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Why The Germans Were Called Huns (WWI)
Pointy heads, pointy helmets
During World War I, there was much talk of The Huns, despite the fact that the original Huns ravaged Eastern Europe 1500 years prior. That is because the Imperial German forces were referred to as Huns by the English-speaking world. Today, this feels like an obscure reference. The Huns were not German, and there is no tangible link between the German Empire and Attila’s hordes.
This raises an interesting question. Why were the Germans called Huns during World War I?
There are two reasons for this moniker, and neither is very flattering. It had to do with the perceived brutality of the German army and their distinctive pointed helmets.
Brutality
The original Huns, led by the infamous Attila, were a warlike people that swept into Europe with little regard for life or liberty. The Imperial German invasion of Belgium elicited similar feelings in 1914. In order to establish a strong front against France, Germany illegally invaded neighboring Belgium at the start of World War I. Millions of men and horses marching through Belgium made the British think about the Huns.
It wasn’t long before the Germans were being referred to as brutes, beasts, animals, monsters, and Huns. Recruitment posters showed beastly German soldiers as apes or monsters. Linking Germany to Dark Age barbarians was both an effective propaganda tool and provided a snappy nickname for the enemy.
Germany’s armies during World War I were vast and uniform. They were highly efficient and seemingly had an appetite for neighboring European lands. The result was a lasting comparison between Kaiser Wilhelm and Attila the Hun.
But the military prowess and brutality were not the only thing that evoked images of the Huns. It also had to do with the Germans’ iconic pointed helmet.
