The Truth About German Atrocities: Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages — John Shaqi
The Truth About German Atrocities: Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German OutragesAnonymous
History
The Truth About German Atrocities: Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages
Anonymous
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
The wife of a witness ... was separated from him, and she saw other
ladies made to walk before the soldiers with their hands above their
heads. One, an old lady of 85 (name given) was dragged from her cellar
and taken with them to the station.
"I saw the corpses of some women in the street. I fell down, and a
woman who had been shot fell on top of me.... One woman whom I saw
lying dead in the street was a Miss ---- about 35. I also saw the body
of ---- (a woman). She had been shot. I saw an officer pull her corpse
underneath a wagon."
[Sidenote: 13]
_Dinant._--He found his wife lying on the floor in a room. She had
bullet wounds in four places, but was alive, and told her husband to
return to the children.
[Sidenote: 30]
Sixty women and children were confined in the cellar of a convent from
Sunday morning till the following Friday (August 28th), sleeping on the
ground, for there were no beds, with nothing to drink during the whole
period, and given no food until the Wednesday, "when somebody threw
into the cellar two sticks of macaroni and a carrot for each prisoner."
[Sidenote: 16]
In _Malines_ itself many bodies were seen. One witness saw a German
soldier cut a woman's breasts after he had murdered her, and saw many
other dead bodies of women in the streets.
[Sidenote: 16]
_Gelrode._--A woman was shot by some German soldiers as she was walking
home. This was done at a distance of 100 yards, and for no apparent
reason.
[Sidenote: 17]
_Hofstade._--The corpse of a woman was seen at the blacksmith's. She
had been killed with the bayonet.... Two young women were lying in the
backyard of the house. One had her breasts cut off, the other had been
stabbed.... In the garden of a house in the main street bodies of two
women were observed.
[Sidenote: 30]
_Campenhout_ [Statement of a valet].--"One of the officers ... putting
a revolver to my mistress' temple shot her dead. The officer was
obviously drunk. The other officers continued to drink and sing, and
they did not pay great attention to the killing of my mistress. The
officer who shot my mistress then told my master to dig a grave and
bury my mistress. My master and the officer went into the garden, the
officer threatening my master with a pistol. My master was then forced
to dig the grave, and to bury the body of my mistress in it. I cannot
say for what reason they killed my mistress. The officer who did it was
singing all the time."
3. THE MURDER AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN.
[Sidenote: 32]
There can be no possible defence for the murder of children.
[Sidenote: 33]
Whether or no Belgian civilians fired on German soldiers, young
children, at any rate, did not fire. The number and character of
these murders constitute the most distressing feature connected with
the conduct of the war so far as it is revealed in the depositions
submitted to the Committee.
[Sidenote: 32]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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