The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
History
The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915
Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities; World War, 1914-1918 -- Belgium
7. Dr. Isidor Loroy, Rue de l'Industrie, only knows that the Mayor,
Camus, who was a doctor in private life, was shot in the Rue du Pont on
August 20, after having spent the night as a hostage, together with the
priest, in the town hall. He was released towards the morning. Loroy
only knows of the events by report.
8. Pane Tillmann, Rue Bran, chemist, had been wounded since August 21,
and can give no evidence.
9. Louis Cartiaux, Place du Chapitre, priest, was arrested on August
19, at 9 o'clock in the evening, and taken to the town hall. Here he
met the Mayor, Camus, who had already been taken as hostage. Cartiaux
was, however, released during the night. About the alleged events
he could only state that a detachment of troops had already made
an inquiry in September, and that three suspected persons had been
arrested, who were, however, not inhabitants of Andenne. He did not
know what had happened to these three people. He refers the matter
of the boy who was supposed to have been shot because he carried a
cartridge on his person, to George Belin, schoolmaster, Rue Bertrand.
The latter had told him that a boy was going to be shot because he wore
some lead as a charm that had been given him by his brother.
10. Achilles Rambeaux, Rue Bertrand, assistant to a notary, has nothing
to report, as he had kept in hiding in his cellar.
11. G. Belin, the schoolmaster referred to in No. 9, was heard at Namur
on the morning of January 6. He was asked if he was prepared to swear
to his alleged statement concerning the shooting of a boy. He denied
ever having made such a statement in the most vigorous terms. Pressure
being brought to bear, he admits further that in Andenne the opinion is
held that a Belgian soldier of the 8th Line Infantry Regiment stayed
behind, put on civilian clothes, and actually fired on the German
troops. This soldier was universally known to the townsfolk by the
nickname of "Le Petit Roux," and was Flemish. Another Flemish soldier,
also in mufti, had been in his company. Both had deserted from their
detachments.
Furthermore all the above-named persons declared unanimously that
another doctor (not Mayor Camus), aged 64 years, had not been shot.
Those rumours were also false which gave out that seven members of one
family had been killed by German bullets; this matter concerned two
families and, moreover, two brothers of the name of Savin.
That a number of people had been brought out from the cellars,
threatened with death, and placed in front of the machine-guns, in case
of firing from the nearest barricades, could be proved from no side.
It was universally admitted, however, that rumours went round the town,
including those that gave out that inhabitants had been killed with
blows from an axe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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