War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

GERMANYASWARTIME"REVOLUTIONARY" 67

HismemoreflectedaconcernfortheArabs,aboutrumorsthatBrit-
ainsoughttocreatean ArabcaliphatetoreplacetheOttomanone,
andovertherisingpowerincentralandeasternArabiaofthepro-
Britishchieftain,IbnSaud.FortheReich to have anychanceofsuc-
cess in itsrevolutionaryprogram,heconcluded,thegovernmentmust
providetheforeignministryandmilitaryatleastonehundredmil-
lionmarks-anamountthateventuallyhadto bedoubledandtripled."
Oppenheim'smemoandtheweakbeginningofGermany'swar-
timeactivitiesintheOrientproducedanadministrativechangein
Berlin.Duringtherestof 1914 theforeignministrytransformed,un-
derZimmermann'sguidance,Oppenheim'stranslationoffice in Ber-
linintoamuchlargerinformationbureautotranslate,publishand
distributeintheMuslimworldpro-Germanandpan-Islamicpropa-
gandainOrientallanguages,"
Oppenheimandtwocollaborators,theOrientalscholarEugen
Mittwoch,andadragomanintheforeignministry,KarlEmil
SchabingerFreiherrvonSchowingen,establishedthenewbureau,
calledtheInformationService fortheEast(Nachrichtenstellefurden
Orient).Oppenheimheadedtheagency,buthepossessedlittletalent
fororganizationalandadministrativeaffairs.Fromtheoutset,defi-
cientleadershipandalackofcarefulmonitoringbytheforeignmin-
istrylimitedthesuccessoftheInformationService.
ThenewagencypublishedanddistributedintheMiddleEastpris-
oner-of-warnewspapers,Germanandnon-Germanpublications,and
warreports;italsoassumeda role inGermanforeignintelligence
andrevolutionaryoperations,particularlyinSwitzerlandandNorth
Africa.Amongthenearlyfortyfull-timeandoccasionalworkersin
theInformationService,manyofthemuniversityscholarsandother
specialiststrainedinOrientallanguages,arosepettyjealousies,envy,
andrivalriesthatunderminedbothdisciplineandproductivity.
EquallydamagingfortheInformationService'swork,theagency
experienceddifficultiesinsendingpropagandamaterials,mostof
themprintedinBerlinorattheConstantinopleembassy,toOriental
countries.Inthisregard,itencounteredresistancenotonlyfromthe
enemy-theBritish,French,andeventuallytheItalians-butalsofrom
theTurks,whodidnotwelcomeGermanor anyotherforeignpropa-
gandaintheirmidst.