New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?Various
History
New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?
Various
World War, 1914-1918
A group of seventy-five persons, among whom were several notables of the
city, such as Father Coloboet and a Spanish priest, and also an American
priest, were conducted during the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 26, to the
square in front of the station. The men were brutally separated from
their wives and children, and after having received the most abominable
treatment, and after repeated threats of being shot, they were driven in
front of the German troops as far as the village of Campenhout. They
were locked in the church during the night. The following day at 4
o'clock a German officer came to inform them that they might all confess
themselves, and that they would be shot half an hour later. But at 4:30
o'clock they were allowed to go, and shortly afterward they were again
arrested by a German brigade, which forced them to march in front of
them to Malines. Answering a question on the part of one of the
prisoners, a German officer told them that they were going to taste some
of the Belgian grapeshot before Antwerp. At last they were liberated on
Thursday afternoon at the entrance of Malines.
Further testimony shows that several thousand male inhabitants of
Louvain who had escaped the shooting and burning were sent toward
Germany. We do not at this writing know for what purpose.
The fire continued for several days. An eye-witness, who on Aug. 30 left
Louvain, describes the state of the city as follows:
"From Weert St. Georges," he says, "I have seen nothing except
burned towns and crazed villagers lifting to each comer their arms
as a mark of submission. From each house was hanging a white flag,
even from those that had been set on fire, and rags of them were
found hanging from the ruins.
At Weert St. Georges I inquired from the inhabitants the cause of
the German reprisals. They all assured me that absolutely none of
the inhabitants had fired; that all arms had been previously given
up, and that the Germans had taken vengeance on the population
because a Belgian soldier of the Gendarme Corps had killed a Uhlan.
The population which remained in Louvain took refuge in the suburb
of Heverle, where they are all piled up, the population having been
driven from the town by the troops and by the fire.
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