The First World War and the Blockade of Germany, 1914–1919

Abstract

This chapter provides an analysis of the legal and diplomatic documents surrounding the Declaration of London 1909, and the way in which different governments—especially neutral countries such as the Netherlands, the United States, and Sweden—addressed the limits placed on their oceanic trade by the British government and threatened U-boat attack by the Germans. The legacy of the British blockade is also considered, particularly the impacts it may have had on civilian health in Germany, as are the arguments for the morality of siege during wartime. Timing and duration of the blockade were important. However, there were mixed messages at the time, within Germany and elsewhere, about the level of civilian deprivation. The chapter considers how German protests increased during the armistice period when the blockade continued to be enforced. Such efforts, designed to create foreign sympathy, helped to attract international aid to Germany.