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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a643d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50788 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50788) diff --git a/old/50788-8.txt b/old/50788-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5379206..0000000 --- a/old/50788-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1983 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Truth About German Atrocities, by -Anonymous - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The Truth About German Atrocities - Founded on the Report of The Committee on Alleged German Outrages - - -Author: Anonymous - - - -Release Date: December 29, 2015 [eBook #50788] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN -ATROCITIES*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original maps. - See 50788-h.htm or 50788-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50788/50788-h/50788-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50788/50788-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/truthaboutgerman00londiala - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES - -Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages - - - - - - - -1915 -Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, -12, Downing Street, London, S.W. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 1 - Appointment of Committee 2 - Terms of Reference 2 - Composition of Committee 2 - 1. CIVILIANS murdered and ill-treated 5 - 2. WOMEN murdered and outraged 15 - 3. Murder and ill-treatment of CHILDREN 16 - 4. Brutal treatment of the AGED, the CRIPPLED and the INFIRM 17 - 5. The use of CIVILIANS as SCREENS 18 - 6. KILLING WOUNDED SOLDIERS and PRISONERS 19 - 7. LOOTING, BURNING and DESTRUCTION of PROPERTY 19 - FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE 23 - - -(1365) W. 5601/507 250M 7/15 H. C. & L., Ltd. - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -_Prussia joined in a Guarantee of Belgian Neutrality._ - -The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1839 to -which France, Prussia and Great Britain were parties. - - -_Recent German Assurances._ - -In 1913 the German Secretary of State, at a meeting of a Budget -Committee of the Reichstag, declared that "Belgian neutrality is -provided for by international conventions, and Germany is determined to -respect those conventions." - -On July 31st, 1914, when the danger of war between Germany and France -seemed imminent, Herr von Below, the German Minister in Brussels, being -interrogated by the Belgian Foreign Department, replied that he knew of -the assurances given by the German Chancellor in 1911 (that Germany had -no intention of violating Belgian neutrality) and that he "was certain -that the sentiments expressed at that time had not changed." - - -_Passage through Belgium Demanded by Germany._ - -Nevertheless, on August 2nd, the same Minister presented a note to the -Belgian Government demanding a passage through Belgium for the German -Army on pain of an instant declaration of war. - - -_Passage Refused by Belgian King and Government._ - -Startled as they were by the suddenness with which this terrific war -cloud had risen on the eastern horizon, the leaders of the nation -rallied round the King of Belgium in his resolution to refuse the -demand and to prepare for resistance. - - -_Invasion._ - -On the evening of August 3rd, the German troops crossed the frontier. - - -_Early Outbreak of Atrocities._ - -No sooner had the Germans violated Belgian territory, than statements -of atrocities committed by German soldiers against civilians--men, -women and children--found their way into the newspapers of this -country. The public could hardly believe the record of cruelty that -rapidly accumulated, but the persistence with which reports from one -district tallied in general outline with reports from other localities -left little doubt in the public mind as to the truth of the alleged -atrocities. But it became necessary to make absolutely certain of the -facts. - - -_Home Office Collected Evidence._ - -The Home Office, in the autumn of 1914, wisely decided to collect -evidence of the truth, and, during the concluding months of 1914, a -great number of statements taken in writing were collected from Belgian -witnesses (mostly civilians), and from British officers and soldiers. -The statements were taken by the staff of the Director of Public -Prosecutions and a number of barristers who assisted the Home Office. - - -_Government Appointed a Committee to Investigate--Terms of Reference._ - -On December 15th, 1914, the Government took the important step of -appointing a Committee:-- - - "To consider and advise on the evidence collected on behalf - of His Majesty's Government, as to outrages alleged to have been - committed by German troops during the present war, cases of alleged - maltreatment of civilians in the invaded territories, and breaches - of the laws and established usages of war; and to prepare a report - for His Majesty's Government showing the conclusion at which they - arrive on the evidence now available."= - - -_Careful Selection of Members of Committee._ - -In order that the findings of the Committee should command the -confidence of the public, the Government was careful to appoint upon -it men whose judicial outlook, training and experience for their -responsible task could not be questioned. - - The Right Hon. Viscount Bryce, O.M., the distinguished British - Ambassador at Washington from 1907 to 1912, was appointed - Chairman, and the other members of the Committee were:-- - - The Right Hon. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., who was Corpus - Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University, 1883-1903, - and is Judge of the Admiralty Court of Cinque Ports. He is one of - the leading authorities on the laws of this country; - - The Right Hon. Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., was Member of Parliament for - Plymouth (20 years) and London City (1906); was Solicitor-General - from 1886 to 1902; - - Sir Kenelm Digby, G.C.B., K.C., who was a County Court Judge from - 1892 to 1894, and Permanent Under-Secretary of the Home Office from - 1895 to 1903; - - Sir Alfred Hopkinson, K.C., LL.D., represented Manchester and North - Wiltshire in the House of Commons; was Principal of Owens College, - Manchester, from 1898 to 1904; and Vice-Chancellor of Victoria - University, Manchester, from 1900 to 1913; - - Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield; - - Mr. Harold Cox, the well-known Journalist and Editor of the - "Edinburgh Review," who represented Preston in the House of - Commons from 1906 to 1910. - - -_How the Committee Worked._ - -The Committee laboured for three months, examining the evidence, and -more than 1,200 statements made by witnesses were considered. These -depositions were in all cases taken down in this country by gentlemen -of legal knowledge and experience, and the greatest care was exercised -in the task. - - -_Doubt Removed as Work Proceeded._ - -The Committee approached their responsible task in a spirit of doubt, -but, to use their own words, "the further we went and the more -evidence we examined, so much the more was our scepticism reduced.... -When we found that things which had at first seemed improbable were -testified to by many witnesses coming from different places, having -had no communication with one another, and knowing nothing of one -another's statements, the points in which they all agreed became more -and more evidently true. And when this concurrence of testimony, this -convergence upon what were substantially the same broad facts, showed -itself in hundreds of depositions, =the truth of those broad facts -stood out beyond question=." - - -_Fairness of Witnesses' Evidence._ - -The Committee expected "to find much of the evidence coloured by -passion, or prompted by an excited fancy. But they were impressed by -the general moderation and matter-of-fact level-headedness of the -witnesses." - - -_No desire to "Make a Case."_ - -Nor could the Committee, in examining the depositions, "detect the -trace of any desire to 'make a case' against the German Army." "In -one respect, the most weighty part of the evidence," according to -the Committee, consisted of the diaries kept by the German soldiers -themselves. - - -_A Terrible Record._ - -The Report of the Committee, with the Appendix, covers 240 foolscap -pages. These 240 pages of cold, judicial print make a terrible -indictment against a so-called Civilised Power--and one, moreover, -whose home is not in "Darkest Africa," but in the very heart of -enlightened Europe. - -In this pamphlet space will only permit of the insertion of the -Findings of the Committee, and of some examples taken from the Report. -_Those who seek fuller information should obtain one or other edition -of the official Report and Appendix, particulars of which are given on -the cover of this pamphlet._ - -It should be borne in mind that this terrible record embraces a part -only of the area in the occupation of German troops, and is based -mainly on the statements of Belgian refugees _in this country_. If -it had been possible to extend the enquiry, and to get evidence from -the Belgians and the French now inhabiting the districts occupied by -Germany, there is no doubt that the volume of evidence would have been -much greater. - - * * * * * - -Note.--_For the purpose of this short pamphlet, the methodical -arrangement in geographical areas followed in the Report has been -abandoned, and a simpler grouping adopted. The whole of the language, -however, in the following pages (apart from the headings) is the -official language of the Report. In no instance has it been altered, -except where an explanation is required, in which case the explanation -is put in brackets. The references in the margin are to the pages in -the report from which the statements have been taken. When taken from -the Appendix, the letter "A" is prefixed._ - - - - -1. CIVILIANS MURDERED AND ILL-TREATED. - - -_The Care of the Belgian Civil Authorities to Collect Firearms from -Civilians and to Warn them against taking part in the Hostilities._ - -[Sidenote: 7] - -The Belgian King and Government were aware of the danger which would -confront the civilian population of the country if it were tempted to -take part in the work of national defence. Orders were accordingly -issued by the civil governors of provinces, and by the burgomasters -of towns, that the civilian inhabitants were to take no part in -hostilities, and to offer no provocation to the invaders. That no -excuse might be furnished for severities, the populations of many -important towns were instructed to surrender all firearms into the -hands of the local officials. - - -_The Kindness extended to the Invading Germans by the Civil Population -of Belgium._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -Letters written to their homes, which have been found on the bodies of -dead Germans, bear witness, in a way that now sounds pathetic, to the -kindness with which they were received by the civil population. Their -evident surprise at this reception was due to the stories which had -been dinned into their ears of soldiers with their eyes gouged out, -treacherous murders and poisoned food. - - -_Outbreak of Atrocities from the Moment the German Army crossed the -Frontier._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Murder, rape, arson and pillage began from the moment when the German -Army crossed the frontier. For the first fortnight of the war, the -towns and villages near Liège were the chief sufferers.... There is a -certain significance in the fact that the outrages round Liège coincide -with the unexpected resistance of the Belgian Army in that district, -and that the slaughter which reigned from August 19th to the end of the -month is contemporaneous with the period when the German Army's need -for a quick passage through Belgium at all costs was deemed imperative. - - - Article 46 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention - concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague - in 1907, reads as follows:-- - - _Family honour and rights, individual life, and private property, - as well as religious convictions and worship, must be respected._ - - _Private property may not be confiscated._ - - -_Instances from Herve and Melen._ - -[Sidenote: 7] - -"On the 4th of August," says one witness, "at Herve" (a village not -far from the frontier), "I saw at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, -near the station, five Uhlans [German cavalry]; these were the first -German troops I had seen. They were followed by a German officer and -some soldiers in a motor car. The men in the car called out to a couple -of young fellows who were standing about 30 yards away. The young men, -being afraid, ran off, and then the Germans fired and killed one of -them named D----." The murder of this innocent fugitive civilian was a -prelude to the burning and pillage of Herve and of other villages in -the neighbourhood, to the indiscriminate shooting of civilians of both -sexes, and to the organised military execution of batches of selected -males. Thus at Herve some 50 men escaping from the burning houses were -seized, taken outside the town and shot. At Melen, a hamlet west of -Herve, 40 men were shot. In one household alone the father and mother -(names given) were shot, the daughter died after being outraged, and -the son was wounded. - - -_The Slaughter of Civilians speedily became a Custom._ - -The burning of the villages in this neighbourhood, and the wholesale -slaughter of civilians, such as occurred at Herve, Micheroux and -Soumagne appear to be connected with the exasperation caused by the -resistance of Fort Fléron, whose guns barred the main road from -Aix-la-Chapelle to Liège. Enraged by the losses which they had -sustained, suspicious of the temper of the civilian population, and -probably thinking that by exceptional severities at the outset they -could cow the spirit of the Belgian nation, the German officers and men -speedily accustomed themselves to the slaughter of civilians. - - -_No Official German Denial of Atrocities._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Citizens of neutral states who visited Belgium in December and January -report that the German authorities do not deny that non-combatants were -systematically killed in large numbers during the first weeks of the -invasion, and this, so far as we know, has never been officially denied. - - -_Flight of Belgian Refugees without Parallel._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -If it were denied, the flight and continued voluntary exile of -thousands of Belgian refugees would go far to contradict a denial, for -there is no historical parallel in modern times for the flight of a -large part of a nation before an invader. - - -_German Government seek to justify Severities, but no Proof given of -Alleged Firing by Civilians._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -The German Government have, however, sought to justify their severities -on the grounds of military necessity, and have excused them as -retaliation for cases in which civilians fired on German troops. There -may have been cases in which such firing occurred, but no proof has -ever been given, or, to our knowledge, attempted to be given, of such -cases, nor of the allegations of shocking outrages perpetrated by -Belgian men and women on German soldiers. - - -_On the contrary, Civilians were Warned after the Invasion._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -The inherent improbability of the German contention is shown by the -fact that after the first few days of the invasion every possible -precaution had been taken by the Belgian authorities, by way of -placards and handbills, to warn the civilian population not to -intervene in hostilities. - - -_Civilians Shot Indiscriminately and without any Inquiry._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -An invading army may be entitled to shoot at sight a civilian caught -red-handed, or anyone who though not caught red-handed is proved guilty -on inquiry. But this was not the practice followed by the German -troops. They do not seem to have made any inquiry. They seized the -civilians of the village indiscriminately and killed them, or such as -they selected from among them, without the least regard to guilt or -innocence. The mere cry "Civilisten haben geschossen" ("Civilians have -been shooting") was enough to hand over a whole village or district, -and even outlying places, to ruthless slaughter. - - -_Killing of Civilians on Scale without any Parallel in Modern Warfare -between Civilised Powers._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -In the present war--and this is the gravest charge against the German -Army--the evidence shows that the killing of non-combatants was carried -out to an extent for which no previous war between nations claiming to -be civilised furnishes any precedent. - - -_Mass of Evidence convinced Committee of its Truth._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -That these acts should have been perpetrated on the peaceful population -of an unoffending country which was not at war with its invaders, but -merely defending its own neutrality, guaranteed by the invading Power, -may excite amazement and even incredulity. It was with amazement and -almost with incredulity that the Committee first read the depositions -relating to such acts. But when the evidence regarding Liège was -followed by that regarding Aerschot, Louvain, Andenne, Dinant and the -other towns and villages, the cumulative effect of such a mass of -concurrent testimony became irresistible, and the Committee were driven -to the conclusion that the things described had really happened. - - -_Killing of Civilians deliberately planned by the Higher Military -Authorities and carried out methodically._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The excesses recently committed in Belgium were, moreover, too -widespread and too uniform in their character to be mere sporadic -outbursts of passion or rapacity. - -[Sidenote: 25] - -That this killing was done as part of a deliberate plan is clear from -the facts set forth regarding Louvain, Aerschot, Dinant and other -towns. The killing was done under orders in each place. It began at a -certain fixed date, and stopped (with some few exceptions) at another -fixed date. - - -_German Army Disciplined to Obey._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The discipline of the German Army is proverbially stringent, and its -obedience implicit. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -It was to the discipline rather than the want of discipline in the Army -that these outrages, which we are obliged to describe as systematic, -were due, and the special official notices posted on certain houses -that they were not to be destroyed show the fate which had been decreed -for the others which were not so marked. - - -_A few German Officers showed Feelings of Humanity._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The Committee gladly record the instances where the evidence shows -that humanity had not wholly disappeared from some members of the -German Army, and that they realised that the responsible heads of that -organisation were employing them, not in war, but in butchery. "I am -merely executing orders, and I should be shot if I did not execute -them," said an officer to a witness at Louvain. At Brussels another -officer said: "I have not done one hundredth part of what we have been -ordered to do by the High German military authorities." - -[Sidenote: 30] - -A humane German officer, witnessing the ruin of Aerschot, exclaimed in -disgust: "I am a father myself, and I cannot bear this. It is not war, -but butchery." - - -_Drink Responsible for many of the Worst Outrages._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -[Sidenote: 30] - -Many of the worst outrages appear to have been perpetrated by men under -the influence of drink. Unfortunately, little seems to have been done -to repress this source of danger.... Officers as well as men succumbed -to the temptation of drink. - - -_The German Army is Responsible for Crimes which it did not Check._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -When an army is directed or permitted to kill non-combatants on a large -scale, the ferocity of the worse natures springs into fuller life, -and both lust and the thirst of blood become more widespread and more -formidable. Had less licence been allowed to the soldiers, and had they -not been set to work to slaughter civilians, there would have been -fewer of those painful cases in which a depraved and morbid cruelty -appears. - - -_The Taking and Murder of Hostages._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -Two classes of murders in particular require special mention, because -one of them is almost new, and the other altogether unprecedented. The -former is the seizure of peaceful citizens as so-called hostages to -be kept as a pledge for the conduct of the civil population, or as a -means to secure some military advantage, or to compel the payment of a -contribution, the hostages being shot if the condition imposed by the -arbitrary will of the invader is not fulfilled. Such hostage taking ... -is opposed both to the rules of war and to every principle of justice -and humanity. - - -_Murder in the Villages._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The latter kind of murder is the killing of the innocent inhabitants of -a village because shots have been fired, or are alleged to have been -fired, on the troops by someone in the village. For this practice no -previous example and no justification has been or can be pleaded.... In -Belgium large bodies of men, sometimes including the burgomaster and -the priest, were seized, marched by officers to a spot chosen for the -purpose, and there shot in cold blood, without any attempt at trial -or even enquiry, under the pretence of inflicting punishment upon the -village, though these unhappy victims were not even charged with having -themselves committed any wrongful act. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -The Committee is specially impressed by the character of the outrages -committed in the smaller villages. - -_Aerschot and District_ (August 25th).