New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 3, June, 1915: April-September, 1915Various
History
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 3, June, 1915: April-September, 1915
Various
World War, 1914-1918
It is unnecessary to describe with much particularity the events of the
period beginning about Sept. 10. The Belgian soldiers, who had
recaptured the place, found corpses of civilians who must have been
murdered in Aerschot itself just as they found them in Sempst and the
other villages on Aug. 25. Some of these bodies were found in wells and
some had been burned alive in their houses.
The prisoners released by the Belgian Army from the church were almost
starved.
HAECHT.--At Haecht several children had been murdered, one of 2 or 3
years of age 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.
CAPELLE-AU-BOIS.--At 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.
EPPEGHEM.--At Eppeghem the dead body of a child of 2 was seen pinned to
the ground with a German lance. Same witness saw a mutilated woman alive
near Weerde on the same day.
TREMELOO.--Belgian soldiers on patrol duty found a young girl naked on
the ground, covered with scratches. She complained of having been
violated. On the same day an old woman was seen kneeling by the body of
her husband, and she told them that the Germans had shot him as he was
trying to escape from the house.
LOUVAIN AND DISTRICT.
The events spoken to as having occurred in and around Louvain between
the 19th and the 25th of August 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.
On the evening of Aug. 25 a sudden change takes place. The Germans, on
that day repulsed by the Belgians, had retreated to and reoccupied
Louvain. Immediately the devastation of that city and the holocaust of
its population commences. The inference is irresistible that the army as
a whole wreaked its vengeance on the civil 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account