German Atrocities: A Record of Shameless DeedsLe Queux, William
History
German Atrocities: A Record of Shameless Deeds
Le Queux, William
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
“=The Belgian people are enduring the horrors of war, and after
making every allowance for the source from which our information
comes, we do not doubt that they are enduring them in a form which
ought to be impossible amongst civilized nations.=”--_Bonar Law._
What an Eye-Witness Saw.
Another eye-witness was Mr. Henry Frenkel, a Russian living in Antwerp,
who volunteered in the 6th regiment of the line to serve with his
Belgian friends. While the Germans were in Liége he was sent there upon
an important mission. This is how he tells his story:--
“I got into Liége by Holland. I went first to Rosendael, then to
Maastricht, last to Eysden, and then openly passed the frontier. I will
not describe Visé, Mouland, Berneau, and other places, all burned,
sacked, and devastated in the most horrible fashion. Although all I have
seen has hardened my nerve, I still shiver when I think of it. One
cannot grasp the idea of all that has really taken place there. The
Germans, mad with rage on account of the resistance which we opposed to
them, have acted like wild beasts, to give it a mild name. I have seen
men, women, and children hanged or horribly mutilated. I have seen heaps
of corpses, of which no trace will be left in a few hours, as the
inhabitants round Liége have been commandeered to bury them in lots. Ah!
the Prussians will have to render us a terrible account. I witnessed an
incident on the Place Lambert, in Liége. A Belgian chauffeur was arguing
with a German officer. Visibly, the Belgian chauffeur could not
understand what was wanted of him. The crowd gathered, and I could not
follow the rest of the scene; but I heard a revolver shot. Then German
soldiers rushed out of the palace to stop the crowds, and I saw the
chauffeur, with blood-covered face, carried into a house by two
soldiers. Not a sign of revolt from the crowd. The rifles are loaded,
ready to go off. At my side a German said, laughingly: ‘Ach, das ist
nichts! Eine kleinigkeit.’ (‘Oh! that’s nothing. Only a small thing.’)”
Dinant Destroyed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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