--Immediately after the battle of -Malines ... a long series of murders were committed either just before -or during the retreat of the army. Many of the inhabitants who were -unarmed, including women and young children, were killed--some of them -under revolting circumstances. - -Evidence given goes to show that the death of these villagers was due, -not to accident, but to deliberate purpose. - - -_A Death-stricken Area._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The quadrangle of territory bounded by the towns of Aerschot, Malines, -Vilvorde, and Louvain, is a rich agricultural tract, studded with small -villages and comprising two considerable cities, Louvain and Malines. -This district on August 19th passed into the hands of the Germans, and, -owing perhaps to its proximity to Antwerp, then the seat of the Belgian -Government and headquarters of the Belgian Army, it became from that -date a scene of chronic outrage, with respect to which the Committee -has received a great mass of evidence. - - -_Systematic Massacres._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The arrival of the Germans in the district on August 19th was marked by -systematic massacres and other outrages at Aerschot itself, Gelrode and -some other villages. - - -_Sudden Outburst of Cruelty follows Belgian Victory._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -On August 25th the Belgians, sallying out of the defences of Antwerp, -attacked the German positions at Malines, drove the enemy from the -town and re-occupied many of the villages in the neighbourhood. And -just as numerous outrages against the civilian population had been the -immediate consequence of the temporary repulse of the German vanguard -from Fort Fléron, so a large body of depositions testify to the fact -that a sudden outburst of cruelty was the response of the German Army -to the Belgian victory at Malines. - - -_A Reign of Terror._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The battle of Malines ... was the occasion of numerous murders -committed by the German Army in retreating through the villages of -Sempst, Hofstade, Eppeghem, Elewyt and elsewhere. In the second place -it led ... to the massacres, plunderings and burnings at Louvain, the -signal for which was provided by shots exchanged between the German -Army, retreating after its repulse at Malines, and some members of the -German garrison of Louvain, who mistook their fellow countrymen for -Belgians. Lastly, the encounter at Malines seems to have stung the -Germans into establishing a reign of terror in so much of the district -comprised in the quadrangle as remained in their power. - - -_Louvain Peacefully Occupied by Germans for Six Days._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain and District._--The events spoken to as having occurred in and -around Louvain between August 19th and 25th deserve close attention. - -For six days the Germans were in peaceful occupation of the city. No -houses were set on fire--no citizens killed. There was a certain amount -of looting of empty houses, but otherwise discipline was effectively -maintained. The condition of Louvain during these days was one of -relative peace and quietude, presenting a striking contrast to the -previous and contemporaneous conduct of the German Army elsewhere. - - -_A Sudden Change--Murder of Civilians and Destruction of Property._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -On the evening of August 25th a sudden change took place. The Germans, -on that day repulsed by the Belgians, had retreated to and re-occupied -Louvain. Immediately the devastation of that city and the destruction -by fire of its population began. - - -_Defeated Germans Revenge themselves on Civilians._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -The inference is irresistible that the Army as a whole wreaked its -vengeance on the civilian population and the buildings of the city in -revenge for the setback which the Belgian arms had inflicted on them. -A subsidiary cause alleged was the assertion, often made before, that -civilians had fired upon the German Army. - -The depositions which relate to Louvain are numerous, and are believed -by the Committee to present a true and fairly complete picture of the -events of August 25th and 26th and subsequent days. - - -_Civilians did not Fire._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -The Committee find no grounds for thinking that the inhabitants fired -upon the German Army on the evening of August 25th. Eye-witnesses -worthy of credence detail exactly when, where and how the firing -commenced. Such firing was by Germans on Germans. No impartial tribunal -could, so the Committee think, come to any other conclusion. - - -_Harried Villagers._ - -[Sidenote: 21] - -The massacre of civilians at Louvain was not confined to its citizens. -Large crowds of people were brought into Louvain from the surrounding -districts.... Of the hundreds of people taken from the various villages -and brought to Louvain as prisoners, some were massacred there, others -were forced to march along with citizens of Louvain through various -places, some being ultimately sent on the 29th to the Belgian lines at -Malines, others were taken in trucks to Cologne, others were released. - - -_A Calculated Policy of Cruelty._ - -[Sidenote: 23] - -The Committee are driven to the conclusion that the harrying of the -villages in the district, the burning of a large part of Louvain, the -massacres there, the marching out of the prisoners, and the transport -to Cologne--all done without enquiry as to whether the particular -persons seized or killed had committed any wrongful act--were due to -a calculated policy carried out scientifically and deliberately, not -merely with the sanction but under the direction of higher military -authorities, and were not due to any provocation or resistance by the -civilian population. - - -_The Tragedy of Beautiful Dinant._ - -[Sidenote: 13] - -Just outside the prison one witness saw three lines of bodies, which he -recognised as being those of neighbours. They were nearly all dead, but -he noticed movement in some of them. There were about 120 bodies.... -Unarmed civilians were killed in masses at other places near the -prison. About 90 bodies were seen lying on the top of one another in a -grass square opposite the convent. They included many relatives of a -witness.... It is stated that, beside the 90 corpses referred to above, -60 corpses of civilians were recovered from a hole in the brewery yard, -and that 48 bodies of women and children were found in a garden. - - * * * * * - -The Committee have no reason to believe that the civilian population -of Dinant gave any provocation, or that any other defence can be put -forward to justify the treatment inflicted upon its citizens. - -As regards this town and the advance of the German Army from Dinant -to Rethel on the Aisne, a graphic account is given in the diary of a -Saxon officer. This diary confirms what is clear from the evidence -as a whole both as regards these and other districts--that civilians -were constantly taken as prisoners, often dragged from their homes -and shot under the direction of the authorities without any charge -being made against them. An event of the kind is thus referred to in -a diary entry: "Apparently 200 men were shot. There must have been -some innocent men amongst them. In future we shall have to hold an -enquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting them." The shooting of -inhabitants--women and children as well as men--went on after the -Germans had passed Dinant on their way into France. - - -Further Examples of the Treatment of Civilians. - -[Sidenote: 9] - -Entries in a German diary show that on August 19th the German soldiers -gave themselves up to debauchery in the streets of Liège, and on the -night of the 20th (Thursday) a massacre took place in the streets.... -The Belgian witnesses vehemently deny that there had been any -provocation given, some stating that many German soldiers were drunk, -others giving evidence which indicates that the affair was planned -beforehand. It is stated that at 5 o'clock in the evening, long before -the shooting, a citizen was warned by a friendly German soldier not to -go out that night. - -Though the cause of the massacre is in dispute, the results are known -with certainty.... Many inhabitants were burnt alive in their houses, -their efforts to escape being prevented by rifle fire. Twenty people -were shot while trying to escape, before the eyes of one of the -witnesses.... Thirty-two civilians were killed on that day, the 21st, -in the Place de l'Université alone. - -[Sidenote: 20] - -_Louvain._--On August 26th (Wednesday) massacre, fire and destruction -went on.... Citizens were shot and others taken prisoners. - -Soldiers went through the streets saying "Man hat geschossen." ("They -have been shooting.") One soldier was seen going along shooting in -the air.... Some citizens were shot on opening the doors, others in -endeavouring to escape. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -These prisoners [civilians] were practically without food from early -morning on the 26th until midnight on the 29th. Of the corpses seen -on the road some had their hands tied behind their backs, others were -burnt, some had been killed by blows. - -"I did not dare to look at the dead bodies in the street, there were so -many of them." - -[Sidenote: 23] - -"The officers were worse than the men.... We had had nothing to eat or -drink since the evening of the day before. A few compassionate soldiers -gave us water to drink, but no official took the trouble to see that we -were fed." - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Louvain_ (German soldier's diary--No. 32).--"180 inhabitants are -stated to have been shot after they had dug their own graves." - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Surice._--On August 24th and 25th massacres were carried out in which -many persons belonging to the professional classes as well as others -were killed. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Namur_ was entered on August 24th. The troops signalised their entry -by firing on a crowd of 150 unarmed, unresisting civilians, 10 alone of -whom escaped.... As the inhabitants fled from the burning houses they -were shot by the German troops. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -In _Tamines_, a large village on the Meuse between Namur and Charleroi, -the advance guard of the German Army appeared in the first fortnight -in August, and in this, as well as in other villages in the district, -it is proved that a large number of civilians, among them aged people, -women and children, were deliberately killed by the soldiers. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -_Tirlemont._--The prisoners, of whom there are said to have been -thousands, were not allowed even to have water to drink, although -there were streams on the way from which the soldiers drank. Witness -was given some milk at a farm, but as she raised it to her lips it was -taken away from her. - -[Sidenote: 22] - -_Journeys from Louvain to Cologne._--Some of the trucks were abominably -filthy. Prisoners were not allowed to leave to obey the calls of -nature.... They were, in all, eight days in the train, crowded and -almost without food. Two of the men went mad. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--About 70 prisoners ... were taken to Lebbeke, where there -were in all 300 prisoners, and there they were locked up in the church -for three days and with scarcely any food. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Ermeton_ (Diary No. 19).--The exact translation of the extract, grim -in its brevity, is as follows: "August 24/14. We took about 1,000 -prisoners; at least 500 were shot. The village was burnt because -inhabitants had also shot. Two civilians were shot at once." - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Wandre_ (Diary of German soldier--Eitel Anders).--"In one house -a whole collection of weapons was found. The inhabitants without -exception were brought out and shot. This shooting was heart-breaking, -as they all knelt down and prayed; but that was no ground for mercy. A -few shots rang out, and they fell back into the green grass and slept -for ever." - -[Sidenote: 10] - -_Andenne._--Almost immediately, the slaughter of these inhabitants -began, and continued for over two hours, and intermittently during the -night. Machine guns were brought into play. The German troops were said -to be for the most part drunk, and they certainly murdered and ravaged -unchecked. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -About 400 people lost their lives in this massacre.... Eight men -belonging to one family were murdered. Another man was placed close to -a machine gun, which was fired through him. His wife brought his body -home on a wheelbarrow. The Germans broke into her house and ransacked -it, and piled up all the eatables in a heap on the floor and relieved -themselves upon it. A hair-dresser was murdered in his kitchen, where -he was sitting with a child on each knee. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Montigny-sur-Sambre._--On the Monday morning 27 civilians from one -parish alone were seen lying dead in the hospital. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -At _Monceau-sur-Sambre_, on August 21st, a young man of 18 was shot -in his garden. His father and brother were seized in their house and -shot in the courtyard of a neighbouring country house. The son was shot -first. The father was compelled to stand close to the feet of his son's -corpse and to fix his eyes upon him while he himself was shot. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -At _Temploux_, on August 23rd, a Professor of Modern Languages at the -College of Namur was shot at his front door by a German officer. Before -he died he asked the officer the reason for this brutality, and the -officer replied that he had lost his temper because some civilians had -fired upon the Germans as they entered the village. This allegation was -not proved.... After the murder the house was burnt. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Elewyt._--A man's naked body was tied up to a ring in the wall in the -backyard of a house. He was dead, and his corpse was mutilated in a -manner too horrible to record. A woman's naked body was also found in a -stable abutting on the same backyard. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -Bombardier Wetzel, of the 2nd Mounted Battery, 1st Kurhessian Field -Artillery Regiment, No. 11, records an incident which happened in -French territory near Lille on October 11th: "We had no fight, but we -caught about 20 men and shot them." By this time killing not in a fight -would seem to have passed into a habit. - - - - -2. WOMEN MURDERED AND OUTRAGED. - - -[Sidenote: 30] - -From the very first women were not safe. At Liège women and children -were chased about the street by soldiers. One witness gives a story, -very circumstantial in its details, of how women were publicly raped in -the market place of the city, five young German officers assisting. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Tamines._--A witness describes how he saw the public square littered -with corpses, and after a search found those of his wife and child, a -little girl of 7. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Wetteren Hospital._--At this hospital was an old woman of 80 -completely transfixed by a bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Sempst._--Witness saw a girl of 17 dressed only in a chemise and in -great distress. She alleged that she herself and other girls had been -dragged into a field, stripped naked and violated, and that some of -them had then been killed with the bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Eppeghem._--On August 25th a pregnant woman who had been wounded with -a bayonet was discovered in the convent. She was dying. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain._--"In the middle of the night I heard a knock at the outer -door of the stable, which led into a little street, and heard a woman's -voice crying for help. I opened the door, and just as I was going to -let her in, a rifle shot fired from the street by a German soldier rang -out and the woman fell dead at my feet." - -[Sidenote: 21] - -The wife of a witness ... was separated from him, and she saw other -ladies made to walk before the soldiers with their hands above their -heads. One, an old lady of 85 (name given) was dragged from her cellar -and taken with them to the station. - -"I saw the corpses of some women in the street. I fell down, and a -woman who had been shot fell on top of me.... One woman whom I saw -lying dead in the street was a Miss ---- about 35. I also saw the body -of ---- (a woman). She had been shot. I saw an officer pull her corpse -underneath a wagon." - -[Sidenote: 13] - -_Dinant._--He found his wife lying on the floor in a room. She had -bullet wounds in four places, but was alive, and told her husband to -return to the children. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -Sixty women and children were confined in the cellar of a convent from -Sunday morning till the following Friday (August 28th), sleeping on the -ground, for there were no beds, with nothing to drink during the whole -period, and given no food until the Wednesday, "when somebody threw -into the cellar two sticks of macaroni and a carrot for each prisoner." - -[Sidenote: 16] - -In _Malines_ itself many bodies were seen. One witness saw a German -soldier cut a woman's breasts after he had murdered her, and saw many -other dead bodies of women in the streets. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -_Gelrode._--A woman was shot by some German soldiers as she was walking -home. This was done at a distance of 100 yards, and for no apparent -reason. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Hofstade._--The corpse of a woman was seen at the blacksmith's. She -had been killed with the bayonet.... Two young women were lying in the -backyard of the house. One had her breasts cut off, the other had been -stabbed.... In the garden of a house in the main street bodies of two -women were observed. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -_Campenhout_ [Statement of a valet].--"One of the officers ... putting -a revolver to my mistress' temple shot her dead. The officer was -obviously drunk. The other officers continued to drink and sing, and -they did not pay great attention to the killing of my mistress. The -officer who shot my mistress then told my master to dig a grave and -bury my mistress. My master and the officer went into the garden, the -officer threatening my master with a pistol. My master was then forced -to dig the grave, and to bury the body of my mistress in it. I cannot -say for what reason they killed my mistress. The officer who did it was -singing all the time." - - - - -3. THE MURDER AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN. - - -[Sidenote: 32] - -There can be no possible defence for the murder of children. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -Whether or no Belgian civilians fired on German soldiers, young -children, at any rate, did not fire. The number and character of -these murders constitute the most distressing feature connected with -the conduct of the war so far as it is revealed in the depositions -submitted to the Committee. - -[Sidenote: 32] - -It is clearly shown that many offences were committed against infants -and quite young children. On one occasion children were even roped -together and used as a military screen against the enemy, on another -three soldiers went into action carrying small children to protect -themselves from flank fire. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -At _Haecht_ several children had been murdered; one of two or three -years old was found nailed to the door of a farmhouse by its hands and -feet, a crime which seems almost incredible, but the evidence for which -we feel bound to accept. In the garden of this house was the body of a -girl who had been shot in the forehead. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -_Capelle-au-Bois._--Two children were murdered in a cart, and their -corpses were seen by many witnesses at different stages of the cart's -journey. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Tamines._--One witness describes how she saw a Belgian boy of fifteen -shot on the village green, and a day or two later on the same green a -little girl and her two brothers (name given) who were looking at the -German soldiers were killed before her eyes for no apparent reason. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Boort Meerbeek._--A German soldier was seen to fire three times -at a little girl of five years old. Having failed to hit her, he -subsequently bayoneted her. He was killed with the butt end of a -rifle by a Belgian soldier who had seen him commit this murder from a -distance. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Weerde._--Two children were killed in a village--apparently -Weerde--quite wantonly as they were standing in the road with their -mother. They were three or four years old, and were killed with the -bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Eppeghem._--The dead body of a child of two was seen pinned to the -ground with a German lance. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Hofstade._--On a side road ... was seen ... the dead body of a boy of -five or six with his hands nearly severed. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -In _Hofstade_ and _Sempst_, in _Haecht_, _Rotselaar_ and _Wespelaar_, -many children were murdered. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -_Louvain_ (August 28th).--One woman went mad, some children died, -others were born.... (August 29th, outside Louvain): Some corpses were -those of children who had been shot. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -_A small village._--There were two little children--a boy about 4 or -5, and a girl of about 6 or 7. The boy's left hand was cut off at the -wrist and the girl's right hand at the same place. They were both quite -dead. - -[Sidenote: 32] - -_Malines._--"One day when the Germans were not actually bombarding the -town, I left my house to go to my mother's house in High Street. My -husband was with me. I saw eight German soldiers, and they were drunk. -They were singing and making a lot of noise and dancing about. As the -German soldiers came along the street I saw a small child, whether boy -or girl I could not see, come out of a house. The child was about 2 -years of age. The child came into the middle of the street so as to -be in the way of the soldiers. The soldiers were walking in twos. The -first line of two passed the child. One of the second line, the man -on the left, stepped aside and drove his bayonet with both hands into -the child's stomach, lifting the child into the air on his bayonet and -carrying it away on his bayonet, he and his comrades still singing. The -child screamed when the soldier struck it with his bayonet, but not -afterwards." - - - - -4. BRUTAL TREATMENT OF THE AGED, THE CRIPPLED AND THE INFIRM. - - -[Sidenote: 11] - -At _Denée_, on August 28th, a Belgian soldier who had been taken -prisoner saw three civilian fellow-prisoners shot. One was a cripple -and another an old man of 80, who was paralysed. It was alleged by two -German soldiers that these men had shot at them with rifles. Neither of -them had rifles, nor had they anything in their pockets. The witness -actually saw the Germans search them and nothing was found. - -[Sidenote: 20] - -_Louvain._--"Subsequently my master--an old gentleman--was bayoneted -and shot."... Among other persons whose houses were burnt was an old -man of 90, lying dangerously ill, who was taken out on his mattress -and left lying in his garden all night. He died shortly after in the -hospital. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -The journey to Louvain is thus described by a witness: "We were all -marched off to Louvain, walking. There were some very old people, -amongst others a man 90 years of age. The very old people were drawn -in carts and barrows by the younger men. There was an officer with -a bicycle, who shouted, as people fell out by the side of the road, -'Shoot them.'" - -[Sidenote: 8] - -At _Heure le Romain_ ... some bedridden old men were imprisoned in the -church. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Andenne._--A paralytic was murdered in his garden. - -[Sidenote: 29] - -_Beaumetz._--They saw two old men--between 60 and 70 years of age--and -one old woman lying close to each other in the garden. All three had -the scalps cut right through.... They were still bleeding. - - - - -5. THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS SCREENS. - - -[Sidenote: 33] - -The Committee had before them a considerable body of evidence with -reference to the practice of the Germans of using civilians and -sometimes military prisoners as screens from behind which they -could fire upon the Belgian troops, in the hope that the Belgians -would not return the fire for fear of killing or wounding their own -fellow-countrymen. - -[Sidenote: 31] - -The use of women and even children as a screen for the protection -of the German troops is referred to.... From the number of troops -concerned, it must have been commanded or acquiesced in by officers, -and in some cases the presence and connivance of officers is proved. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--Two hundred civilians were utilised as a screen by the -German troops. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Binnenstraat._--The civilians were utilised on Saturday, the 26th -September, as a screen. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -_Mons._--On August 24th men, women and children were actually pushed -into the front of the German position outside Mons. The witness speaks -of 16 to 20 women, about a dozen children and half a dozen men being -there. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Tournai_ 400 Belgian civilians--men, women and children--were -placed in front of the Germans, who then engaged the French. