but was merely a
general caution. Mr. Viereck concedes that
the atrocities attributed by Germans to the
British were fabrications, but, one, at least, is
said to have been manufactured in all good
faith. In July, 1915, an English lady inserted
in the personal column of the London "Times"
an advertisement which ran: "Jack F. G.-
If you are not in khaki by the 20th I shall
cut you dead. Ethel M." A German official
engaged upon the collection of material for
anti-British propaganda came upon this, and,
misunderstanding the English idiom, rendered
"cut you dead" as "hack you to death.” The
threat was quoted as evidence of the Maenadlike
bloodthirstiness of Englishwomen.
Mr. Viereck mentions an incident which
illustrates the curious blend of foresight and
myopia characteristic of many American business
men. A leading banker, a pro-ally,
seeing an announcement that Britain and
France were on the point of launching a loan
in America, said to him that it must be
stopped if possible. Mr. Viereck expressed
surprise as he had supposed the other to be
a pro-ally. "I am," was the reply, "but
I am American first. I consider this loan a
menace to the United States. It is only
the beginning of other loans to come. Now
they ask us to lend them a fortune. Sooner
or later these loans will inevitably drive
us into the war. In the end, no matter
who wins, we shall hold the bag for all
Europe. They will saddle their war debts
upon the broad shoulders of Uncle Sam. I
doubt if we shall ever see our money again.
We shall lose not only our money, but the
goodwill of our debtors" A vigorous, but
unsuccessful attempt was made by the pro-
German Press to defeat the loan. The bankers
predichion was only fulfilled in part. The
desire to protect his financial interests was
not the only reason why America entered
the war. The Allies have not saddled Uncle
Sam with their war debts, but only with a
portion of them. They raised internally far
more than they borrowed from him, and most
of Britain's indebtedness to him was incurred
on behalf of others. The assumption that
they would repudiate betrays an ignorance of
their code. Given time they will pay, and
Britain is paying the agreed instalments
punctually and in full. America has not
forfeited their goodwill, at any rate as far as
Britain is concerned. Individuals may think
that she has driven a hard bargain, but never
have Anglo-American relations been so
friendly as since the war. Seventy years ago,
the Trent affair nearly led to war between the
two countries. But the sinking of the I'm
Alone, a much more serious matter, involving
loss of life, did not cause a ripple to disturb
their harmony. (Duckworth.)
 

60  The REVEILLE  March 31, 1930
THE DEVIL'S KITCHEN
(By "Qesses.")
A memory of
the Hindenburg
Line.
[Illustration-see original document]
Diggers called
it "Bully Beef
Factory"

Did Germany, towards the end of the war, boil
down the bodies of the dead to obtain those fats
and oils so essential to the preparation of high
explosive?
From the end of 1917 until the Armistice there
were many Diggers who fully believed that a big
proportion of enemy corpses was disposed of in
this way. We had read in certain of the London
papers which came to us fairly regularly of mysterious
trains which ran from the war areas back
into Germany after nightfall. The reports were to
the effect that these trains were closely guarded.
They were made up of trucks heavily tarpaulined.
Later it was reported that someone had peeped
under a tarpaulin to discover that the trucks were
crammed with the bodies of dead Gerruans, tied
neck to heels in pairs.
"Fritz" Wouldn't Care.
The average Digger just took it for granted then,
although there were some sceptics who wondered
how the operations were kept secret from the German
rank and file. The matter was discussed spasmodically
in and out of the line, and the conclusion
come to generally was that "Fritz" was such a
good soldier and staunch patriot that a little thing
like being boiled down for fat after he had gotten
his issue wouldn't upset his war-time equilibrium.
Any scepticism was banished when Australians
discovered the "Bully Beef Factory" in the Hindenburg
Line. It was wonderful how quickly the
news percolated the five Divisions.
I happen to be personally acquainted with the
facts as they concern the alleged branch "factory."
It was discovered in the 1918 advance in the St.
Quentin tunnel which formed a section of the great
Hindenburg Line in front of Bellecourt. I was
among the first to view the grim underground kitchen.
Bellecourt and, just beyond. Beaurevoir and adjacent
villages saw the Australian infantry in action
for the last time. American divisions—their first
big stunt—made the first assault with tanks and a
barrage, and they went through the forests of wire
and over the elaborate network of fortified trenches
with all the boisterous enthusiasm, of youth—unscarred
and irresponsible.
They "cleaned up" every "Fritz" in sight—
strangely enough (to them) there were not many—
 

and went on, and on, until they discovered that not
only were Germans in front of them, but that in
the misty dawn grey shapes were looming up on
their flanks and behind them.
All Over Again.
The Diggers did that job all over again, and the
Diggers always "cleaned up" on the surface and—
below. They salved the remnant of those gallant
but unsophisticated "Doughboys"" and, so doing,
dealt with thousands of Germans who had dived
below at the first onslaught to emerge later to
engage the Australians.
Bayonet parties combed the enormous underground
trench systems, which had as their basis
the five-mile-long tunnel, through which great
barges could be towed. From this tunnel so well
protected as to be almost immune from the heaviest
shells, galleries led up into concrete emplacements
in the front line. The system was one huge maze
of fortified catacombs.
In the canal tunnel the Germans had moored
many barges, and these were used as billets by
the infantry—thousands could be accommodated—
when not on duty in the front line.
At the southern end of the canal Australian infantrymen
clambered down the steep western bank,
across the lock gates, and on to the eastern tow
path, engaging an occasional German en route, and
sniping a number fleeing up the steep bank opposite.
Bayonet parties then proceeded along the tow
path, and one entered a small black aperture, apparently
an entrance to somewhere, a few yards
from the mouth of the tunnel. A narrow, winding
stairway allowed only one man to proceed at a
time.
The Charnel House.
Up this dark stairway went the Diggers, flashing
an electric torch. They noticed that the walls—
old, red, crumbling brick—were plentifully splashed,
practically for the whole distance, with fresh blood
and blood that was black and congealed.
There was about the place a stench—a charnel
house smell. A the top of the stone stairway they
trod upon boards, and the flashing torch revealed
a sight which, in all the circumstances, was probably
more horrible than all the flesh and soul revolting
sights of the war.
Send in a Story—-Long or Short, Grave or Gay.