Postcard from the days of the First World War. Dated 1919. With text in German:
'Friedenspalast-Haag . Den krieg, der ältesten Zeit kann man schiesslich begreifen – das stärkere Tier vernichtet oder knechtet das schwächere. Aber heutzutage kämpfen auf den Schlachfeldern ja keine Menschen, sodern Machinenfabriken'.
Aus “Hundert gedanken zum Krieg” Ludwig Burger
For Andrew Carnegie, the opening of the Peace Palace, on 28 August 1913, was a triumph. He began 1914 with great optimism. In his new year’s wish for that year, he declared himself ‘strong in the faith that international Peace [was] soon to prevail’. History would, as known, take a dramatically different course with the outbreak of the First World War later that year. For the sceptics, this was proof that they had been right: the ‘Temple of Peace’ could not prevent war, and conflicts between States would still be fought on the battlefield.
Peace Palace Library | Postcard collection