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Ypres_ the Germans drove women in front of them by pricking them -with bayonets. The wounds were afterwards seen by the witness. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Londerzeel_ 30 or 40 civilians--men, women and children--were -placed at the head of a German column. - -One witness from _Termonde_ was made to stand in front of the Germans, -together with others, all with their hands above their heads. Those who -allowed their hands to drop were at once prodded with the bayonet. - - - - -6. THE KILLING OF WOUNDED SOLDIERS AND PRISONERS. - - -[Sidenote: 35] - -After making all allowances, there remain certain instances in which it -is clear that quarter was refused to persons desiring to surrender when -it ought to have been given, or that persons already so wounded as to -be incapable of fighting further, were wantonly shot or bayoneted. - -[Sidenote: 36] - -In one case, given very circumstantially, a witness [a British -lance-corporal, whose evidence has been confirmed by a lieutenant and -a private] tells how a party of wounded British soldiers were left in -a chalk pit, all very badly hurt, and quite unable to make resistance. -One of them, an officer, held up his handkerchief as a white flag, and -this "attracted the attention of a party of about eight Germans. The -Germans came to the edge of the pit. It was getting dusk, but the light -was still good, and everything clearly discernible. One of them, who -appeared to be carrying no arms, and who, at any rate, had no rifle, -came a few feet down the slope into the chalk pit, within eight or ten -yards of some of the wounded men." He looked at the men, laughed, and -said something in German to the Germans who were waiting on the edge -of the pit. Immediately one of them fired at the officer, then three -or four of these 10 soldiers were shot, then another officer, and the -witness, and the rest of them. "After an interval of some time I sat up -and found that I was the only man of the 10 who were living when the -Germans came into the pit remaining alive, and that all the rest were -dead." - - - - -7. LOOTING, BURNING AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. - - -[Sidenote: 34] - -There is an overwhelming mass of evidence of the deliberate destruction -of private property by the German soldiers. The destruction, in most -cases, was effected by fire, and the German troops had been provided -beforehand with appliances for rapidly setting fire to houses. Among -the appliances enumerated by witnesses are syringes for squirting -petrol, guns for throwing small inflammable bombs, and small pellets -made of inflammable material. Specimens of the last-mentioned have been -shown to members of the Committee. Besides burning houses the Germans -frequently smashed furniture and pictures; they also broke in doors and -windows. Frequently, too, they defiled houses by relieving the wants of -nature upon the floor. They also appear to have perpetrated the same -vileness upon piled up heaps of provisions, so as to destroy what they -could not themselves consume. - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Villages, even large parts of a city, were given to the flames as part -of the terrorising policy. - -[Sidenote: 35] - -The general conclusion is that the burning and destruction of property -which took place was only in a very small minority of cases justified -by military necessity. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain._--Then the corps of incendiaries got to work. They had -broad belts with the words "Gott mit uns" ("God with us"), and their -equipment consisted of a hatchet, a syringe, a small shovel and a -revolver. Fires blazed up in the direction of the Law Courts and St. -Martin's Barracks. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -A witness: "When we got to the Place de la Station ... not a single -house in the place was standing." - -[Sidenote: 20] - -On the 26th (Wednesday), in the city of Louvain, massacre, fire, and -destruction went on. The University, with its Library, the Church of -St. Peter, and many houses were set on fire and burnt to the ground. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Tamines._--A witness went there on August 27th and says: "It is -absolutely destroyed and a mass of ruins." - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Liège._--The Rue des Pitteurs and houses in the Place de l'Université -and the Quai des Pêcheurs were systematically fired with benzine. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -_Aerschot._--The houses were set on fire with special apparatus. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Montigny-sur-Sambre._--Incendiaries, with a distinctive badge on their -arm, went down the main street throwing handfuls of inflammatory and -explosive pastilles into the houses. These pastilles were carried by -them in bags, and in this way about 130 houses were destroyed in the -main street. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Namur._--A witness of good standing ... describes how the town was -set on fire systematically in six different places.... Not less than -140 houses were burnt. On the 25th the hospital was set on fire with -inflammable pastilles, the pretext being that soldiers in the hospital -had fired upon the Germans. - -[Sidenote: 13] - -_Dinant._--The town was systematically set on fire by hand grenades.... -The houses and villages were pillaged and property wantonly destroyed. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -At _Morlanwelz_, about this time, the British Army, together with some -French cavalry, were compelled to retire before the German troops. The -latter took the burgomaster and his manservant prisoner and shot them -both in front of the Hotel de Ville at Péronne (Belgium), where the -bodies were left in the street for 48 hours. They burnt the Hotel de -Ville and 62 houses. The usual accusation of firing by civilians was -made. It is strenuously denied by the witness, who declares that three -or four days before the arrival of the Germans, circulars had been -distributed to every house and placards had been posted in the town -ordering the deposit of all firearms at the Hotel de Ville, and that -this order had been complied with. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Erpe._--The village was deliberately burnt. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--The town was partially burnt. One witness was taken -prisoner in the street by some German soldiers, together with several -other civilians. At about 12 o'clock on the 5th some of the tallest -and strongest men amongst the prisoners were picked out to go round -the streets with paraffin. Three or four carts containing paraffin -tanks were brought up, and a syringe was used to put paraffin on to -the houses, which were then fired. The process of destruction began -with the houses of rich people, and afterwards the houses of the poorer -classes were treated in the same manner. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Herve._--From the 8th to the 10th over 300 houses were burnt. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Visé._--On or about the 14th and 15th the village was completely -destroyed. Officers directed the incendiaries, who worked methodically -with benzine. - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Diary of Eitel Anders_, a German soldier.--"We crossed the Belgian -frontier on August 15th, 1914, at 11.50 in the forenoon, and then we -went steadily along the main road till we got into Belgium. Hardly were -we there when we had a horrible sight. Houses were burnt down.... Not -one of the hundreds of houses were spared. Everything was plundered and -burnt." - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Diary of Matbern, of the 4th Company of Jägers_, states that at a -village between Birnal and Dinant, on Sunday, August 23rd, "about 220 -inhabitants were shot, and the village was burnt.... All villages, -chateaux and houses are burnt down during the night. It is a beautiful -sight to see the fires all round us in the distance." - - -_Looting._ - -[Sidenote: 34] - -The German troops, both in Belgium and France, are proved to have been -guilty of persistent looting. In the majority of cases the looting took -place from houses, but there is also evidence that German soldiers, -and even officers, robbed their prisoners, both civil and military, -of sums of money and other portable possessions. It was apparently -well known throughout the German Army that towns and villages would -be burned whenever it appeared that any civilians had fired upon the -German troops, and there is reason to suspect that this known intention -of the German military authorities in some cases explains the sequence -of events which led up to the burning and sacking of a town or village. -The soldiers, knowing that they would have an opportunity of plunder -if the place was condemned, had a motive for arranging some incident -which would provide the necessary excuse for condemnation. More than -one witness alleges that shots coming from the window of a house were -fired by German soldiers, who had forced their way into the house for -the purpose of thus creating an alarm. - -[Sidenote: 15] - -_Aerschot._--Throughout the day the town was looted by the soldiers. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Visé._--Antiques and china were removed from the houses before their -destruction by officers who guarded the plunder, revolver in hand. - -[Sidenote: A 171] - -Translated extract from diary of Stephan Luther: "We live like God in -France." - -[Sidenote: A 181] - -Translated extracts from the field notebook of an officer in the 178th -Regiment, XIIth (Saxon) Corps: "August 17th.--In the afternoon I had a -look at the little chateau belonging to one of the King's Secretaries -(not at home). Our men had behaved like regular vandals. They had -looted the cellar first.... Everything was topsy-turvy--magnificent -furniture, silk, and even china.... I am sure they must have taken away -a heap of useless stuff simply for the pleasure of looting." - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: A 182] - -"September 3rd.--Still at Rethel, ... the houses are charming inside. -The middle class in France has magnificent furniture.... Every bit of -furniture broken, mirrors smashed. The Vandals themselves could not -have done more damage. This place is a disgrace to our army." - -"I could not resist taking a little memento myself here and there." - - - Article 47 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention - concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague - in 1907, reads as follows:-- - - _Pillage is expressly forbidden._ - - - - -FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE. - - -[Sidenote: 37] - -"The Committee have come to a definite conclusion upon each of the -heads under which the evidence has been classified. - - "=It is proved=:-- - - "(=i=) =That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate - and systematically organised massacres of the civil population, - accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages.= - - "(=ii=) =That in the conduct of the war generally innocent - civilians, both men and women, were murdered in large numbers, - women violated, and children murdered.= - - "(=iii=) =That looting, house burning, and the wanton - destruction of property were ordered and countenanced by the - officers of the German Army, that elaborate provision had been made - for systematic incendiarism at the very outbreak of the war, and - that the burnings and destruction were frequent where no military - necessity could be alleged, being indeed part of a system of - general terrorization.= - - "(=iv=) =That the rules and usages of war were frequently - broken, particularly by the using of civilians, including women - and children, as a shield for advancing forces exposed to fire, - to a less degree by killing the wounded and prisoners, and in the - frequent abuse of the Red Cross and the White Flag.= - - "Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the - Committee conceive that they would be doing less than their duty if - they failed to record them as fully established by the evidence. - =Murder, lust, and pillage prevailed over many parts of Belgium - on a scale unparalleled in any war between civilised nations during - the last three centuries.= - - "Our function is ended when we have stated what the evidence - establishes, but we may be permitted to express our belief that - these disclosures will not have been made in vain if they touch - and rouse the conscience of mankind, and we venture to hope that, - as soon as the present war is over, the nations of the world in - council will consider what means can be provided and sanctions - devised to prevent the recurrence of such horrors as our generation - is now witnessing." - - - - -Is YOUR conscience roused? Won't YOU take the most effective way of -showing it--if you are a man under 40 and fit? The only way to put a -stop to these and other crimes is to crush the German Army. - -YOU can help either by joining the Army or by making munitions. Place -YOUR services at the disposal of the military authorities. - -If YOU are a woman, cannot you help a man to decide? - - - - -[Illustration: Map of Belgium] - - - - -PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. - - -REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ALLEGED GERMAN OUTRAGES, - - 38 pages, F'cap. folio, with 2 maps. [Cd. 7894.] Price 6_d._ - - -APPENDIX TO REPORT, - - 199 pages, F'cap. folio. Depositions, diaries and plates. - [Cd. 7895.] Price 1_s._ 9_d._ - - -The above have been reprinted as Official Publications, in smaller -(octavo) size:-- - REPORT, 64 pages, with 2 maps Price 3_d._ - REPORT, 48 pages, without maps " 1_d._ - DEPOSITIONS, 288 pages, with 8 plates " 6_d._ - - * * * * * - -To be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from - -WYMAN AND SONS, LTD., 29, Breams Buildings, Fetter Lane, E.C., -and 28, Abingdon Street, S.W., and 54, St. Mary Street, Cardiff; or - -H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE (SCOTTISH BRANCH), 23, Forth Street, -Edinburgh; or - -E. PONSONBY, LTD., 116, Grafton Street, Dublin; - -or from the Agencies in the British Colonies and Dependencies, the -United States of America and other Foreign Countries of - -T. FISHER UNWIN, London, W.C. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. - -Inconsistent hyphenation was made consistent. - -P. 17: Rotselaer and Wespelaer -> Rotselaar and Wespelaar. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES*** - - -******* This file should be named 50788-8.txt or 50788-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/7/8/50788 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The Truth About German Atrocities</p> -<p> Founded on the Report of The Committee on Alleged German Outrages</p> -<p>Author: Anonymous</p> -<p>Release Date: December 29, 2015 [eBook #50788]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES***</p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/truthaboutgerman00londiala"> - https://archive.org/details/truthaboutgerman00londiala</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h1>THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES</h1> - -<div class="center"> -Founded<br /> -on the Report<br /> -of the Committee on<br /> -Alleged German Outrages<br /> -<br /> -1915<br /> -Parliamentary Recruiting Committee,<br /> -12, Downing Street, London, S.W.<br /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">INTRODUCTION</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Appointment of Committee</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Terms of Reference</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Composition of Committee</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">1.</td><td align="left">CIVILIANS murdered and ill-treated</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">2.</td><td align="left">WOMEN murdered and outraged</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">3.</td><td align="left">Murder and ill-treatment of CHILDREN</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">4.</td><td align="left">Brutal treatment of the AGED, the CRIPPLED and the INFIRM</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">5.</td><td align="left">The use of CIVILIANS as SCREENS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">6.</td><td align="left">KILLING WOUNDED SOLDIERS and PRISONERS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">7.</td><td align="left">LOOTING, BURNING and DESTRUCTION of PROPERTY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>(1365) W. 5601/507 250M 7/15 H. C. & L., Ltd.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="center"><big>THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES.</big></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> - - -<p><i>Prussia joined in a Guarantee of Belgian Neutrality.</i></p> - -<p>The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by a treaty signed -in 1839 to which France, Prussia and Great Britain were parties.</p> - - -<p><i>Recent German Assurances.</i></p> - -<p>In 1913 the German Secretary of State, at a meeting of a -Budget Committee of the Reichstag, declared that "Belgian -neutrality is provided for by international conventions, and -Germany is determined to respect those conventions."</p> - -<p>On July 31st, 1914, when the danger of war between Germany -and France seemed imminent, Herr von Below, the German -Minister in Brussels, being interrogated by the Belgian Foreign -Department, replied that he knew of the assurances given by -the German Chancellor in 1911 (that Germany had no intention -of violating Belgian neutrality) and that he "was certain that -the sentiments expressed at that time had not changed."</p> - - -<p><i>Passage through Belgium Demanded by Germany.</i></p> - -<p>Nevertheless, on August 2nd, the same Minister presented -a note to the Belgian Government demanding a passage through -Belgium for the German Army on pain of an instant declaration -of war.</p> - - -<p><i>Passage Refused by Belgian King and Government.</i></p> - -<p>Startled as they were by the suddenness with which this -terrific war cloud had risen on the eastern horizon, the leaders -of the nation rallied round the King of Belgium in his resolution -to refuse the demand and to prepare for resistance.</p> - - -<p><i>Invasion.</i></p> - -<p>On the evening of August 3rd, the German troops crossed -the frontier.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>Early Outbreak of Atrocities.</i></p> - -<p>No sooner had the Germans violated Belgian territory, than -statements of atrocities committed by German soldiers against -civilians—men, women and children—found their way into the -newspapers of this country. The public could hardly believe the -record of cruelty that rapidly accumulated, but the persistence -with which reports from one district tallied in general outline -with reports from other localities left little doubt in the public -mind as to the truth of the alleged atrocities. But it became -necessary to make absolutely certain of the facts.</p> - - -<p><i>Home Office Collected Evidence.</i></p> - -<p>The Home Office, in the autumn of 1914, wisely decided to -collect evidence of the truth, and, during the concluding months -of 1914, a great number of statements taken in writing were -collected from Belgian witnesses (mostly civilians), and from -British officers and soldiers. The statements were taken by -the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions and a number -of barristers who assisted the Home Office.</p> - - -<p><i>Government Appointed a Committee to Investigate—Terms -of Reference.</i></p> - -<p>On December 15th, 1914, the Government took the important -step of appointing a Committee:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><b>"To consider and advise on the evidence collected on behalf -of His Majesty's Government, as to outrages alleged -to have been committed by German troops during -the present war, cases of alleged maltreatment of -civilians in the invaded territories, and breaches of -the laws and established usages of war; and to prepare -a report for His Majesty's Government showing the -conclusion at which they arrive on the evidence now -available."</b></p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>Careful Selection of Members of Committee.</i></p> - -<p>In order that the findings of the Committee should command -the confidence of the public, the Government was careful to -appoint upon it men whose judicial outlook, training and experience -for their responsible task could not be questioned.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Right Hon. <span class="smcap">Viscount Bryce</span>, O.M., the distinguished -British Ambassador at Washington from 1907 to 1912, -was appointed Chairman, and the other members of -the Committee were:—</p> - -<p>The Right Hon. <span class="smcap">Sir Frederick Pollock</span>, Bart., who was -Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University, -1883-1903, and is Judge of the Admiralty -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>Court of Cinque Ports. He is one of the leading authorities -on the laws of this country;</p> - -<p>The Right Hon. <span class="smcap">Sir Edward Clarke</span>, K.C., was Member of -Parliament for Plymouth (20 years) and London City -(1906); was Solicitor-General from 1886 to 1902;</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir Kenelm Digby</span>, G.C.B., K.C., who was a County Court -Judge from 1892 to 1894, and Permanent Under-Secretary -of the Home Office from 1895 to 1903;</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir Alfred Hopkinson</span>, K.C., LL.D., represented Manchester -and North Wiltshire in the House of Commons; -was Principal of Owens College, Manchester, from -1898 to 1904; and Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, -Manchester, from 1900 to 1913;</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. H. A. L. Fisher</span>, Vice-Chancellor of the University -of Sheffield;</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Harold Cox</span>, the well-known Journalist and Editor of -the "Edinburgh Review," who represented Preston in -the House of Commons from 1906 to 1910.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>How the Committee Worked.</i></p> - -<p>The Committee laboured for three months, examining the -evidence, and more than 1,200 statements made by witnesses -were considered. These depositions were in all cases taken -down in this country by gentlemen of legal knowledge and -experience, and the greatest care was exercised in the task.</p> - - -<p><i>Doubt Removed as Work Proceeded.</i></p> - -<p>The Committee approached their responsible task in a spirit -of doubt, but, to use their own words, "the further we went -and the more evidence we examined, so much the more was our -scepticism reduced.... When we found that things which -had at first seemed improbable were testified to by many witnesses -coming from different places, having had no communication with -one another, and knowing nothing of one another's statements, -the points in which they all agreed became more and more evidently -true. And when this concurrence of testimony, this -convergence upon what were substantially the same broad facts, -showed itself in hundreds of depositions, <b>the truth of those broad -facts stood out beyond question</b>."</p> - - -<p><i>Fairness of Witnesses' Evidence.</i></p> - -<p>The Committee expected "to find much of the evidence -coloured by passion, or prompted by an excited fancy. But -they were impressed by the general moderation and matter-of-fact -level-headedness of the witnesses."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>No desire to "Make a Case."</i></p> - -<p>Nor could the Committee, in examining the depositions, -"detect the trace of any desire to 'make a case' against the -German Army." "In one respect, the most weighty part of -the evidence," according to the Committee, consisted of the -diaries kept by the German soldiers themselves.</p> - - -<p><i>A Terrible Record.</i></p> - -<p>The Report of the Committee, with the Appendix, covers -240 foolscap pages. These 240 pages of cold, judicial print -make a terrible indictment against a so-called Civilised Power—and -one, moreover, whose home is not in "Darkest Africa," -but in the very heart of enlightened Europe.