4. To quicken patriotic self-consciousness of Germans, and to offer opposition to all movements antagonistic to national development.
In further explanation of the above statutes the League issued a manifesto declaring that "the fate of the Germans in Austria cannot be a matter of indifference to Germany; it cannot be a matter of indifference whether the Saxons or Swabians in Hungary are Magyarized, or the Germans in Switzerland or the Flemish in Belgium are Gallicized. Germans must actively support all movements in those countries in support of Germanism. Germanism across the seas must be preserved and fostered by every possible means."12
We already know how well the German has heeded and obeyed such advice.
By 1900 there were some fifty various associations in existence all subservient to the Pan-German League. Ramified in character but identical in aim these groups, which ranged from military and naval cliques to sports leagues and banking institutions, were all fervidly pledged to preserve and foster Germanism in foreign lands. Politically too, the League gained con-
—44—
