Germany accepts the Declaration of London

On 4 September 1914, according to the British chronology of the war, the German government declared that it would observe the Declaration of London on the law of naval warfare if the other belligerents did the same. At the same time Germany presented a list of the goods it regarded as contraband of war.

Berlin’s position

Germany had answered the American question about the Declaration of London as early as 7 August. It then announced that it would apply the declaration on condition of reciprocity. A few days later it handed the US ambassador in Berlin a contraband list based on the German prize regulations of 1909. The list exactly repeated the lists in the Declaration of London: absolute contraband, chiefly weapons, ammunition and military equipment, corresponded to Article 22, and conditional contraband, which included among other things food, fuel and materials also useful to civilians, to Article 24. Austria-Hungary took a similar position.

At the turn of August and September Berlin returned to the matter. It accused Britain and France of breaking the declaration themselves: they had declared aircraft absolute contraband, were seizing cargoes bound for neutral ports, for example in the Netherlands and Norway, and were taking German men of military age off neutral ships. Germany asked the United States to induce the Entente powers to observe the declaration in full. The date of 4 September given in the British chronology probably refers to this exchange of notes, although it is not known exactly which document is meant. The US ambassador in Berlin sent the German memorandum on the matter to Washington on 2 September.

Significance

Germany’s statement was above all of propaganda and diplomatic importance. The German fleet was unable to threaten Allied trade as the Royal Navy threatened German trade, so Berlin was keen on strict observance of rules that would protect supplies to Germany through neutral ports. By presenting itself as the defender of international law, Germany hoped to win over the neutral states, especially the United States, and to put the blame for violating neutral rights on Britain. Britain and France had announced that they would apply the declaration with their own modifications, so the condition of reciprocity was not met. In the following months both sides moved further and further away from the declaration, and the dispute over maritime trade turned into a war of blockades and submarines.