</p> - -<p>In this pamphlet space will only permit of the insertion of -the Findings of the Committee, and of some examples taken -from the Report. <i>Those who seek fuller information should obtain -one or other edition of the official Report and Appendix, particulars -of which are given on the cover of this pamphlet.</i></p> - -<p>It should be borne in mind that this terrible record embraces -a part only of the area in the occupation of German troops, and -is based mainly on the statements of Belgian refugees <i>in this -country</i>. If it had been possible to extend the enquiry, and to -get evidence from the Belgians and the French now inhabiting -the districts occupied by Germany, there is no doubt that the -volume of evidence would have been much greater.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—<i>For the purpose of this short pamphlet, the methodical -arrangement in geographical areas followed in the Report has been -abandoned, and a simpler grouping adopted. The whole of the -language, however, in the following pages (apart from the headings) -is the official language of the Report. In no instance has it been -altered, except where an explanation is required, in which case the -explanation is put in brackets. The references in the margin are -to the pages in the report from which the statements have been taken. -When taken from the Appendix, the letter "A" is prefixed.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>1. CIVILIANS MURDERED AND ILL-TREATED.</h2> - - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>The Care of the Belgian Civil Authorities to Collect Firearms -from Civilians and to Warn them against taking part in -the Hostilities.</i></p></blockquote> - -<div class="sidenote">7</div> - -<p>The Belgian King and Government were aware of the danger -which would confront the civilian population of the country if -it were tempted to take part in the work of national defence. -Orders were accordingly issued by the civil governors of provinces, -and by the burgomasters of towns, that the civilian inhabitants -were to take no part in hostilities, and to offer no provocation -to the invaders. That no excuse might be furnished for severities, -the populations of many important towns were instructed to -surrender all firearms into the hands of the local officials.</p> - - -<p><i>The Kindness extended to the Invading Germans by the Civil -Population of Belgium.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">26</div> - -<p>Letters written to their homes, which have been found on the -bodies of dead Germans, bear witness, in a way that now sounds -pathetic, to the kindness with which they were received by the -civil population. Their evident surprise at this reception -was due to the stories which had been dinned into their ears of -soldiers with their eyes gouged out, treacherous murders and -poisoned food.</p> - - -<p><i>Outbreak of Atrocities from the Moment the German Army -crossed the Frontier.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>Murder, rape, arson and pillage began from the moment when -the German Army crossed the frontier. For the first fortnight -of the war, the towns and villages near Liège were the chief -sufferers.... There is a certain significance in the fact -that the outrages round Liège coincide with the unexpected -resistance of the Belgian Army in that district, and that the -slaughter which reigned from August 19th to the end of the month -is contemporaneous with the period when the German Army's -need for a quick passage through Belgium at all costs was deemed -imperative.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Article 46 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention concerning -the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague in 1907, -reads as follows:—</p> - -<p><i>Family honour and rights, individual life, and private property, as well as -religious convictions and worship, must be respected.</i></p> - -<p><i>Private property may not be confiscated.</i></p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>Instances from Herve and Melen.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">7</div> - -<p>"On the 4th of August," says one witness, "at Herve" (a -village not far from the frontier), "I saw at about 2 o'clock in -the afternoon, near the station, five Uhlans [German cavalry]; -these were the first German troops I had seen. They were -followed by a German officer and some soldiers in a motor car. -The men in the car called out to a couple of young fellows who -were standing about 30 yards away. The young men, being -afraid, ran off, and then the Germans fired and killed one of them -named D——." The murder of this innocent fugitive civilian -was a prelude to the burning and pillage of Herve and of other -villages in the neighbourhood, to the indiscriminate shooting of -civilians of both sexes, and to the organised military execution -of batches of selected males. Thus at Herve some 50 men -escaping from the burning houses were seized, taken outside the -town and shot. At Melen, a hamlet west of Herve, 40 men were -shot. In one household alone the father and mother (names -given) were shot, the daughter died after being outraged, and -the son was wounded.</p> - - -<p><i>The Slaughter of Civilians speedily became a Custom.</i></p> - -<p>The burning of the villages in this neighbourhood, and the -wholesale slaughter of civilians, such as occurred at Herve, -Micheroux and Soumagne appear to be connected with the -exasperation caused by the resistance of Fort Fléron, whose guns -barred the main road from Aix-la-Chapelle to Liège. Enraged -by the losses which they had sustained, suspicious of the temper -of the civilian population, and probably thinking that by exceptional -severities at the outset they could cow the spirit of the -Belgian nation, the German officers and men speedily accustomed -themselves to the slaughter of civilians.</p> - - -<p><i>No Official German Denial of Atrocities.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>Citizens of neutral states who visited Belgium in December -and January report that the German authorities do not deny that -non-combatants were systematically killed in large numbers -during the first weeks of the invasion, and this, so far as we know, -has never been officially denied.</p> - - -<p><i>Flight of Belgian Refugees without Parallel.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>If it were denied, the flight and continued voluntary exile of -thousands of Belgian refugees would go far to contradict a denial, -for there is no historical parallel in modern times for the flight -of a large part of a nation before an invader.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>German Government seek to justify Severities, but no Proof -given of Alleged Firing by Civilians.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>The German Government have, however, sought to justify -their severities on the grounds of military necessity, and have -excused them as retaliation for cases in which civilians fired on -German troops. There may have been cases in which such -firing occurred, but no proof has ever been given, or, to our -knowledge, attempted to be given, of such cases, nor of the -allegations of shocking outrages perpetrated by Belgian men -and women on German soldiers.</p> - - -<p><i>On the contrary, Civilians were Warned after the Invasion.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">26</div> - -<p>The inherent improbability of the German contention is shown -by the fact that after the first few days of the invasion every -possible precaution had been taken by the Belgian authorities, -by way of placards and handbills, to warn the civilian population -not to intervene in hostilities.</p> - - -<p><i>Civilians Shot Indiscriminately and without any Inquiry.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">26</div> - -<p>An invading army may be entitled to shoot at sight a civilian -caught red-handed, or anyone who though not caught red-handed -is proved guilty on inquiry. But this was not the practice -followed by the German troops. They do not seem to have made -any inquiry. They seized the civilians of the village indiscriminately -and killed them, or such as they selected from among them, -without the least regard to guilt or innocence. The mere cry -"Civilisten haben geschossen" ("Civilians have been shooting") -was enough to hand over a whole village or district, and even -outlying places, to ruthless slaughter.</p> - - -<p><i>Killing of Civilians on Scale without any Parallel in Modern -Warfare between Civilised Powers.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>In the present war—and this is the gravest charge against -the German Army—the evidence shows that the killing of non-combatants -was carried out to an extent for which no previous -war between nations claiming to be civilised furnishes any precedent.</p> - - -<p><i>Mass of Evidence convinced Committee of its Truth.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>That these acts should have been perpetrated on the peaceful -population of an unoffending country which was not at war with -its invaders, but merely defending its own neutrality, guaranteed -by the invading Power, may excite amazement and even incredulity. -It was with amazement and almost with incredulity -that the Committee first read the depositions relating to such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -acts. But when the evidence regarding Liège was followed by -that regarding Aerschot, Louvain, Andenne, Dinant and the -other towns and villages, the cumulative effect of such a mass -of concurrent testimony became irresistible, and the Committee -were driven to the conclusion that the things described had really -happened.</p> - - -<p><i>Killing of Civilians deliberately planned by the Higher Military -Authorities and carried out methodically.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>The excesses recently committed in Belgium were, moreover, -too widespread and too uniform in their character to be mere -sporadic outbursts of passion or rapacity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>That this killing was done as part of a deliberate plan is clear -from the facts set forth regarding Louvain, Aerschot, Dinant -and other towns. The killing was done under orders in each -place. It began at a certain fixed date, and stopped (with some -few exceptions) at another fixed date.</p> - - -<p><i>German Army Disciplined to Obey.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>The discipline of the German Army is proverbially stringent, -and its obedience implicit.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p>It was to the discipline rather than the want of discipline in -the Army that these outrages, which we are obliged to describe -as systematic, were due, and the special official notices posted -on certain houses that they were not to be destroyed show the -fate which had been decreed for the others which were not so -marked.</p> - - -<p><i>A few German Officers showed Feelings of Humanity.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>The Committee gladly record the instances where the evidence -shows that humanity had not wholly disappeared from some -members of the German Army, and that they realised that the -responsible heads of that organisation were employing them, -not in war, but in butchery. "I am merely executing orders, -and I should be shot if I did not execute them," said an officer -to a witness at Louvain. At Brussels another officer said: "I -have not done one hundredth part of what we have been ordered -to do by the High German military authorities."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p>A humane German officer, witnessing the ruin of Aerschot, -exclaimed in disgust: "I am a father myself, and I cannot bear -this. It is not war, but butchery."</p> - - -<p><i>Drink Responsible for many of the Worst Outrages.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p>Many of the worst outrages appear to have been perpetrated -by men under the influence of drink. Unfortunately, little seems -to have been done to repress this source of danger.... Officers -as well as men succumbed to the temptation of drink.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>The German Army is Responsible for Crimes which it did -not Check.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>When an army is directed or permitted to kill non-combatants -on a large scale, the ferocity of the worse natures springs into -fuller life, and both lust and the thirst of blood become more widespread -and more formidable. Had less licence been allowed to the -soldiers, and had they not been set to work to slaughter civilians, -there would have been fewer of those painful cases in which a -depraved and morbid cruelty appears.</p> - - -<p><i>The Taking and Murder of Hostages.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>Two classes of murders in particular require special mention, -because one of them is almost new, and the other altogether -unprecedented. The former is the seizure of peaceful citizens -as so-called hostages to be kept as a pledge for the conduct of -the civil population, or as a means to secure some military advantage, -or to compel the payment of a contribution, the hostages -being shot if the condition imposed by the arbitrary will of the -invader is not fulfilled. Such hostage taking ... is opposed both -to the rules of war and to every principle of justice and humanity.</p> - - -<p><i>Murder in the Villages.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">27</div> - -<p>The latter kind of murder is the killing of the innocent inhabitants -of a village because shots have been fired, or are alleged to -have been fired, on the troops by someone in the village. For -this practice no previous example and no justification has been or -can be pleaded.... In Belgium large bodies of men, sometimes -including the burgomaster and the priest, were seized, -marched by officers to a spot chosen for the purpose, and there -shot in cold blood, without any attempt at trial or even enquiry, -under the pretence of inflicting punishment upon the village, -though these unhappy victims were not even charged with -having themselves committed any wrongful act.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">16</div> - -<p>The Committee is specially impressed by the character of the -outrages committed in the smaller villages.</p> - -<p><i>Aerschot and District</i> (August 25th).—Immediately after the -battle of Malines ... a long series of murders were committed -either just before or during the retreat of the army. Many -of the inhabitants who were unarmed, including women and -young children, were killed—some of them under revolting circumstances.</p> - -<p>Evidence given goes to show that the death of these villagers -was due, not to accident, but to deliberate purpose.</p> - - -<p><i>A Death-stricken Area.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">14</div> - -<p>The quadrangle of territory bounded by the towns of Aerschot, -Malines, Vilvorde, and Louvain, is a rich agricultural tract, -studded with small villages and comprising two considerable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -cities, Louvain and Malines. This district on August 19th passed -into the hands of the Germans, and, owing perhaps to its proximity -to Antwerp, then the seat of the Belgian Government and headquarters -of the Belgian Army, it became from that date a scene of -chronic outrage, with respect to which the Committee has received -a great mass of evidence.</p> - - -<p><i>Systematic Massacres.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">14</div> - -<p>The arrival of the Germans in the district on August 19th was -marked by systematic massacres and other outrages at Aerschot -itself, Gelrode and some other villages.</p> - - -<p><i>Sudden Outburst of Cruelty follows Belgian Victory.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">14</div> - -<p>On August 25th the Belgians, sallying out of the defences of -Antwerp, attacked the German positions at Malines, drove the -enemy from the town and re-occupied many of the villages in -the neighbourhood. And just as numerous outrages against the -civilian population had been the immediate consequence of the -temporary repulse of the German vanguard from Fort Fléron, -so a large body of depositions testify to the fact that a sudden -outburst of cruelty was the response of the German Army to the -Belgian victory at Malines.</p> - - -<p><i>A Reign of Terror.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">14</div> - -<p>The battle of Malines ... was the occasion of numerous murders -committed by the German Army in retreating through the -villages of Sempst, Hofstade, Eppeghem, Elewyt and elsewhere. -In the second place it led ... to the massacres, plunderings and -burnings at Louvain, the signal for which was provided by shots -exchanged between the German Army, retreating after its repulse -at Malines, and some members of the German garrison of Louvain, -who mistook their fellow countrymen for Belgians. Lastly, the -encounter at Malines seems to have stung the Germans into -establishing a reign of terror in so much of the district comprised -in the quadrangle as remained in their power.</p> - - -<p><i>Louvain Peacefully Occupied by Germans for Six Days.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p><i>Louvain and District.</i>—The events spoken to as having -occurred in and around Louvain between August 19th and 25th -deserve close attention.</p> - -<p>For six days the Germans were in peaceful occupation of the -city. No houses were set on fire—no citizens killed. There -was a certain amount of looting of empty houses, but otherwise -discipline was effectively maintained. The condition of Louvain -during these days was one of relative peace and quietude, presenting -a striking contrast to the previous and contemporaneous -conduct of the German Army elsewhere.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>A Sudden Change—Murder of Civilians and Destruction of -Property.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p>On the evening of August 25th a sudden change took place. -The Germans, on that day repulsed by the Belgians, had retreated -to and re-occupied Louvain. Immediately the devastation of -that city and the destruction by fire of its population began.</p> - - -<p><i>Defeated Germans Revenge themselves on Civilians.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p>The inference is irresistible that the Army as a whole wreaked -its vengeance on the civilian population and the buildings of the -city in revenge for the setback which the Belgian arms had inflicted -on them. A subsidiary cause alleged was the assertion, often -made before, that civilians had fired upon the German Army.</p> - -<p>The depositions which relate to Louvain are numerous, and -are believed by the Committee to present a true and fairly complete -picture of the events of August 25th and 26th and subsequent -days.</p> - - -<p><i>Civilians did not Fire.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p>The Committee find no grounds for thinking that the inhabitants -fired upon the German Army on the evening of August 25th. -Eye-witnesses worthy of credence detail exactly when, where -and how the firing commenced. Such firing was by Germans on -Germans. No impartial tribunal could, so the Committee think, -come to any other conclusion.</p> - - -<p><i>Harried Villagers.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">21</div> - -<p>The massacre of civilians at Louvain was not confined to its -citizens. Large crowds of people were brought into Louvain -from the surrounding districts.... Of the hundreds of -people taken from the various villages and brought to Louvain -as prisoners, some were massacred there, others were forced to -march along with citizens of Louvain through various places, -some being ultimately sent on the 29th to the Belgian lines at -Malines, others were taken in trucks to Cologne, others were -released.</p> - - -<p><i>A Calculated Policy of Cruelty.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p>The Committee are driven to the conclusion that the harrying -of the villages in the district, the burning of a large part of -Louvain, the massacres there, the marching out of the prisoners, -and the transport to Cologne—all done without enquiry as to -whether the particular persons seized or killed had committed -any wrongful act—were due to a calculated policy carried out -scientifically and deliberately, not merely with the sanction -but under the direction of higher military authorities, and were -not due to any provocation or resistance by the civilian population.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - - -<p><i>The Tragedy of Beautiful Dinant.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">13</div> - -<p>Just outside the prison one witness saw three lines of bodies, -which he recognised as being those of neighbours. They were -nearly all dead, but he noticed movement in some of them. -There were about 120 bodies.... Unarmed civilians were -killed in masses at other places near the prison. About 90 bodies -were seen lying on the top of one another in a grass square -opposite the convent. They included many relatives of a witness.... -It is stated that, beside the 90 corpses referred to -above, 60 corpses of civilians were recovered from a hole in the -brewery yard, and that 48 bodies of women and children were -found in a garden.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Committee have no reason to believe that the civilian -population of Dinant gave any provocation, or that any other -defence can be put forward to justify the treatment inflicted -upon its citizens.</p> - -<p>As regards this town and the advance of the German Army -from Dinant to Rethel on the Aisne, a graphic account is given -in the diary of a Saxon officer. This diary confirms what is clear -from the evidence as a whole both as regards these and other -districts—that civilians were constantly taken as prisoners, -often dragged from their homes and shot under the direction of -the authorities without any charge being made against them. -An event of the kind is thus referred to in a diary entry: -"Apparently 200 men were shot. There must have been some -innocent men amongst them. In future we shall have to hold an -enquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting them." The shooting -of inhabitants—women and children as well as men—went on -after the Germans had passed Dinant on their way into France.</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Further Examples of the Treatment of Civilians.</span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">9</div> - -<p>Entries in a German diary show that on August 19th the -German soldiers gave themselves up to debauchery in the streets -of Liège, and on the night of the 20th (Thursday) a massacre took -place in the streets.... The Belgian witnesses vehemently -deny that there had been any provocation given, some stating -that many German soldiers were drunk, others giving evidence -which indicates that the affair was planned beforehand. It is -stated that at 5 o'clock in the evening, long before the shooting, -a citizen was warned by a friendly German soldier not to go out -that night.</p> - -<p>Though the cause of the massacre is in dispute, the results -are known with certainty.... Many inhabitants were -burnt alive in their houses, their efforts to escape being prevented -by rifle fire. Twenty people were shot while trying to escape, -before the eyes of one of the witnesses.... Thirty-two -civilians were killed on that day, the 21st, in the Place de l'Université -alone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">20</div> - -<p><i>Louvain.</i>—On August 26th (Wednesday) massacre, fire and -destruction went on.... Citizens were shot and others -taken prisoners.</p> - -<p>Soldiers went through the streets saying "Man hat geschossen." -("They have been shooting.") One soldier was seen going -along shooting in the air.... Some citizens were shot on -opening the doors, others in endeavouring to escape.