Albert Ballin
By
Bernhard Huldermann
Translated from the German
by
W. J. EGGERS, M.A. (London)
Cassell and Company, Limited
London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne
1922
To the Memory of
A L B E R T B A L L I N
in true veneration and heartfelt gratitude
I shall not look upon his like again.”
PREFACE
MY principal reason for publishing the information contained in thisvolume is to keep alive the memory of Albert Ballin. I particularlydesire to show what was his share in bringing about the economic advanceof Germany during the golden age of the Empire’s modern history, and torelate how he—unsuccessfully, alas!—strove to prevent the proudstructure which he had helped to raise, from falling to ruin in the timeof his country’s distress. I believe that much that concerns the latteraspect of his work will be new to most readers. In spite of all that hasbeen said and written concerning the political activities which Ballindisplayed (and is alleged to have displayed) both before and during thewar, their object—and, more important still, their intimate connexionwith his economic activities—is scarcely known. Eminently successfulthough Ballin had been in creating an atmosphere of mutual understandingbetween the various nations in the economic sphere, his attempts toreconcile the contending ambitions of those same nations where politicswere concerned ended in failure. And yet it is impossible to understandhis failure in one respect without first understanding his success inthe other; indeed, the connexion between the two sides of his work formsthe key to the character of the man and to the historical significanceof his achievements.
It is possible that this volume may shed some new light on the causes ofGermany’s collapse; this idea, at any rate, was before my mind when Idecided upon publication. Frederick the Great somewhere remarked that,to the great loss of mankind, the experiences gained by one generationare always useless to the next, and that each generation is fated tomake its own mistakes. If this is true, it is nevertheless to be hopedthat Germany, considering the magnitude of the disaster that hasovertaken her, will not allow the spirit of resignation implied by thisremark to determine her actions in the present case.
In thus submitting to the public the information contained in this book,I am carrying out the behest of the deceased, who asked me to collecthis papers, and to make whateve