The Truth About German Atrocities Founded on the Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages — A Reader’s Guide

ns had passed Dinant on their way into France.

Further Examples of the Treatment of Civilians.

Entries in a German diary show that on August 19th the German soldiers gave themselves up to debauchery in the streets of Liège, and on the night of the 20th (Thursday) a massacre took place in the streets.... The Belgian witnesses vehemently deny that there had been any provocation given, some stating that many German soldiers were drunk, others giving evidence which indicates that the affair was planned beforehand. It is stated that at 5 o'clock in the evening, long before the shooting, a citizen was warned by a friendly German soldier not to go out that night.

Though the cause of the massacre is in dispute, the results are known with certainty.... Many inhabitants were burnt alive in their houses, their efforts to escape being prevented by rifle fire. Twenty people were shot while trying to escape, before the eyes of one of the witnesses.... Thirty-two civilians were killed on that day, the 21st, in the Place de l'Université alone.

_Louvain._--On August 26th (Wednesday) massacre, fire and destruction went on.... Citizens were shot and others taken prisoners.

Soldiers went through the streets saying "Man hat geschossen." ("They have been shooting.") One soldier was seen going along shooting in the air.... Some citizens were shot on opening the doors, others in endeavouring to escape.

These prisoners [civilians] were practically without food from early morning on the 26th until midnight on the 29th. Of the corpses seen on the road some had their hands tied behind their backs, others were burnt, some had been killed by blows.

"I did not dare to look at the dead bodies in the street, there were so many of them."

"The officers were worse than the men.... We had had nothing to eat or drink since the evening of the day before. A few compassionate soldiers gave us water to drink, but no official took the trouble to see that we were fed."

_Louvain_ (German soldier's diary--No. 32).--"180 inhabitants are stated to have been shot after they had dug their own graves."

_Surice._--On August 24th and 25th massacres were carried out in which many persons belonging to the professional classes as well as others were killed.

_Namur_ was entered on August 24th. The troops signalised their entry by firing on a crowd of 150 unarmed, unresisting civilians, 10 alone of whom escaped.... As the inhabitants fled from the burning houses they were shot by the German troops.

In _Tamines_, a large village on the Meuse between Namur and Charleroi, the advance guard of the German Army appeared in the first fortnight in August, and in this, as well as in other villages in the district, it is proved that a large number of civilians, among them aged people, women and children, were deliberately killed by the soldiers.

_Tirlemont._--The prisoners, of whom there are said to have been thousands, were not allowed even to have water to drink, although there were streams on the way from which the soldiers drank. Witness was given some milk at a farm, but as she raised it to her lips it was taken away from her.

_Journeys from Louvain to Cologne._--Some of the trucks were abominably filthy. Prisoners were not allowed to leave to obey the calls of nature.... They were, in all, eight days in the train, crowded and almost without food. Two of the men went mad.

_Termonde._--About 70 prisoners ... were taken to Lebbeke, where there were in all 300 prisoners, and there they were locked up in the church for three days and with scarcely any food.

_Ermeton_ (Diary No. 19).--The exact translation of the extract, grim in its brevity, is as follows: "August 24/14. We took about 1,000 prisoners; at least 500 were shot. The village was burnt because inhabitants had also shot. Two civilians were shot at once."

_Wandre_ (Diary of German soldier--Eitel Anders).--"In one house a whole collection of weapons was found. The inhabitants without exception were brought out and shot. This shooting was heart-breaking, as they all knelt down and prayed; but that was no ground for mercy. A few shots rang out, and they fell back into the green grass and slept for ever."

_Andenne._--Almost immediately, the slaughter of these inhabitants began, and continued for over two hours, and intermittently during the night. Machine guns were brought into play. The German troops were said to be for the most part drunk, and they certainly murdered and ravaged unchecked.