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">21</div> - -<p>These prisoners [civilians] were practically without food -from early morning on the 26th until midnight on the 29th. -Of the corpses seen on the road some had their hands tied behind -their backs, others were burnt, some had been killed by blows.</p> - -<p>"I did not dare to look at the dead bodies in the street, there -were so many of them."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p>"The officers were worse than the men.... We had -had nothing to eat or drink since the evening of the day before. -A few compassionate soldiers gave us water to drink, but no -official took the trouble to see that we were fed."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p><i>Louvain</i> (German soldier's diary—No. 32).—"180 inhabitants -are stated to have been shot after they had dug their own graves."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Surice.</i>—On August 24th and 25th massacres were carried -out in which many persons belonging to the professional classes -as well as others were killed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Namur</i> was entered on August 24th. The troops signalised -their entry by firing on a crowd of 150 unarmed, unresisting -civilians, 10 alone of whom escaped.... As the inhabitants -fled from the burning houses they were shot by the German -troops.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p>In <i>Tamines</i>, a large village on the Meuse between Namur and -Charleroi, the advance guard of the German Army appeared in -the first fortnight in August, and in this, as well as in other villages -in the district, it is proved that a large number of civilians, -among them aged people, women and children, were deliberately -killed by the soldiers.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">21</div> - -<p><i>Tirlemont.</i>—The prisoners, of whom there are said to have -been thousands, were not allowed even to have water to drink, -although there were streams on the way from which the soldiers -drank. Witness was given some milk at a farm, but as she raised -it to her lips it was taken away from her.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">22</div> - -<p><i>Journeys from Louvain to Cologne.</i>—Some of the trucks were -abominably filthy. Prisoners were not allowed to leave to obey -the calls of nature.... They were, in all, eight days in -the train, crowded and almost without food. Two of the men -went mad.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p><i>Termonde.</i>—About 70 prisoners ... were taken to Lebbeke, -where there were in all 300 prisoners, and there they were locked -up in the church for three days and with scarcely any food.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p><i>Ermeton</i> (Diary No. 19).—The exact translation of the extract, -grim in its brevity, is as follows: "August 24/14. We took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -about 1,000 prisoners; at least 500 were shot. The village -was burnt because inhabitants had also shot. Two civilians were -shot at once."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">9</div> - -<p><i>Wandre</i> (Diary of German soldier—Eitel Anders).—"In -one house a whole collection of weapons was found. The -inhabitants without exception were brought out and shot. This -shooting was heart-breaking, as they all knelt down and prayed; -but that was no ground for mercy. A few shots rang out, and -they fell back into the green grass and slept for ever."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">10</div> - -<p><i>Andenne.</i>—Almost immediately, the slaughter of these inhabitants -began, and continued for over two hours, and intermittently -during the night. Machine guns were brought into -play. The German troops were said to be for the most part -drunk, and they certainly murdered and ravaged unchecked.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p>About 400 people lost their lives in this massacre.... -Eight men belonging to one family were murdered. Another -man was placed close to a machine gun, which was fired through -him. His wife brought his body home on a wheelbarrow. The -Germans broke into her house and ransacked it, and piled up all -the eatables in a heap on the floor and relieved themselves upon -it. A hair-dresser was murdered in his kitchen, where he was -sitting with a child on each knee.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">12</div> - -<p><i>Montigny-sur-Sambre.</i>—On the Monday morning 27 civilians -from one parish alone were seen lying dead in the hospital.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">12</div> - -<p>At <i>Monceau-sur-Sambre</i>, on August 21st, a young man of 18 -was shot in his garden. His father and brother were seized in -their house and shot in the courtyard of a neighbouring country -house. The son was shot first. The father was compelled to -stand close to the feet of his son's corpse and to fix his eyes upon -him while he himself was shot.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p>At <i>Temploux</i>, on August 23rd, a Professor of Modern Languages -at the College of Namur was shot at his front door by a -German officer. Before he died he asked the officer the reason -for this brutality, and the officer replied that he had lost his -temper because some civilians had fired upon the Germans as -they entered the village. This allegation was not proved.... -After the murder the house was burnt.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Elewyt.</i>—A man's naked body was tied up to a ring in the -wall in the backyard of a house. He was dead, and his corpse -was mutilated in a manner too horrible to record. A woman's -naked body was also found in a stable abutting on the same -backyard.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p>Bombardier Wetzel, of the 2nd Mounted Battery, 1st Kurhessian -Field Artillery Regiment, No. 11, records an incident which -happened in French territory near Lille on October 11th: "We -had no fight, but we caught about 20 men and shot them." By -this time killing not in a fight would seem to have passed into a -habit.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>2. WOMEN MURDERED AND OUTRAGED.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p>From the very first women were not safe. At Liège women -and children were chased about the street by soldiers. One -witness gives a story, very circumstantial in its details, of how -women were publicly raped in the market place of the city, five -young German officers assisting.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Tamines.</i>—A witness describes how he saw the public square -littered with corpses, and after a search found those of his wife -and child, a little girl of 7.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p><i>Wetteren Hospital.</i>—At this hospital was an old woman of -80 completely transfixed by a bayonet.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Sempst.</i>—Witness saw a girl of 17 dressed only in a chemise -and in great distress. She alleged that she herself and other -girls had been dragged into a field, stripped naked and violated, -and that some of them had then been killed with the bayonet.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Eppeghem.</i>—On August 25th a pregnant woman who had -been wounded with a bayonet was discovered in the convent. -She was dying.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p><i>Louvain.</i>—"In the middle of the night I heard a knock at -the outer door of the stable, which led into a little street, and -heard a woman's voice crying for help. I opened the door, and -just as I was going to let her in, a rifle shot fired from the street -by a German soldier rang out and the woman fell dead at my feet."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">21</div> - -<p>The wife of a witness ... was separated from him, and she -saw other ladies made to walk before the soldiers with their hands -above their heads. One, an old lady of 85 (name given) was -dragged from her cellar and taken with them to the station.</p> - -<p>"I saw the corpses of some women in the street. I fell down, -and a woman who had been shot fell on top of me.... One -woman whom I saw lying dead in the street was a Miss —— -about 35. I also saw the body of —— (a woman). She had -been shot. I saw an officer pull her corpse underneath a wagon."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">13</div> - -<p><i>Dinant.</i>—He found his wife lying on the floor in a room. -She had bullet wounds in four places, but was alive, and told -her husband to return to the children.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p>Sixty women and children were confined in the cellar of a -convent from Sunday morning till the following Friday (August -28th), sleeping on the ground, for there were no beds, with nothing -to drink during the whole period, and given no food until the -Wednesday, "when somebody threw into the cellar two sticks -of macaroni and a carrot for each prisoner."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">16</div> - -<p>In <i>Malines</i> itself many bodies were seen. One witness saw a -German soldier cut a woman's breasts after he had murdered -her, and saw many other dead bodies of women in the streets.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">16</div> - -<p><i>Gelrode.</i>—A woman was shot by some German soldiers as -she was walking home. This was done at a distance of 100 yards, -and for no apparent reason.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Hofstade.</i>—The corpse of a woman was seen at the blacksmith's. -She had been killed with the bayonet.... Two -young women were lying in the backyard of the house. One -had her breasts cut off, the other had been stabbed.... In -the garden of a house in the main street bodies of two women -were observed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p><i>Campenhout</i> [Statement of a valet].—"One of the officers ... -putting a revolver to my mistress' temple shot her dead. The -officer was obviously drunk. The other officers continued to drink -and sing, and they did not pay great attention to the killing of my -mistress. The officer who shot my mistress then told my master -to dig a grave and bury my mistress. My master and the officer -went into the garden, the officer threatening my master with a -pistol. My master was then forced to dig the grave, and to bury -the body of my mistress in it. I cannot say for what reason they -killed my mistress. The officer who did it was singing all the -time."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>3. THE MURDER AND ILL-TREATMENT -OF CHILDREN.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">32</div> - -<p>There can be no possible defence for the murder of children.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">33</div> - -<p>Whether or no Belgian civilians fired on German soldiers, -young children, at any rate, did not fire. The number and -character of these murders constitute the most distressing -feature connected with the conduct of the war so far as it is -revealed in the depositions submitted to the Committee.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">32</div> - -<p>It is clearly shown that many offences were committed against -infants and quite young children. On one occasion children -were even roped together and used as a military screen against -the enemy, on another three soldiers went into action carrying -small children to protect themselves from flank fire.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">18</div> - -<p>At <i>Haecht</i> several children had been murdered; one of two -or three years old was found nailed to the door of a farmhouse -by its hands and feet, a crime which seems almost incredible, -but the evidence for which we feel bound to accept. In the -garden of this house was the body of a girl who had been shot -in the forehead.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">18</div> - -<p><i>Capelle-au-Bois.</i>—Two children were murdered in a cart, and -their corpses were seen by many witnesses at different stages of -the cart's journey.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Tamines.</i>—One witness describes how she saw a Belgian -boy of fifteen shot on the village green, and a day or two later -on the same green a little girl and her two brothers (name given) -who were looking at the German soldiers were killed before her -eyes for no apparent reason.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Boort Meerbeek.</i>—A German soldier was seen to fire three times -at a little girl of five years old. Having failed to hit her, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -subsequently bayoneted her. He was killed with the butt end -of a rifle by a Belgian soldier who had seen him commit this -murder from a distance.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Weerde.</i>—Two children were killed in a village—apparently -Weerde—quite wantonly as they were standing in the road with -their mother. They were three or four years old, and were -killed with the bayonet.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p><i>Eppeghem.</i>—The dead body of a child of two was seen pinned -to the ground with a German lance.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">17</div> - -<p><i>Hofstade.</i>—On a side road ... was seen ... the dead body -of a boy of five or six with his hands nearly severed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">33</div> - -<p>In <i>Hofstade</i> and <i>Sempst</i>, in <i>Haecht</i>, <i>Rotselaar</i> and <i>Wespelaer</i>, -many children were murdered.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">21</div> - -<p><i>Louvain</i> (August 28th).—One woman went mad, some children -died, others were born.... (August 29th, outside -Louvain): Some corpses were those of children who had been -shot.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">30</div> - -<p><i>A small village.</i>—There were two little children—a boy about -4 or 5, and a girl of about 6 or 7. The boy's left hand was cut -off at the wrist and the girl's right hand at the same place. They -were both quite dead.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">32</div> - -<p><i>Malines.</i>—"One day when the Germans were not actually -bombarding the town, I left my house to go to my mother's house -in High Street. My husband was with me. I saw eight German -soldiers, and they were drunk. They were singing and making -a lot of noise and dancing about. As the German soldiers came -along the street I saw a small child, whether boy or girl I could -not see, come out of a house. The child was about 2 years of -age. The child came into the middle of the street so as to be -in the way of the soldiers. The soldiers were walking in twos. -The first line of two passed the child. One of the second line, -the man on the left, stepped aside and drove his bayonet with -both hands into the child's stomach, lifting the child into the -air on his bayonet and carrying it away on his bayonet, he and -his comrades still singing. The child screamed when the soldier -struck it with his bayonet, but not afterwards."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>4. BRUTAL TREATMENT OF THE AGED, -THE CRIPPLED AND THE INFIRM.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p>At <i>Denée</i>, on August 28th, a Belgian soldier who had been -taken prisoner saw three civilian fellow-prisoners shot. One -was a cripple and another an old man of 80, who was paralysed. -It was alleged by two German soldiers that these men had shot -at them with rifles. Neither of them had rifles, nor had they -anything in their pockets. The witness actually saw the Germans -search them and nothing was found.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">20</div> - -<p><i>Louvain.</i>—"Subsequently my master—an old gentleman—was -bayoneted and shot."... Among other persons whose -houses were burnt was an old man of 90, lying dangerously ill, -who was taken out on his mattress and left lying in his garden -all night. He died shortly after in the hospital.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">18</div> - -<p>The journey to Louvain is thus described by a witness: -"We were all marched off to Louvain, walking. There were some -very old people, amongst others a man 90 years of age. The -very old people were drawn in carts and barrows by the younger -men. There was an officer with a bicycle, who shouted, as -people fell out by the side of the road, 'Shoot them.'"</p> - -<div class="sidenote">8</div> - -<p>At <i>Heure le Romain</i> ... some bedridden old men were -imprisoned in the church.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Andenne.</i>—A paralytic was murdered in his garden.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">29</div> - -<p><i>Beaumetz.</i>—They saw two old men—between 60 and 70 years -of age—and one old woman lying close to each other in the -garden. All three had the scalps cut right through.... -They were still bleeding.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>5. THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS SCREENS.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">33</div> - -<p>The Committee had before them a considerable body of -evidence with reference to the practice of the Germans of using -civilians and sometimes military prisoners as screens from behind -which they could fire upon the Belgian troops, in the hope that -the Belgians would not return the fire for fear of killing or -wounding their own fellow-countrymen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">31</div> - -<p>The use of women and even children as a screen for the protection -of the German troops is referred to.... From the -number of troops concerned, it must have been commanded or -acquiesced in by officers, and in some cases the presence and -connivance of officers is proved.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p><i>Termonde.</i>—Two hundred civilians were utilised as a screen -by the German troops.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p><i>Binnenstraat.</i>—The civilians were utilised on Saturday, the -26th September, as a screen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">33</div> - -<p><i>Mons.</i>—On August 24th men, women and children were -actually pushed into the front of the German position outside -Mons. The witness speaks of 16 to 20 women, about a dozen -children and half a dozen men being there.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">34</div> - -<p>At <i>Tournai</i> 400 Belgian civilians—men, women and children—were -placed in front of the Germans, who then engaged the -French.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">34</div> - -<p>At <i>Ypres</i> the Germans drove women in front of them by -pricking them with bayonets. The wounds were afterwards -seen by the witness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">34</div> - -<p>At <i>Londerzeel</i> 30 or 40 civilians—men, women and children—were -placed at the head of a German column.</p> - -<p>One witness from <i>Termonde</i> was made to stand in front of -the Germans, together with others, all with their hands above -their heads. Those who allowed their hands to drop were at -once prodded with the bayonet.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>6. THE KILLING OF WOUNDED SOLDIERS -AND PRISONERS.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">35</div> - -<p>After making all allowances, there remain certain instances -in which it is clear that quarter was refused to persons desiring -to surrender when it ought to have been given, or that persons -already so wounded as to be incapable of fighting further, were -wantonly shot or bayoneted.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">36</div> - -<p>In one case, given very circumstantially, a witness [a British -lance-corporal, whose evidence has been confirmed by a lieutenant -and a private] tells how a party of wounded British soldiers were -left in a chalk pit, all very badly hurt, and quite unable to make -resistance. One of them, an officer, held up his handkerchief -as a white flag, and this "attracted the attention of a party of -about eight Germans. The Germans came to the edge of the -pit. It was getting dusk, but the light was still good, and everything -clearly discernible. One of them, who appeared to be -carrying no arms, and who, at any rate, had no rifle, came a few -feet down the slope into the chalk pit, within eight or ten yards -of some of the wounded men." He looked at the men, laughed, -and said something in German to the Germans who were waiting -on the edge of the pit. Immediately one of them fired at the -officer, then three or four of these 10 soldiers were shot, then -another officer, and the witness, and the rest of them. "After -an interval of some time I sat up and found that I was the only -man of the 10 who were living when the Germans came into the -pit remaining alive, and that all the rest were dead."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>7. LOOTING, BURNING AND DESTRUCTION -OF PROPERTY.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">34</div> - -<p>There is an overwhelming mass of evidence of the deliberate -destruction of private property by the German soldiers. The -destruction, in most cases, was effected by fire, and the German -troops had been provided beforehand with appliances for rapidly -setting fire to houses. Among the appliances enumerated by -witnesses are syringes for squirting petrol, guns for throwing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -small inflammable bombs, and small pellets made of inflammable -material. Specimens of the last-mentioned have been shown -to members of the Committee. Besides burning houses the -Germans frequently smashed furniture and pictures; they also -broke in doors and windows. Frequently, too, they defiled houses -by relieving the wants of nature upon the floor. They also appear -to have perpetrated the same vileness upon piled up heaps of -provisions, so as to destroy what they could not themselves -consume.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">25</div> - -<p>Villages, even large parts of a city, were given to the flames as -part of the terrorising policy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">35</div> - -<p>The general conclusion is that the burning and destruction of -property which took place was only in a very small minority of -cases justified by military necessity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p><i>Louvain.</i>—Then the corps of incendiaries got to work. They -had broad belts with the words "Gott mit uns" ("God with -us"), and their equipment consisted of a hatchet, a syringe, a -small shovel and a revolver. Fires blazed up in the direction of -the Law Courts and St. Martin's Barracks.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">19</div> - -<p>A witness: "When we got to the Place de la Station ... -not a single house in the place was standing."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">20</div> - -<p>On the 26th (Wednesday), in the city of Louvain, massacre, -fire, and destruction went on. The University, with its Library, -the Church of St. Peter, and many houses were set on fire and -burnt to the ground.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">12</div> - -<p><i>Tamines.</i>—A witness went there on August 27th and says: -"It is absolutely destroyed and a mass of ruins."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">9</div> - -<p><i>Liège.</i>—The Rue des Pitteurs and houses in the Place de -l'Université and the Quai des Pêcheurs were systematically fired -with benzine.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">16</div> - -<p><i>Aerschot.</i>—The houses were set on fire with special apparatus.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">12</div> - -<p><i>Montigny-sur-Sambre.</i>—Incendiaries, with a distinctive badge -on their arm, went down the main street throwing handfuls of -inflammatory and explosive pastilles into the houses. These -pastilles were carried by them in bags, and in this way about -130 houses were destroyed in the main street.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">11</div> - -<p><i>Namur.</i>—A witness of good standing ... describes how -the town was set on fire systematically in six different places.... -Not less than 140 houses were burnt. On the 25th the -hospital was set on fire with inflammable pastilles, the pretext -being that soldiers in the hospital had fired upon the Germans.