German soldiers watching a Polish village burn
From the Great War published in 1918 photographer uncredited. Intended to show the barbarism of "the Huns", however it was partly retaliation for similar Russian actions in East Prussia. Hindenburg had said that he intended to burn down two villages in Russian Poland for every village the Russians burned in East Prussia. It was claimed in Petrograd in March 1915 that the Germans in Poland had ruined 95 towns & large villages, and some 4,500 smaller villages demolished 1,000 of which were burned to the ground. The damage was estimated then at £100,000,000.
Size: 6132px × 3892px
Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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