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| von Bissing with saber |
Brand
Whitlock, the American Minister of the U.S. Legation in Belgium, described the
70-year-old von Bissing as thin, with graying black hair brushed straight back
and "plastered down as with water or with oil." His face was
"wrinkled, and old and weather-beaten" and "remorsefully
shaved...leaving thick heavy moustaches...growing across his cheeks to bristle
up fiercely by his ears." Constantly by his side was a "great heavy
sabre" that "clanked against his thin legs as he walked
stiffly." He wore the Iron Cross First Class and the enameled star of the
Order of the Black Eagle fastened by a
"cravat
about his collar and dangling heavily out at his wrinkled old throat."
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| von Bissing with moustaches |
As
Governor-General of Belgium, von Bissing held god-like powers in his aged
hands. He expected everyone -- from civilians to his own soldiers -- to adhere
to Prussian military standards and to follow every dictate to the letter. It
was nearly unthinkable that one of his soldiers would do otherwise.
Many
of the young, idealistic CRB delegates had little patience for German
bureaucracy and authority. This was especially true when it came from lowly
German sentries and soldiers who constantly harassed the Americans, even when
they were carrying the required German passes, passierscheins, necessary for crisscrossing the country.
One
day -- in an incident related by Brand Whitlock -- a CRB man met von Bissing
and boldly declared that the passes were often disregarded. Von Bissing would
hear none of it. Of course his men honored any passes that were properly issued
from his headquarters. The delegate must be wrong.
Thinking
quickly, the CRBer suggested von Bissing send one of his staff, dressed in
civilian clothes, to ride along on the American's next trip. The
Governor-General agreed.
During
that trip, near the Dutch frontier, the CRB car was stopped by soldiers who
ordered them out of the car and began searching it. Von Bissing's
representative protested, showing his passierschein. The German officer told
him to shut up. The man protested more strongly. Tempers flared.
In the
end, the man was hit in the face by the officer, sent to the local Kommandantur
(headquarters), then to Antwerp, then to Brussels before someone finally acknowledged
who he was.
From
then on, CRB passierscheins were personally signed by von Bissing and treatment
of the traveling delegates improved. The passes became fondly known as
"G-Gs" (for Governor-General) and were, as Whitlock explained,
"much sought after for the sedative effect they exercised on sentinels."
My post: I've
stated in my earliest posts that this blog is primarily for me -- to keep me
focused on continuing this important project. An ancillary benefit might be
that like-minded people stumble across it and we can help support each other's interests
and/or goals.
Well,
I'm happy to report that such serendipity occurred recently. New Jersey high
school student Hanl Park decided he wanted to make a documentary on Hoover's
CRB for the National History Day Student Competition. When he searched YouTube
for any relevant videos, he came across my very amateur effort, which lead him
to my blog.
We
emailed back and forth and then he interviewed me over the phone. I'm
honored that he used my voice to start his video and I speak again about half
way through. He used a still photo of me that shows my very cluttered office in
the background.
Park and his
video have successfully passed through the regionals and are into the states
competition. I wish him luck! For those who want to view the nine-minute video,
the link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPxUgBkjNdw&feature=youtu.be Noteworthy is the excellent commentary from
renowned Hoover biographer, George Nash, and articulate Margaret Hoover, great
granddaughter of the great humanitarian.
As for my
blog and the deadlines I've imposed on myself, I'm going to have to rethink the
concept. Right now it looks bad that I have not successfully completed the last
few deadlines in the time allotted.
That's not
to say I'm behind or have stopped working. Quite the contrary. I've very excited
about what I've been doing and what I've accomplished. As I believe I've
mentioned before, there are distinct stages to creating a book:
1. Gathering
-- of research materials
2. Reading
and Assimilating -- those materials3. Conceptualizing -- the book and/or any articles I might produce along the way.
4. Writing -- the book
5. Marketing -- the book
6. Selling -- the book
I am still
firmly in Stage 1. I've collected more than 25 new books on the subject,
reached out to numerous historians who are working on CRB related projects and
I've planned and organized three research trips:
April 8-April
12: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
in West Branch, Iowa
April
23-April 28: Princeton University's Mudd and Firestone librariesMay13-May 20: Herbert Hoover Institution, Stanford University campus
I leave
tomorrow for West Branch. I'm looking forward to working with archivist Matt
and his staff for three full days.
All of which means that my deadline chart in the upper right side of this blog is not accurate. But right now, I just don't want to take the time to try and think it through and re-arrange it.
Thanks, once again, for anyone who's taken the time to read this post. I'll end with what I posted the other day on Facebook:
"The following inspiration came to me at 2 a.m. this
morning. I believe the first phrase should apply to everyone, then after the
"BUT" each person should put in their own processes for whatever
project, goal or ambition they have. For me, it's about my new book project for
2013. I know it's rather simple and obvious, but I certainly need an occasional
reminder of the simple truths. Take it for what it's worth.
Dare to
Dream Big,BUT,
1. Plan strategically
2. Research meticulously
3. Write movingly
4. Market honestly
5. Sell sincerely”
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