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">13</div> - -<p><i>Dinant.</i>—The town was systematically set on fire by hand -grenades.... The houses and villages were pillaged and -property wantonly destroyed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">12</div> - -<p>At <i>Morlanwelz</i>, about this time, the British Army, together -with some French cavalry, were compelled to retire before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -German troops. The latter took the burgomaster and his manservant -prisoner and shot them both in front of the Hotel de -Ville at Péronne (Belgium), where the bodies were left in the -street for 48 hours. They burnt the Hotel de Ville and 62 houses. -The usual accusation of firing by civilians was made. It is -strenuously denied by the witness, who declares that three or -four days before the arrival of the Germans, circulars had been -distributed to every house and placards had been posted in the -town ordering the deposit of all firearms at the Hotel de Ville, -and that this order had been complied with.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p><i>Erpe.</i>—The village was deliberately burnt.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">23</div> - -<p><i>Termonde.</i>—The town was partially burnt. One witness was -taken prisoner in the street by some German soldiers, together -with several other civilians. At about 12 o'clock on the 5th some -of the tallest and strongest men amongst the prisoners were -picked out to go round the streets with paraffin. Three or four -carts containing paraffin tanks were brought up, and a syringe -was used to put paraffin on to the houses, which were then fired. -The process of destruction began with the houses of rich people, -and afterwards the houses of the poorer classes were treated in -the same manner.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">8</div> - -<p><i>Herve.</i>—From the 8th to the 10th over 300 houses were burnt.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">8</div> - -<p><i>Visé.</i>—On or about the 14th and 15th the village was completely -destroyed. Officers directed the incendiaries, who worked -methodically with benzine.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">9</div> - -<p><i>Diary of Eitel Anders</i>, a German soldier.—"We crossed the -Belgian frontier on August 15th, 1914, at 11.50 in the forenoon, -and then we went steadily along the main road till we got -into Belgium. Hardly were we there when we had a horrible -sight. Houses were burnt down.... Not one of the -hundreds of houses were spared. Everything was plundered and -burnt."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">24</div> - -<p><i>Diary of Matbern, of the 4th Company of Jägers</i>, states that at -a village between Birnal and Dinant, on Sunday, August 23rd, -"about 220 inhabitants were shot, and the village was burnt.... -All villages, chateaux and houses are burnt down during -the night. It is a beautiful sight to see the fires all round us in -the distance."</p> - - -<p><i>Looting.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">34</div> - -<p>The German troops, both in Belgium and France, are proved -to have been guilty of persistent looting. In the majority of -cases the looting took place from houses, but there is also evidence -that German soldiers, and even officers, robbed their prisoners, -both civil and military, of sums of money and other portable -possessions. It was apparently well known throughout the -German Army that towns and villages would be burned whenever -it appeared that any civilians had fired upon the German -troops, and there is reason to suspect that this known intention -of the German military authorities in some cases explains the -sequence of events which led up to the burning and sacking of a -town or village. The soldiers, knowing that they would have -an opportunity of plunder if the place was condemned, had a -motive for arranging some incident which would provide the -necessary excuse for condemnation. More than one witness -alleges that shots coming from the window of a house were fired -by German soldiers, who had forced their way into the house -for the purpose of thus creating an alarm.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> -<div class="sidenote">15</div> - -<p><i>Aerschot.</i>—Throughout the day the town was looted by the -soldiers.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">8</div> - -<p><i>Visé.</i>—Antiques and china were removed from the houses -before their destruction by officers who guarded the plunder, -revolver in hand.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A 171</div> - -<p>Translated extract from diary of Stephan Luther: "We live -like God in France."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A 181</div> - -<p>Translated extracts from the field notebook of an officer in -the 178th Regiment, XIIth (Saxon) Corps: "August 17th.—In -the afternoon I had a look at the little chateau belonging to -one of the King's Secretaries (not at home). Our men had -behaved like regular vandals. They had looted the cellar first.... -Everything was topsy-turvy—magnificent furniture, silk, -and even china.... I am sure they must have taken away -a heap of useless stuff simply for the pleasure of looting."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="sidenote">A 182</div> - -<p>"September 3rd.—Still at Rethel, ... the houses are -charming inside. The middle class in France has magnificent -furniture.... Every bit of furniture broken, mirrors -smashed. The Vandals themselves could not have done more -damage. This place is a disgrace to our army."</p> - -<p>"I could not resist taking a little memento myself here and -there."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Article 47 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention concerning -the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague in 1907, -reads as follows:—</p> - -<p><i>Pillage is expressly forbidden.</i></p></blockquote> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">37</div> - -<p>"The Committee have come to a definite conclusion upon -each of the heads under which the evidence has been classified.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<b>It is proved</b>:—</p> - -<p>"(<b>i</b>) <b>That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate -and systematically organised massacres of the civil -population, accompanied by many isolated murders -and other outrages.</b></p> - -<p>"(<b>ii</b>) <b>That in the conduct of the war generally innocent -civilians, both men and women, were murdered in -large numbers, women violated, and children -murdered.</b></p> - -<p>"(<b>iii</b>) <b>That looting, house burning, and the wanton destruction -of property were ordered and countenanced by -the officers of the German Army, that elaborate -provision had been made for systematic incendiarism -at the very outbreak of the war, and that the burnings -and destruction were frequent where no military -necessity could be alleged, being indeed part of a -system of general terrorization.</b></p> - -<p>"(<b>iv</b>) <b>That the rules and usages of war were frequently -broken, particularly by the using of civilians, -including women and children, as a shield for -advancing forces exposed to fire, to a less degree -by killing the wounded and prisoners, and in the -frequent abuse of the Red Cross and the White Flag.</b></p> - -<p>"Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the -Committee conceive that they would be doing less than their -duty if they failed to record them as fully established by the -evidence. <b>Murder, lust, and pillage prevailed over many parts -of Belgium on a scale unparalleled in any war between civilised -nations during the last three centuries.</b></p> - -<p>"Our function is ended when we have stated what the evidence -establishes, but we may be permitted to express our belief that -these disclosures will not have been made in vain if they touch -and rouse the conscience of mankind, and we venture to hope -that, as soon as the present war is over, the nations of the world -in council will consider what means can be provided and sanctions -devised to prevent the recurrence of such horrors as our generation -is now witnessing."</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> -<p> -Is YOUR conscience roused? Won't YOU -take the most effective way of showing it—if -you are a man under 40 and fit? The only -way to put a stop to these and other crimes is -to crush the German Army.</p> - -<p>YOU can help either by joining the Army -or by making munitions. Place YOUR services -at the disposal of the military authorities.</p> - -<p>If YOU are a woman, cannot you help a -man to decide?</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 900px;"> -<img src="images/map-small.jpg" width="900" height="533" alt="" /> -<div class="larger-version"> -<a href="images/map.jpg">Click here to display high-resolution version.</a> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="center"><big>PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS.<br /><br /></big></div> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><big>REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ALLEGED GERMAN OUTRAGES,</big></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">38 pages, F'cap. folio, with 2 maps. [Cd. 7894.]</td><td align="right">Price 6<i>d.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><big>APPENDIX TO REPORT,</big></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">199 pages, F'cap. folio. Depositions, diaries and plates. [Cd. 7895.]</td><td align="right">Price 1<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">The above have been reprinted as Official Publications, in</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"> smaller (octavo) size:—</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Report</span>, 64 pages, with 2 maps</td><td align="right">Price 3<i>d.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Report</span>, 48 pages, without maps</td><td align="right">" 1<i>d.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Depositions</span>, 288 pages, with 8 plates</td><td align="right">" 6<i>d.</i></td></tr> -</table> -</div> - -<div class="center"> -<br /> -To be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from<br /> -<span class="smcap">WYMAN and SONS, Ltd.</span>, 29, Breams Buildings, Fetter Lane, E.C.,<br /> -and 28, Abingdon Street, S.W., and 54, St. Mary Street, Cardiff; or<br /> -H.M. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The Truth About German Atrocities - Founded on the Report of The Committee on Alleged German Outrages - - -Author: Anonymous - - - -Release Date: December 29, 2015 [eBook #50788] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN -ATROCITIES*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original maps. - See 50788-h.htm or 50788-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50788/50788-h/50788-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50788/50788-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/truthaboutgerman00londiala - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES - -Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages - - - - - - - -1915 -Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, -12, Downing Street, London, S.W. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 1 - Appointment of Committee 2 - Terms of Reference 2 - Composition of Committee 2 - 1. CIVILIANS murdered and ill-treated 5 - 2. WOMEN murdered and outraged 15 - 3. Murder and ill-treatment of CHILDREN 16 - 4. Brutal treatment of the AGED, the CRIPPLED and the INFIRM 17 - 5. The use of CIVILIANS as SCREENS 18 - 6. KILLING WOUNDED SOLDIERS and PRISONERS 19 - 7. LOOTING, BURNING and DESTRUCTION of PROPERTY 19 - FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE 23 - - -(1365) W. 5601/507 250M 7/15 H. C. & L., Ltd. - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -_Prussia joined in a Guarantee of Belgian Neutrality._ - -The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1839 to -which France, Prussia and Great Britain were parties. - - -_Recent German Assurances._ - -In 1913 the German Secretary of State, at a meeting of a Budget -Committee of the Reichstag, declared that "Belgian neutrality is -provided for by international conventions, and Germany is determined to -respect those conventions." - -On July 31st, 1914, when the danger of war between Germany and France -seemed imminent, Herr von Below, the German Minister in Brussels, being -interrogated by the Belgian Foreign Department, replied that he knew of -the assurances given by the German Chancellor in 1911 (that Germany had -no intention of violating Belgian neutrality) and that he "was certain -that the sentiments expressed at that time had not changed." - - -_Passage through Belgium Demanded by Germany._ - -Nevertheless, on August 2nd, the same Minister presented a note to the -Belgian Government demanding a passage through Belgium for the German -Army on pain of an instant declaration of war. - - -_Passage Refused by Belgian King and Government._ - -Startled as they were by the suddenness with which this terrific war -cloud had risen on the eastern horizon, the leaders of the nation -rallied round the King of Belgium in his resolution to refuse the -demand and to prepare for resistance. - - -_Invasion._ - -On the evening of August 3rd, the German troops crossed the frontier. - - -_Early Outbreak of Atrocities._ - -No sooner had the Germans violated Belgian territory, than statements -of atrocities committed by German soldiers against civilians--men, -women and children--found their way into the newspapers of this -country. The public could hardly believe the record of cruelty that -rapidly accumulated, but the persistence with which reports from one -district tallied in general outline with reports from other localities -left little doubt in the public mind as to the truth of the alleged -atrocities. But it became necessary to make absolutely certain of the -facts. - - -_Home Office Collected Evidence._ - -The Home Office, in the autumn of 1914, wisely decided to collect -evidence of the truth, and, during the concluding months of 1914, a -great number of statements taken in writing were collected from Belgian -witnesses (mostly civilians), and from British officers and soldiers. -The statements were taken by the staff of the Director of Public -Prosecutions and a number of barristers who assisted the Home Office. - - -_Government Appointed a Committee to Investigate--Terms of Reference._ - -On December 15th, 1914, the Government took the important step of -appointing a Committee:-- - - "To consider and advise on the evidence collected on behalf - of His Majesty's Government, as to outrages alleged to have been - committed by German troops during the present war, cases of alleged - maltreatment of civilians in the invaded territories, and breaches - of the laws and established usages of war; and to prepare a report - for His Majesty's Government showing the conclusion at which they - arrive on the evidence now available."= - - -_Careful Selection of Members of Committee._ - -In order that the findings of the Committee should command the -confidence of the public, the Government was careful to appoint upon -it men whose judicial outlook, training and experience for their -responsible task could not be questioned. - - The Right Hon. Viscount Bryce, O.M., the distinguished British - Ambassador at Washington from 1907 to 1912, was appointed - Chairman, and the other members of the Committee were:-- - - The Right Hon. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., who was Corpus - Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University, 1883-1903, - and is Judge of the Admiralty Court of Cinque Ports. He is one of - the leading authorities on the laws of this country; - - The Right Hon. Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., was Member of Parliament for - Plymouth (20 years) and London City (1906); was Solicitor-General - from 1886 to 1902; - - Sir Kenelm Digby, G.C.B., K.C., who was a County Court Judge from - 1892 to 1894, and Permanent Under-Secretary of the Home Office from - 1895 to 1903; - - Sir Alfred Hopkinson, K.C., LL.D., represented Manchester and North - Wiltshire in the House of Commons; was Principal of Owens College, - Manchester, from 1898 to 1904; and Vice-Chancellor of Victoria - University, Manchester, from 1900 to 1913; - - Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield; - - Mr. Harold Cox, the well-known Journalist and Editor of the - "Edinburgh Review," who represented Preston in the House of - Commons from 1906 to 1910. - - -_How the Committee Worked._ - -The Committee laboured for three months, examining the evidence, and -more than 1,200 statements made by witnesses were considered. These -depositions were in all cases taken down in this country by gentlemen -of legal knowledge and experience, and the greatest care was exercised -in the task. - - -_Doubt Removed as Work Proceeded._ - -The Committee approached their responsible task in a spirit of doubt, -but, to use their own words, "the further we went and the more -evidence we examined, so much the more was our scepticism reduced.... -When we found that things which had at first seemed improbable were -testified to by many witnesses coming from different places, having -had no communication with one another, and knowing nothing of one -another's statements, the points in which they all agreed became more -and more evidently true. And when this concurrence of testimony, this -convergence upon what were substantially the same broad facts, showed -itself in hundreds of depositions, =the truth of those broad facts -stood out beyond question=." - - -_Fairness of Witnesses' Evidence._ - -The Committee expected "to find much of the evidence coloured by -passion, or prompted by an excited fancy. But they were impressed by -the general moderation and matter-of-fact level-headedness of the -witnesses." - - -_No desire to "Make a Case."_ - -Nor could the Committee, in examining the depositions, "detect the -trace of any desire to 'make a case' against the German Army." "In -one respect, the most weighty part of the evidence," according to -the Committee, consisted of the diaries kept by the German soldiers -themselves. - - -_A Terrible Record._ - -The Report of the Committee, with the Appendix, covers 240 foolscap -pages. These 240 pages of cold, judicial print make a terrible -indictment against a so-called Civilised Power--and one, moreover, -whose home is not in "Darkest Africa," but in the very heart of -enlightened Europe. - -In this pamphlet space will only permit of the insertion of the -Findings of the Committee, and of some examples taken from the Report. -_Those who seek fuller information should obtain one or other edition -of the official Report and Appendix, particulars of which are given on -the cover of this pamphlet._ - -It should be borne in mind that this terrible record embraces a part -only of the area in the occupation of German troops, and is based -mainly on the statements of Belgian refugees _in this country_. If -it had been possible to extend the enquiry, and to get evidence from -the Belgians and the French now inhabiting the districts occupied by -Germany, there is no doubt that the volume of evidence would have been -much greater. - - * * * * * - -Note.--_For the purpose of this short pamphlet, the methodical -arrangement in geographical areas followed in the Report has been -abandoned, and a simpler grouping adopted. The whole of the language, -however, in the following pages (apart from the headings) is the -official language of the Report. In no instance has it been altered, -except where an explanation is required, in which case the explanation -is put in brackets. The references in the margin are to the pages in -the report from which the statements have been taken. When taken from -the Appendix, the letter "A" is prefixed._ - - - - -1. CIVILIANS MURDERED AND ILL-TREATED. - - -_The Care of the Belgian Civil Authorities to Collect Firearms from -Civilians and to Warn them against taking part in the Hostilities._ - -[Sidenote: 7] - -The Belgian King and Government were aware of the danger which would -confront the civilian population of the country if it were tempted to -take part in the work of national defence. Orders were accordingly -issued by the civil governors of provinces, and by the burgomasters -of towns, that the civilian inhabitants were to take no part in -hostilities, and to offer no provocation to the invaders. That no -excuse might be furnished for severities, the populations of many -important towns were instructed to surrender all firearms into the -hands of the local officials. - - -_The Kindness extended to the Invading Germans by the Civil Population -of Belgium._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -Letters written to their homes, which have been found on the bodies of -dead Germans, bear witness, in a way that now sounds pathetic, to the -kindness with which they were received by the civil population. Their -evident surprise at this reception was due to the stories which had -been dinned into their ears of soldiers with their eyes gouged out, -treacherous murders and poisoned food. - - -_Outbreak of Atrocities from the Moment the German Army crossed the -Frontier._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Murder, rape, arson and pillage began from the moment when the German -Army crossed the frontier. For the first fortnight of the war, the -towns and villages near Liege were the chief sufferers.... There is a -certain significance in the fact that the outrages round Liege coincide -with the unexpected resistance of the Belgian Army in that district, -and that the slaughter which reigned from August 19th to the end of the -month is contemporaneous with the period when the German Army's need -for a quick passage through Belgium at all costs was deemed imperative. - - - Article 46 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention - concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague - in 1907, reads as follows:-- - - _Family honour and rights, individual life, and private property, - as well as religious convictions and worship, must be respected._ - - _Private property may not be confiscated._ - - -_Instances from Herve and Melen._ - -[Sidenote: 7] - -"On the 4th of August," says one witness, "at Herve" (a village not -far from the frontier), "I saw at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, -near the station, five Uhlans [German cavalry]; these were the first -German troops I had seen. They were followed by a German officer and -some soldiers in a motor car. The men in the car called out to a couple -of young fellows who were standing about 30 yards away. The young men, -being afraid, ran off, and then the Germans fired and killed one of -them named D----." The murder of this innocent fugitive civilian was a -prelude to the burning and pillage of Herve and of other villages in -the neighbourhood, to the indiscriminate shooting of civilians of both -sexes, and to the organised military execution of batches of selected -males. Thus at Herve some 50 men escaping from the burning houses were -seized, taken outside the town and shot. At Melen, a hamlet west of -Herve, 40 men were shot. In one household alone the father and mother -(names given) were shot, the daughter died after being outraged, and -the son was wounded. - - -_The Slaughter of Civilians speedily became a Custom._ - -The burning of the villages in this neighbourhood, and the wholesale -slaughter of civilians, such as occurred at Herve, Micheroux and -Soumagne appear to be connected with the exasperation caused by the -resistance of Fort Fleron, whose guns barred the main road from -Aix-la-Chapelle to Liege. Enraged by the losses which they had -sustained, suspicious of the temper of the civilian population, and -probably thinking that by exceptional severities at the outset they -could cow the spirit of the Belgian nation, the German officers and men -speedily accustomed themselves to the slaughter of civilians. - - -_No Official German Denial of