Behind the German Veil

              CAPT. J. M. DE BeAUFORT AUTHOR SOLDIER WAR CORRESPONDENT

BEHIND THE GERMAN VEIL


The Man Who Interviewed von Hindenburg
WHEN the German legions swept down out of the north in August, 1914, ripping through Belgium into northern France, they flung a line of grey - clad men and glistening steel across the European continent, effectually veiling what is back and beyond from the scrutiny of the outside world.  Few men have penetrated that veil in the three years and more which have intervened.  Of these few none has a more interesting story to tell than Capt. J. M. DeBeaufort, the man who interviewed von Hindenburg, who, during his two and a half years in the war zones, visited the French, British, Italian, Russian and Roumanian fronts and spent four months in Germany collecting material now used in his lecture, Behind the German Veil.


No Admission to Potsdam Capt. DeBeaufort at right


J. M. DE BEAUFORT (Noble of the Grand-duchy of Luxembourg, now a naturalized American) was in America when the war broke out.  He at once went to Belgium, and in September, 1914, joined the Belgian forces, being unofficially made a Captain of Engineers, in order that he might get close to the battle lines.  He went through the bombardment of and retreat from Antwerp, and was in all of the fighting in the early months of the war.

HAVING had a thorough newspaper training, both continental and American, and possessing an exceptional knowledge of Germany and the German people, gleaned during his school days in Germany, Captain DeBeaufort foresaw the immense value of information to be secured behind the German lines, and voluntarily took up a dangerous confidential mission offered him by the London Daily Telegraph, during which time he spent four months in Germany.

WITH a magic passport, nothing less than a letter of introduction to General von Hindenburg, written by the nephew of the General, and addressed To the Royal Field-Marshal, Knight of the Highest Order, Herr von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, he gained access to German Headquarters and later to the Eastern Front and the war scenes in Poland and East Prussia.


The Magic Key Which Unlocked Germany

Letter of Gen. von Hindenburg's Nephew, addressed to the General, which proved the Open Sesame to forbidden places.


CAPT. DeBEAUFORT is the only newspaper man to interview von Hindenburg, and he tells an interesting story of the journey, full of incident, to the great Prussian's headquarters; the meeting with the man and an intimate description of him.  No less interesting are the stories of his adventures in the field and his interviews with the most prominent men in the military, naval, political and industrial world of Germany.

WHEN America entered the war he was in a dugout in Belgium.  He gives a graphic description of the scene following the reading by a Belgian Colonel of the message, America is our Ally.  His camera snapped the Colonel embracing the Priest who brought the message, while the Star Spangled Banner was being sung with a depth of meaning never before realized.

He visited the German naval bases at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, and explains, with the aid of recent maps, much in regard to Germany's impregnable system of coast defenses.

VIVID and thrillingly interesting are his memories of France and Belgium, and the spirit of the people.  His descriptions of trench warfare; incidents of the firing lines; England's part; the world importance of the British navy; America's great part in the war; intimate sidelights on Germany; the German spy system; Zeppelins and what was expected of them; the U-boats; German coast defense system; Kiel; Emden; Heliogoland; Wilhelmshaven, etc.

Easily the most informative and at the same time interesting and entertaining narrative of true conditions in Germany which the war has brought forth.





Author - Soldier - War Correspondent

COMMENDATIONS
SINCE his return from Europe, Captain DeBeaufort has been delivering patriotic addresses on the Mayor's (New York) Defense Committee; the British Recruiting Mission, and before various patriotic societies.  He was recent'y appointed as one of thirty speakers, selected from the entire nation, on the Division of Instruction of the New York State Council under the Adjutant General's Office.

On behalf of this Bureau I wish to express our grateful appreciation of your generous and efficient help.  You have rendered a patriotic service of great value which I feel sure you will always look back upon with satisfaction.—Moreau Delano, chairman, Bureau of Speakers and Meetings, Liberty Loan Committee of New York.

I have not heard anything in the way of an address connected with the war which has been so thoroughly interesting and entertaining.—W. R. Welsh, vice president, Bridgeport Brass Co., Bridgeport, Conn.


Captain DeBeaufort took his audience into the trenches of France and showed them the dugouts, the barbed wire entanglements, the ruins of historic buildings and towns, and battle fields strewn with dead.—
Terre Haute, Ind., Tribune.


Captain DeBeaufort's addresses instilled the men with lots of pep and patriotism as he told of actual happenings over there.—
Every Evening, Wilmington, Del.


For over an hour he held his hearers spellbound with tales of the great war in which he has taken an active part.—
Watertown, N. Y., Standard.


Because his story poured right out of the heart of him it was more eloquent than the floweriest of flowery periods.—
Brooklyn Eagle, July 22, 1917.

An earnest and most interesting speaker and has a great message for the American people.—Secretary New York City Rotary Club.

Capt. DeBeaufort did a fine job of lecturing here yesterday before an audience of 2708 men; you can fearlessly recommend him.  He caught the crowd and held them continuously.—A. H. Godard, General Secretary Indianapolis Y. M. C. A.


Capt. De Beaufort and Lieut. von Bethmann-Hollweg(*)
(*)Since killed in battle.



Gymnasium auditorium of the Y. M. C. A. resounded with sharp applause frequently last evening, hand-clapping punctuating the lecture given by Count Jacques M. DeBeaufort, captain of Belgian Artillery.  Count DeBeaufort's formal subject was Behind the German Veil.  To the great satisfaction of his hearers, the speaker devoted part of his address to a recital of conditions on the allied side of the trenches, described some Belgian atrocities he saw himself, as well as giving glimpses behind the German lines and a description of Hindenburg and of interviews with him.—
Tribune, Greensburg, Pa.




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