Irrational.

This is coolbert:

From the prior blog entry concerning the "myths" of the Great War [WW1] as enumerated by Professor Niall Ferguson:

"* That British foreign policy was driven by legitimate fears of Germany (Ferguson claims Germany posed no threat to Britain before 1914, and that all British fears of Germany were due to irrational anti-German prejudices)"

Irrational anti-German sentiment and prejudice in large measure, or even lesser than large measure, created by the "Invasion" genre' of literature?

"a literary craze . . . that aroused imaginations and anxieties about hypothetical invasions by foreign powers, and by 1914 the genre had amassed a corpus of over 400 book . . . The genre was influential in Britain in shaping politics, national policies and popular perceptions in the years leading up to the First World War"

[we all have an intuitive appreciation of this genre'? You know! I-saw-the-German-waiter-from-the-German-restaurant-in-Liverpool-the-other-night-by-the-beach-and-he-was-signalling-out-to-sea-at-an-unidentified-ship!!]

A genre' deliberately cultivated by a whole series of authors, very popular with the English public. A genre' NOT based on factual data or real situations, highly alarmist and IRRATIONAL!

Authors to include:

* Le Queux.
* Saki [H.H. Munro].
* H.G. Wells.
* Homer Lea. [Lea writing with the encouragement of Lord Roberts]

British fears of actual ground invasion of the English homeland by the German army were greatly exaggerated, ALARMIST!!

A German land invasion of Great Britain would have required a total annihilation of the British Grand Fleet, something that was just not going to occur. The German High Seas Fleet WAS a challenge to the English, but just that - - a challenge.

Nonetheless, real fears of German invasion DID EXIST, engendered by novel, novelettes, novellas, book-after-book, a never ending stream, continuous, and again, POPULAR AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC, TO INCLUDE QUEEN VICTORIA HERSELF!

It should be noted that the foremost author of the genre', William Le Queux, ACTUALLY BEGAN TO TAKE SERIOUSLY AND BELIEVE HIS OWN WORKS OF FICTION - - KNOWING FULL WELL THE ENTIRE TIME THAT WHAT HE HAD COMMITTED TO PAPER WAS MAKE BELIEVE, ENTERTAINMENT, NOT REAL!!

Britain prior to 1914 and the start of WW1 did have legitimate concerns regarding the rising power of that parvenu [upstart] European nation - - Germany!

An Imperial Germany did have world-wide aspirations that came into conflict with the British Empire, but not as envisioned by "Invasion" literature enthusiasts.

coolbert.