Atrocities._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Citizens of neutral states who visited Belgium in December and January -report that the German authorities do not deny that non-combatants were -systematically killed in large numbers during the first weeks of the -invasion, and this, so far as we know, has never been officially denied. - - -_Flight of Belgian Refugees without Parallel._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -If it were denied, the flight and continued voluntary exile of -thousands of Belgian refugees would go far to contradict a denial, for -there is no historical parallel in modern times for the flight of a -large part of a nation before an invader. - - -_German Government seek to justify Severities, but no Proof given of -Alleged Firing by Civilians._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -The German Government have, however, sought to justify their severities -on the grounds of military necessity, and have excused them as -retaliation for cases in which civilians fired on German troops. There -may have been cases in which such firing occurred, but no proof has -ever been given, or, to our knowledge, attempted to be given, of such -cases, nor of the allegations of shocking outrages perpetrated by -Belgian men and women on German soldiers. - - -_On the contrary, Civilians were Warned after the Invasion._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -The inherent improbability of the German contention is shown by the -fact that after the first few days of the invasion every possible -precaution had been taken by the Belgian authorities, by way of -placards and handbills, to warn the civilian population not to -intervene in hostilities. - - -_Civilians Shot Indiscriminately and without any Inquiry._ - -[Sidenote: 26] - -An invading army may be entitled to shoot at sight a civilian caught -red-handed, or anyone who though not caught red-handed is proved guilty -on inquiry. But this was not the practice followed by the German -troops. They do not seem to have made any inquiry. They seized the -civilians of the village indiscriminately and killed them, or such as -they selected from among them, without the least regard to guilt or -innocence. The mere cry "Civilisten haben geschossen" ("Civilians have -been shooting") was enough to hand over a whole village or district, -and even outlying places, to ruthless slaughter. - - -_Killing of Civilians on Scale without any Parallel in Modern Warfare -between Civilised Powers._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -In the present war--and this is the gravest charge against the German -Army--the evidence shows that the killing of non-combatants was carried -out to an extent for which no previous war between nations claiming to -be civilised furnishes any precedent. - - -_Mass of Evidence convinced Committee of its Truth._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -That these acts should have been perpetrated on the peaceful population -of an unoffending country which was not at war with its invaders, but -merely defending its own neutrality, guaranteed by the invading Power, -may excite amazement and even incredulity. It was with amazement and -almost with incredulity that the Committee first read the depositions -relating to such acts. But when the evidence regarding Liege was -followed by that regarding Aerschot, Louvain, Andenne, Dinant and the -other towns and villages, the cumulative effect of such a mass of -concurrent testimony became irresistible, and the Committee were driven -to the conclusion that the things described had really happened. - - -_Killing of Civilians deliberately planned by the Higher Military -Authorities and carried out methodically._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The excesses recently committed in Belgium were, moreover, too -widespread and too uniform in their character to be mere sporadic -outbursts of passion or rapacity. - -[Sidenote: 25] - -That this killing was done as part of a deliberate plan is clear from -the facts set forth regarding Louvain, Aerschot, Dinant and other -towns. The killing was done under orders in each place. It began at a -certain fixed date, and stopped (with some few exceptions) at another -fixed date. - - -_German Army Disciplined to Obey._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The discipline of the German Army is proverbially stringent, and its -obedience implicit. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -It was to the discipline rather than the want of discipline in the Army -that these outrages, which we are obliged to describe as systematic, -were due, and the special official notices posted on certain houses -that they were not to be destroyed show the fate which had been decreed -for the others which were not so marked. - - -_A few German Officers showed Feelings of Humanity._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The Committee gladly record the instances where the evidence shows -that humanity had not wholly disappeared from some members of the -German Army, and that they realised that the responsible heads of that -organisation were employing them, not in war, but in butchery. "I am -merely executing orders, and I should be shot if I did not execute -them," said an officer to a witness at Louvain. At Brussels another -officer said: "I have not done one hundredth part of what we have been -ordered to do by the High German military authorities." - -[Sidenote: 30] - -A humane German officer, witnessing the ruin of Aerschot, exclaimed in -disgust: "I am a father myself, and I cannot bear this. It is not war, -but butchery." - - -_Drink Responsible for many of the Worst Outrages._ - -[Sidenote: 25] - -[Sidenote: 30] - -Many of the worst outrages appear to have been perpetrated by men under -the influence of drink. Unfortunately, little seems to have been done -to repress this source of danger.... Officers as well as men succumbed -to the temptation of drink. - - -_The German Army is Responsible for Crimes which it did not Check._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -When an army is directed or permitted to kill non-combatants on a large -scale, the ferocity of the worse natures springs into fuller life, -and both lust and the thirst of blood become more widespread and more -formidable. Had less licence been allowed to the soldiers, and had they -not been set to work to slaughter civilians, there would have been -fewer of those painful cases in which a depraved and morbid cruelty -appears. - - -_The Taking and Murder of Hostages._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -Two classes of murders in particular require special mention, because -one of them is almost new, and the other altogether unprecedented. The -former is the seizure of peaceful citizens as so-called hostages to -be kept as a pledge for the conduct of the civil population, or as a -means to secure some military advantage, or to compel the payment of a -contribution, the hostages being shot if the condition imposed by the -arbitrary will of the invader is not fulfilled. Such hostage taking ... -is opposed both to the rules of war and to every principle of justice -and humanity. - - -_Murder in the Villages._ - -[Sidenote: 27] - -The latter kind of murder is the killing of the innocent inhabitants of -a village because shots have been fired, or are alleged to have been -fired, on the troops by someone in the village. For this practice no -previous example and no justification has been or can be pleaded.... In -Belgium large bodies of men, sometimes including the burgomaster and -the priest, were seized, marched by officers to a spot chosen for the -purpose, and there shot in cold blood, without any attempt at trial -or even enquiry, under the pretence of inflicting punishment upon the -village, though these unhappy victims were not even charged with having -themselves committed any wrongful act. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -The Committee is specially impressed by the character of the outrages -committed in the smaller villages. - -_Aerschot and District_ (August 25th).--Immediately after the battle of -Malines ... a long series of murders were committed either just before -or during the retreat of the army. Many of the inhabitants who were -unarmed, including women and young children, were killed--some of them -under revolting circumstances. - -Evidence given goes to show that the death of these villagers was due, -not to accident, but to deliberate purpose. - - -_A Death-stricken Area._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The quadrangle of territory bounded by the towns of Aerschot, Malines, -Vilvorde, and Louvain, is a rich agricultural tract, studded with small -villages and comprising two considerable cities, Louvain and Malines. -This district on August 19th passed into the hands of the Germans, and, -owing perhaps to its proximity to Antwerp, then the seat of the Belgian -Government and headquarters of the Belgian Army, it became from that -date a scene of chronic outrage, with respect to which the Committee -has received a great mass of evidence. - - -_Systematic Massacres._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The arrival of the Germans in the district on August 19th was marked by -systematic massacres and other outrages at Aerschot itself, Gelrode and -some other villages. - - -_Sudden Outburst of Cruelty follows Belgian Victory._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -On August 25th the Belgians, sallying out of the defences of Antwerp, -attacked the German positions at Malines, drove the enemy from the -town and re-occupied many of the villages in the neighbourhood. And -just as numerous outrages against the civilian population had been the -immediate consequence of the temporary repulse of the German vanguard -from Fort Fleron, so a large body of depositions testify to the fact -that a sudden outburst of cruelty was the response of the German Army -to the Belgian victory at Malines. - - -_A Reign of Terror._ - -[Sidenote: 14] - -The battle of Malines ... was the occasion of numerous murders -committed by the German Army in retreating through the villages of -Sempst, Hofstade, Eppeghem, Elewyt and elsewhere. In the second place -it led ... to the massacres, plunderings and burnings at Louvain, the -signal for which was provided by shots exchanged between the German -Army, retreating after its repulse at Malines, and some members of the -German garrison of Louvain, who mistook their fellow countrymen for -Belgians. Lastly, the encounter at Malines seems to have stung the -Germans into establishing a reign of terror in so much of the district -comprised in the quadrangle as remained in their power. - - -_Louvain Peacefully Occupied by Germans for Six Days._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain and District._--The events spoken to as having occurred in and -around Louvain between August 19th and 25th deserve close attention. - -For six days the Germans were in peaceful occupation of the city. No -houses were set on fire--no citizens killed. There was a certain amount -of looting of empty houses, but otherwise discipline was effectively -maintained. The condition of Louvain during these days was one of -relative peace and quietude, presenting a striking contrast to the -previous and contemporaneous conduct of the German Army elsewhere. - - -_A Sudden Change--Murder of Civilians and Destruction of Property._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -On the evening of August 25th a sudden change took place. The Germans, -on that day repulsed by the Belgians, had retreated to and re-occupied -Louvain. Immediately the devastation of that city and the destruction -by fire of its population began. - - -_Defeated Germans Revenge themselves on Civilians._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -The inference is irresistible that the Army as a whole wreaked its -vengeance on the civilian population and the buildings of the city in -revenge for the setback which the Belgian arms had inflicted on them. -A subsidiary cause alleged was the assertion, often made before, that -civilians had fired upon the German Army. - -The depositions which relate to Louvain are numerous, and are believed -by the Committee to present a true and fairly complete picture of the -events of August 25th and 26th and subsequent days. - - -_Civilians did not Fire._ - -[Sidenote: 19] - -The Committee find no grounds for thinking that the inhabitants fired -upon the German Army on the evening of August 25th. Eye-witnesses -worthy of credence detail exactly when, where and how the firing -commenced. Such firing was by Germans on Germans. No impartial tribunal -could, so the Committee think, come to any other conclusion. - - -_Harried Villagers._ - -[Sidenote: 21] - -The massacre of civilians at Louvain was not confined to its citizens. -Large crowds of people were brought into Louvain from the surrounding -districts.... Of the hundreds of people taken from the various villages -and brought to Louvain as prisoners, some were massacred there, others -were forced to march along with citizens of Louvain through various -places, some being ultimately sent on the 29th to the Belgian lines at -Malines, others were taken in trucks to Cologne, others were released. - - -_A Calculated Policy of Cruelty._ - -[Sidenote: 23] - -The Committee are driven to the conclusion that the harrying of the -villages in the district, the burning of a large part of Louvain, the -massacres there, the marching out of the prisoners, and the transport -to Cologne--all done without enquiry as to whether the particular -persons seized or killed had committed any wrongful act--were due to -a calculated policy carried out scientifically and deliberately, not -merely with the sanction but under the direction of higher military -authorities, and were not due to any provocation or resistance by the -civilian population. - - -_The Tragedy of Beautiful Dinant._ - -[Sidenote: 13] - -Just outside the prison one witness saw three lines of bodies, which he -recognised as being those of neighbours. They were nearly all dead, but -he noticed movement in some of them. There were about 120 bodies.... -Unarmed civilians were killed in masses at other places near the -prison. About 90 bodies were seen lying on the top of one another in a -grass square opposite the convent. They included many relatives of a -witness.... It is stated that, beside the 90 corpses referred to above, -60 corpses of civilians were recovered from a hole in the brewery yard, -and that 48 bodies of women and children were found in a garden. - - * * * * * - -The Committee have no reason to believe that the civilian population -of Dinant gave any provocation, or that any other defence can be put -forward to justify the treatment inflicted upon its citizens. - -As regards this town and the advance of the German Army from Dinant -to Rethel on the Aisne, a graphic account is given in the diary of a -Saxon officer. This diary confirms what is clear from the evidence -as a whole both as regards these and other districts--that civilians -were constantly taken as prisoners, often dragged from their homes -and shot under the direction of the authorities without any charge -being made against them. An event of the kind is thus referred to in -a diary entry: "Apparently 200 men were shot. There must have been -some innocent men amongst them. In future we shall have to hold an -enquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting them." The shooting of -inhabitants--women and children as well as men--went on after the -Germans had passed Dinant on their way into France. - - -Further Examples of the Treatment of Civilians. - -[Sidenote: 9] - -Entries in a German diary show that on August 19th the German soldiers -gave themselves up to debauchery in the streets of Liege, and on the -night of the 20th (Thursday) a massacre took place in the streets.... -The Belgian witnesses vehemently deny that there had been any -provocation given, some stating that many German soldiers were drunk, -others giving evidence which indicates that the affair was planned -beforehand. It is stated that at 5 o'clock in the evening, long before -the shooting, a citizen was warned by a friendly German soldier not to -go out that night. - -Though the cause of the massacre is in dispute, the results are known -with certainty.... Many inhabitants were burnt alive in their houses, -their efforts to escape being prevented by rifle fire. Twenty people -were shot while trying to escape, before the eyes of one of the -witnesses.... Thirty-two civilians were killed on that day, the 21st, -in the Place de l'Universite alone. - -[Sidenote: 20] - -_Louvain._--On August 26th (Wednesday) massacre, fire and destruction -went on.... Citizens were shot and others taken prisoners. - -Soldiers went through the streets saying "Man hat geschossen." ("They -have been shooting.") One soldier was seen going along shooting in -the air.... Some citizens were shot on opening the doors, others in -endeavouring to escape. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -These prisoners [civilians] were practically without food from early -morning on the 26th until midnight on the 29th. Of the corpses seen -on the road some had their hands tied behind their backs, others were -burnt, some had been killed by blows. - -"I did not dare to look at the dead bodies in the street, there were so -many of them." - -[Sidenote: 23] - -"The officers were worse than the men.... We had had nothing to eat or -drink since the evening of the day before. A few compassionate soldiers -gave us water to drink, but no official took the trouble to see that we -were fed." - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Louvain_ (German soldier's diary--No. 32).--"180 inhabitants are -stated to have been shot after they had dug their own graves." - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Surice._--On August 24th and 25th massacres were carried out in which -many persons belonging to the professional classes as well as others -were killed. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Namur_ was entered on August 24th. The troops signalised their entry -by firing on a crowd of 150 unarmed, unresisting civilians, 10 alone of -whom escaped.... As the inhabitants fled from the burning houses they -were shot by the German troops. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -In _Tamines_, a large village on the Meuse between Namur and Charleroi, -the advance guard of the German Army appeared in the first fortnight -in August, and in this, as well as in other villages in the district, -it is proved that a large number of civilians, among them aged people, -women and children, were deliberately killed by the soldiers. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -_Tirlemont._--The prisoners, of whom there are said to have been -thousands, were not allowed even to have water to drink, although -there were streams on the way from which the soldiers drank. Witness -was given some milk at a farm, but as she raised it to her lips it was -taken away from her. - -[Sidenote: 22] - -_Journeys from Louvain to Cologne._--Some of the trucks were abominably -filthy. Prisoners were not allowed to leave to obey the calls of -nature.... They were, in all, eight days in the train, crowded and -almost without food. Two of the men went mad. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--About 70 prisoners ... were taken to Lebbeke, where there -were in all 300 prisoners, and there they were locked up in the church -for three days and with scarcely any food. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Ermeton_ (Diary No. 19).--The exact translation of the extract, grim -in its brevity, is as follows: "August 24/14. We took about 1,000 -prisoners; at least 500 were shot. The village was burnt because -inhabitants had also shot. Two civilians were shot at once." - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Wandre_ (Diary of German soldier--Eitel Anders).--"In one house -a whole collection of weapons was found. The inhabitants without -exception were brought out and shot. This shooting was heart-breaking, -as they all knelt down and prayed; but that was no ground for mercy. A -few shots rang out, and they fell back into the green grass and slept -for ever." - -[Sidenote: 10] - -_Andenne._--Almost immediately, the slaughter of these inhabitants -began, and continued for over two hours, and intermittently during the -night. Machine guns were brought into play. The German troops were said -to be for the most part drunk, and they certainly murdered and ravaged -unchecked. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -About 400 people lost their lives in this massacre.... Eight men -belonging to one family were murdered. Another man was placed close to -a machine gun, which was fired through him. His wife brought his body -home on a wheelbarrow. The Germans broke into her house and ransacked -it, and piled up all the eatables in a heap on the floor and relieved -themselves upon it. A hair-dresser was murdered in his kitchen, where -he was sitting with a child on each knee. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Montigny-sur-Sambre._--On the Monday morning 27 civilians from one -parish alone were seen lying dead in the hospital. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -At _Monceau-sur-Sambre_, on August 21st, a young man of 18 was shot -in his garden. His father and brother were seized in their house and -shot in the courtyard of a neighbouring country house. The son was shot -first. The father was compelled to stand close to the feet of his son's -corpse and to fix his eyes upon him while he himself was shot. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -At _Temploux_, on August 23rd, a Professor of Modern Languages at the -College of Namur was shot at his front door by a German officer. Before -he died he asked the officer the reason for this brutality, and the -officer replied that he had lost his temper because some civilians had -fired upon the Germans as they entered the village. This allegation was -not proved.... After the murder the house was burnt. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Elewyt._--A man's naked body was tied up to a ring in the wall in the -backyard of a house. He was dead, and his corpse was mutilated in a -manner too horrible to record. A woman's naked body was also found in a -stable abutting on the same backyard. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -Bombardier Wetzel, of the 2nd Mounted Battery, 1st Kurhessian Field -Artillery Regiment, No. 11, records an incident which happened in -French territory near Lille on October 11th: "We had no fight, but we -caught about 20 men and shot them." By this time killing not in a fight -would seem to have passed into a habit. - - - - -2. WOMEN MURDERED AND OUTRAGED. - - -[Sidenote: 30] - -From the very first women were not safe. At Liege women and children -were chased about the street by soldiers. One witness gives a story, -very circumstantial in its details, of how women were publicly raped in -the market place of the city, five young German officers assisting. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Tamines._--A witness describes how he saw the public square littered -with corpses, and after a search found those of his wife and child, a -little girl of 7. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Wetteren Hospital._--At this hospital was an old woman of 80 -completely transfixed by a bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Sempst._--Witness saw a girl of 17 dressed only in a chemise and in -great distress. She alleged that she herself and other girls had been -dragged into a field, stripped naked and violated, and that some of -them had then been killed with the bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Eppeghem._--On August 25th a pregnant woman who had been wounded with -a bayonet was discovered in the convent. She was dying. