German Barbarism: A Neutral's IndictmentMaccas, Léon
History
German Barbarism: A Neutral's Indictment
Maccas, Léon
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
At Champuis, Jacquemin was bound to his bed by a non-commissioned
officer, and left in this state without food for three days. He died
some days afterwards. At Lavigneville (Meuse), on the 23rd September,
MM. Woimbée, aged sixty-one years, and Fortin, aged sixty-five years,
both farmers, were arrested in their own homes on the plea that they
were francs-tireurs. Now, Woimbée had had his foot shattered two months
before, and Fortin, who was afflicted with chronic rheumatism, had
for long been unable to walk without the help of a stick. The Germans
carried them off in their working garb, without allowing them to take
any other clothes, and attached them to a convoy which contained about
thirty soldiers who had been taken prisoner. Fortin, who could not get
on, was bound by a rope, the ends of which were held by two horsemen,
and, notwithstanding his infirmity, he had to keep up with the horses.
As he fell every minute, he was struck with lances to compel him to get
up again. The wretched man, covered with blood, besought them in mercy
to kill him. At last Woimbée obtained permission to carry him to the
village of Saint-Maurice-sous-les-Côtés, with the help of several of
our soldiers. There the Germans made the two old men go into a house,
compelled them to remain standing for two hours face to the wall and arms
crossed, whilst they themselves rattled their arms noisily so as to make
their victims believe they were going to shoot them. At last they decided
to let them lie on the ground, and gave them a little bread and water.
For more than twenty-four hours Woimbée and Fortin had had no food.
In Poland, at Andrief, the Germans, displeased because they had only got
a little money from the alderman of the town, closed up the latter, M.
Krassinsky, aged seventy years, in his house and set fire to it.
OUTRAGES ON PRIESTS
The crimes committed in Belgium and France against the priests deserve
separate treatment.
The German newspapers and the Emperor alleged, in justification of
these acts, that at the beginning of hostilities the curés and nuns
of the invaded regions had abused their spiritual authority over the
civil population by rousing them to frenzy and inciting them to act as
francs-tireurs. But of such acts Germany has brought forward no proof.
On the contrary, the German Catholic bureau Pax and the _Kölnische
Volkszeitung_ took the trouble personally to refute a great number of
accusations against the clergy, amongst others the famous legend of
eyes being gouged out, of which we spoke above and with which German
newspapers had connected the names of several priests who had been
carried away to Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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