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain._--"In the middle of the night I heard a knock at the outer -door of the stable, which led into a little street, and heard a woman's -voice crying for help. I opened the door, and just as I was going to -let her in, a rifle shot fired from the street by a German soldier rang -out and the woman fell dead at my feet." - -[Sidenote: 21] - -The wife of a witness ... was separated from him, and she saw other -ladies made to walk before the soldiers with their hands above their -heads. One, an old lady of 85 (name given) was dragged from her cellar -and taken with them to the station. - -"I saw the corpses of some women in the street. I fell down, and a -woman who had been shot fell on top of me.... One woman whom I saw -lying dead in the street was a Miss ---- about 35. I also saw the body -of ---- (a woman). She had been shot. I saw an officer pull her corpse -underneath a wagon." - -[Sidenote: 13] - -_Dinant._--He found his wife lying on the floor in a room. She had -bullet wounds in four places, but was alive, and told her husband to -return to the children. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -Sixty women and children were confined in the cellar of a convent from -Sunday morning till the following Friday (August 28th), sleeping on the -ground, for there were no beds, with nothing to drink during the whole -period, and given no food until the Wednesday, "when somebody threw -into the cellar two sticks of macaroni and a carrot for each prisoner." - -[Sidenote: 16] - -In _Malines_ itself many bodies were seen. One witness saw a German -soldier cut a woman's breasts after he had murdered her, and saw many -other dead bodies of women in the streets. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -_Gelrode._--A woman was shot by some German soldiers as she was walking -home. This was done at a distance of 100 yards, and for no apparent -reason. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Hofstade._--The corpse of a woman was seen at the blacksmith's. She -had been killed with the bayonet.... Two young women were lying in the -backyard of the house. One had her breasts cut off, the other had been -stabbed.... In the garden of a house in the main street bodies of two -women were observed. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -_Campenhout_ [Statement of a valet].--"One of the officers ... putting -a revolver to my mistress' temple shot her dead. The officer was -obviously drunk. The other officers continued to drink and sing, and -they did not pay great attention to the killing of my mistress. The -officer who shot my mistress then told my master to dig a grave and -bury my mistress. My master and the officer went into the garden, the -officer threatening my master with a pistol. My master was then forced -to dig the grave, and to bury the body of my mistress in it. I cannot -say for what reason they killed my mistress. The officer who did it was -singing all the time." - - - - -3. THE MURDER AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN. - - -[Sidenote: 32] - -There can be no possible defence for the murder of children. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -Whether or no Belgian civilians fired on German soldiers, young -children, at any rate, did not fire. The number and character of -these murders constitute the most distressing feature connected with -the conduct of the war so far as it is revealed in the depositions -submitted to the Committee. - -[Sidenote: 32] - -It is clearly shown that many offences were committed against infants -and quite young children. On one occasion children were even roped -together and used as a military screen against the enemy, on another -three soldiers went into action carrying small children to protect -themselves from flank fire. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -At _Haecht_ several children had been murdered; one of two or three -years old was found nailed to the door of a farmhouse by its hands and -feet, a crime which seems almost incredible, but the evidence for which -we feel bound to accept. In the garden of this house was the body of a -girl who had been shot in the forehead. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -_Capelle-au-Bois._--Two children were murdered in a cart, and their -corpses were seen by many witnesses at different stages of the cart's -journey. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Tamines._--One witness describes how she saw a Belgian boy of fifteen -shot on the village green, and a day or two later on the same green a -little girl and her two brothers (name given) who were looking at the -German soldiers were killed before her eyes for no apparent reason. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Boort Meerbeek._--A German soldier was seen to fire three times -at a little girl of five years old. Having failed to hit her, he -subsequently bayoneted her. He was killed with the butt end of a -rifle by a Belgian soldier who had seen him commit this murder from a -distance. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Weerde._--Two children were killed in a village--apparently -Weerde--quite wantonly as they were standing in the road with their -mother. They were three or four years old, and were killed with the -bayonet. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Eppeghem._--The dead body of a child of two was seen pinned to the -ground with a German lance. - -[Sidenote: 17] - -_Hofstade._--On a side road ... was seen ... the dead body of a boy of -five or six with his hands nearly severed. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -In _Hofstade_ and _Sempst_, in _Haecht_, _Rotselaar_ and _Wespelaar_, -many children were murdered. - -[Sidenote: 21] - -_Louvain_ (August 28th).--One woman went mad, some children died, -others were born.... (August 29th, outside Louvain): Some corpses were -those of children who had been shot. - -[Sidenote: 30] - -_A small village._--There were two little children--a boy about 4 or -5, and a girl of about 6 or 7. The boy's left hand was cut off at the -wrist and the girl's right hand at the same place. They were both quite -dead. - -[Sidenote: 32] - -_Malines._--"One day when the Germans were not actually bombarding the -town, I left my house to go to my mother's house in High Street. My -husband was with me. I saw eight German soldiers, and they were drunk. -They were singing and making a lot of noise and dancing about. As the -German soldiers came along the street I saw a small child, whether boy -or girl I could not see, come out of a house. The child was about 2 -years of age. The child came into the middle of the street so as to -be in the way of the soldiers. The soldiers were walking in twos. The -first line of two passed the child. One of the second line, the man -on the left, stepped aside and drove his bayonet with both hands into -the child's stomach, lifting the child into the air on his bayonet and -carrying it away on his bayonet, he and his comrades still singing. The -child screamed when the soldier struck it with his bayonet, but not -afterwards." - - - - -4. BRUTAL TREATMENT OF THE AGED, THE CRIPPLED AND THE INFIRM. - - -[Sidenote: 11] - -At _Denee_, on August 28th, a Belgian soldier who had been taken -prisoner saw three civilian fellow-prisoners shot. One was a cripple -and another an old man of 80, who was paralysed. It was alleged by two -German soldiers that these men had shot at them with rifles. Neither of -them had rifles, nor had they anything in their pockets. The witness -actually saw the Germans search them and nothing was found. - -[Sidenote: 20] - -_Louvain._--"Subsequently my master--an old gentleman--was bayoneted -and shot."... Among other persons whose houses were burnt was an old -man of 90, lying dangerously ill, who was taken out on his mattress -and left lying in his garden all night. He died shortly after in the -hospital. - -[Sidenote: 18] - -The journey to Louvain is thus described by a witness: "We were all -marched off to Louvain, walking. There were some very old people, -amongst others a man 90 years of age. The very old people were drawn -in carts and barrows by the younger men. There was an officer with -a bicycle, who shouted, as people fell out by the side of the road, -'Shoot them.'" - -[Sidenote: 8] - -At _Heure le Romain_ ... some bedridden old men were imprisoned in the -church. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Andenne._--A paralytic was murdered in his garden. - -[Sidenote: 29] - -_Beaumetz._--They saw two old men--between 60 and 70 years of age--and -one old woman lying close to each other in the garden. All three had -the scalps cut right through.... They were still bleeding. - - - - -5. THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS SCREENS. - - -[Sidenote: 33] - -The Committee had before them a considerable body of evidence with -reference to the practice of the Germans of using civilians and -sometimes military prisoners as screens from behind which they -could fire upon the Belgian troops, in the hope that the Belgians -would not return the fire for fear of killing or wounding their own -fellow-countrymen. - -[Sidenote: 31] - -The use of women and even children as a screen for the protection -of the German troops is referred to.... From the number of troops -concerned, it must have been commanded or acquiesced in by officers, -and in some cases the presence and connivance of officers is proved. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--Two hundred civilians were utilised as a screen by the -German troops. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Binnenstraat._--The civilians were utilised on Saturday, the 26th -September, as a screen. - -[Sidenote: 33] - -_Mons._--On August 24th men, women and children were actually pushed -into the front of the German position outside Mons. The witness speaks -of 16 to 20 women, about a dozen children and half a dozen men being -there. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Tournai_ 400 Belgian civilians--men, women and children--were -placed in front of the Germans, who then engaged the French. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Ypres_ the Germans drove women in front of them by pricking them -with bayonets. The wounds were afterwards seen by the witness. - -[Sidenote: 34] - -At _Londerzeel_ 30 or 40 civilians--men, women and children--were -placed at the head of a German column. - -One witness from _Termonde_ was made to stand in front of the Germans, -together with others, all with their hands above their heads. Those who -allowed their hands to drop were at once prodded with the bayonet. - - - - -6. THE KILLING OF WOUNDED SOLDIERS AND PRISONERS. - - -[Sidenote: 35] - -After making all allowances, there remain certain instances in which it -is clear that quarter was refused to persons desiring to surrender when -it ought to have been given, or that persons already so wounded as to -be incapable of fighting further, were wantonly shot or bayoneted. - -[Sidenote: 36] - -In one case, given very circumstantially, a witness [a British -lance-corporal, whose evidence has been confirmed by a lieutenant and -a private] tells how a party of wounded British soldiers were left in -a chalk pit, all very badly hurt, and quite unable to make resistance. -One of them, an officer, held up his handkerchief as a white flag, and -this "attracted the attention of a party of about eight Germans. The -Germans came to the edge of the pit. It was getting dusk, but the light -was still good, and everything clearly discernible. One of them, who -appeared to be carrying no arms, and who, at any rate, had no rifle, -came a few feet down the slope into the chalk pit, within eight or ten -yards of some of the wounded men." He looked at the men, laughed, and -said something in German to the Germans who were waiting on the edge -of the pit. Immediately one of them fired at the officer, then three -or four of these 10 soldiers were shot, then another officer, and the -witness, and the rest of them. "After an interval of some time I sat up -and found that I was the only man of the 10 who were living when the -Germans came into the pit remaining alive, and that all the rest were -dead." - - - - -7. LOOTING, BURNING AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. - - -[Sidenote: 34] - -There is an overwhelming mass of evidence of the deliberate destruction -of private property by the German soldiers. The destruction, in most -cases, was effected by fire, and the German troops had been provided -beforehand with appliances for rapidly setting fire to houses. Among -the appliances enumerated by witnesses are syringes for squirting -petrol, guns for throwing small inflammable bombs, and small pellets -made of inflammable material. Specimens of the last-mentioned have been -shown to members of the Committee. Besides burning houses the Germans -frequently smashed furniture and pictures; they also broke in doors and -windows. Frequently, too, they defiled houses by relieving the wants of -nature upon the floor. They also appear to have perpetrated the same -vileness upon piled up heaps of provisions, so as to destroy what they -could not themselves consume. - -[Sidenote: 25] - -Villages, even large parts of a city, were given to the flames as part -of the terrorising policy. - -[Sidenote: 35] - -The general conclusion is that the burning and destruction of property -which took place was only in a very small minority of cases justified -by military necessity. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -_Louvain._--Then the corps of incendiaries got to work. They had -broad belts with the words "Gott mit uns" ("God with us"), and their -equipment consisted of a hatchet, a syringe, a small shovel and a -revolver. Fires blazed up in the direction of the Law Courts and St. -Martin's Barracks. - -[Sidenote: 19] - -A witness: "When we got to the Place de la Station ... not a single -house in the place was standing." - -[Sidenote: 20] - -On the 26th (Wednesday), in the city of Louvain, massacre, fire, and -destruction went on. The University, with its Library, the Church of -St. Peter, and many houses were set on fire and burnt to the ground. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Tamines._--A witness went there on August 27th and says: "It is -absolutely destroyed and a mass of ruins." - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Liege._--The Rue des Pitteurs and houses in the Place de l'Universite -and the Quai des Pecheurs were systematically fired with benzine. - -[Sidenote: 16] - -_Aerschot._--The houses were set on fire with special apparatus. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -_Montigny-sur-Sambre._--Incendiaries, with a distinctive badge on their -arm, went down the main street throwing handfuls of inflammatory and -explosive pastilles into the houses. These pastilles were carried by -them in bags, and in this way about 130 houses were destroyed in the -main street. - -[Sidenote: 11] - -_Namur._--A witness of good standing ... describes how the town was -set on fire systematically in six different places.... Not less than -140 houses were burnt. On the 25th the hospital was set on fire with -inflammable pastilles, the pretext being that soldiers in the hospital -had fired upon the Germans. - -[Sidenote: 13] - -_Dinant._--The town was systematically set on fire by hand grenades.... -The houses and villages were pillaged and property wantonly destroyed. - -[Sidenote: 12] - -At _Morlanwelz_, about this time, the British Army, together with some -French cavalry, were compelled to retire before the German troops. The -latter took the burgomaster and his manservant prisoner and shot them -both in front of the Hotel de Ville at Peronne (Belgium), where the -bodies were left in the street for 48 hours. They burnt the Hotel de -Ville and 62 houses. The usual accusation of firing by civilians was -made. It is strenuously denied by the witness, who declares that three -or four days before the arrival of the Germans, circulars had been -distributed to every house and placards had been posted in the town -ordering the deposit of all firearms at the Hotel de Ville, and that -this order had been complied with. - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Erpe._--The village was deliberately burnt. - -[Sidenote: 23] - -_Termonde._--The town was partially burnt. One witness was taken -prisoner in the street by some German soldiers, together with several -other civilians. At about 12 o'clock on the 5th some of the tallest -and strongest men amongst the prisoners were picked out to go round -the streets with paraffin. Three or four carts containing paraffin -tanks were brought up, and a syringe was used to put paraffin on to -the houses, which were then fired. The process of destruction began -with the houses of rich people, and afterwards the houses of the poorer -classes were treated in the same manner. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Herve._--From the 8th to the 10th over 300 houses were burnt. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Vise._--On or about the 14th and 15th the village was completely -destroyed. Officers directed the incendiaries, who worked methodically -with benzine. - -[Sidenote: 9] - -_Diary of Eitel Anders_, a German soldier.--"We crossed the Belgian -frontier on August 15th, 1914, at 11.50 in the forenoon, and then we -went steadily along the main road till we got into Belgium. Hardly were -we there when we had a horrible sight. Houses were burnt down.... Not -one of the hundreds of houses were spared. Everything was plundered and -burnt." - -[Sidenote: 24] - -_Diary of Matbern, of the 4th Company of Jaegers_, states that at a -village between Birnal and Dinant, on Sunday, August 23rd, "about 220 -inhabitants were shot, and the village was burnt.... All villages, -chateaux and houses are burnt down during the night. It is a beautiful -sight to see the fires all round us in the distance." - - -_Looting._ - -[Sidenote: 34] - -The German troops, both in Belgium and France, are proved to have been -guilty of persistent looting. In the majority of cases the looting took -place from houses, but there is also evidence that German soldiers, -and even officers, robbed their prisoners, both civil and military, -of sums of money and other portable possessions. It was apparently -well known throughout the German Army that towns and villages would -be burned whenever it appeared that any civilians had fired upon the -German troops, and there is reason to suspect that this known intention -of the German military authorities in some cases explains the sequence -of events which led up to the burning and sacking of a town or village. -The soldiers, knowing that they would have an opportunity of plunder -if the place was condemned, had a motive for arranging some incident -which would provide the necessary excuse for condemnation. More than -one witness alleges that shots coming from the window of a house were -fired by German soldiers, who had forced their way into the house for -the purpose of thus creating an alarm. - -[Sidenote: 15] - -_Aerschot._--Throughout the day the town was looted by the soldiers. - -[Sidenote: 8] - -_Vise._--Antiques and china were removed from the houses before their -destruction by officers who guarded the plunder, revolver in hand. - -[Sidenote: A 171] - -Translated extract from diary of Stephan Luther: "We live like God in -France." - -[Sidenote: A 181] - -Translated extracts from the field notebook of an officer in the 178th -Regiment, XIIth (Saxon) Corps: "August 17th.--In the afternoon I had a -look at the little chateau belonging to one of the King's Secretaries -(not at home). Our men had behaved like regular vandals. They had -looted the cellar first.... Everything was topsy-turvy--magnificent -furniture, silk, and even china.... I am sure they must have taken away -a heap of useless stuff simply for the pleasure of looting." - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: A 182] - -"September 3rd.--Still at Rethel, ... the houses are charming inside. -The middle class in France has magnificent furniture.... Every bit of -furniture broken, mirrors smashed. The Vandals themselves could not -have done more damage. This place is a disgrace to our army." - -"I could not resist taking a little memento myself here and there." - - - Article 47 of the Second International Peace Conference (Convention - concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land), held at the Hague - in 1907, reads as follows:-- - - _Pillage is expressly forbidden._ - - - - -FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE. - - -[Sidenote: 37] - -"The Committee have come to a definite conclusion upon each of the -heads under which the evidence has been classified. - - "=It is proved=:-- - - "(=i=) =That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate - and systematically organised massacres of the civil population, - accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages.= - - "(=ii=) =That in the conduct of the war generally innocent - civilians, both men and women, were murdered in large numbers, - women violated, and children murdered.= - - "(=iii=) =That looting, house burning, and the wanton - destruction of property were ordered and countenanced by the - officers of the German Army, that elaborate provision had been made - for systematic incendiarism at the very outbreak of the war, and - that the burnings and destruction were frequent where no military - necessity could be alleged, being indeed part of a system of - general terrorization.= - - "(=iv=) =That the rules and usages of war were frequently - broken, particularly by the using of civilians, including women - and children, as a shield for advancing forces exposed to fire, - to a less degree by killing the wounded and prisoners, and in the - frequent abuse of the Red Cross and the White Flag.= - - "Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the - Committee conceive that they would be doing less than their duty if - they failed to record them as fully established by the evidence. - =Murder, lust, and pillage prevailed over many parts of Belgium - on a scale unparalleled in any war between civilised nations during - the last three centuries.= - - "Our function is ended when we have stated what the evidence - establishes, but we may be permitted to express our belief that - these disclosures will not have been made in vain if they touch - and rouse the conscience of mankind, and we venture to hope that, - as soon as the present war is over, the nations of the world in - council will consider what means can be provided and sanctions - devised to prevent the recurrence of such horrors as our generation - is now witnessing." - - - - -Is YOUR conscience roused? Won't YOU take the most effective way of -showing it--if you are a man under 40 and fit? The only way to put a -stop to these and other crimes is to crush the German Army. - -YOU can help either by joining the Army or by making munitions. Place -YOUR services at the disposal of the military authorities. - -If YOU are a woman, cannot you help a man to decide? - - - - -[Illustration: Map of Belgium] - - - - -PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. - - -REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ALLEGED GERMAN OUTRAGES, - - 38 pages, F'cap. folio, with 2 maps. [Cd. 7894.] Price 6_d._ - - -APPENDIX TO REPORT, - - 199 pages, F'cap. folio. Depositions, diaries and plates. - [Cd. 7895.] Price 1_s._ 9_d._ - - -The above have been reprinted as Official Publications, in smaller -(octavo) size:-- - REPORT, 64 pages, with 2 maps Price 3_d._ - REPORT, 48 pages, without maps " 1_d._ - DEPOSITIONS, 288 pages, with 8 plates " 6_d._ - - * * * * * - -To be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from - -WYMAN AND SONS, LTD., 29, Breams Buildings, Fetter Lane, E.C., -and 28, Abingdon Street, S.W., and 54, St. Mary Street, Cardiff; or - -H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE (SCOTTISH BRANCH), 23, Forth Street, -Edinburgh; or - -E. PONSONBY, LTD., 116, Grafton Street, Dublin; - -or from the Agencies in the British Colonies and Dependencies, the -United States of America and other Foreign Countries of - -T. FISHER UNWIN, London, W.C. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. - -Inconsistent hyphenation was made consistent. - -P. 17: Rotselaer and Wespelaer -> Rotselaar and Wespelaar. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT GERMAN ATROCITIES*** - - -******* This file should be named 50788.txt or 50788.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/7/8/50788 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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