The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-11-06
Protests to Gerard Against
Massacre of Prisoners
Are Made Public
CRIES FOR MERCY
WERE NOT NEEDED
Wounded Russians Killed with the Bay
onet, According to Orders, and Those
Who Surrendered Often Shot Down in
Masses.

WASHINGTON, NOV. 6.-Three let
tiers from soldiers of the German army
showing that they considered it neces-
sary to protest to Ambassador Gerard
against certain German war practices,
among them the unnecessary slaughter
of Russian soldiers, were made public
Iy the United States government today
through the medium of the committee
on public information.
These letters were written TO Ambas.
sldor Gerard as "the representative of
Christian state with the expressed
hope that he might be able to accom-
plish something toward putting an end
10 butcheries which the writer's Of the
letters said they were forced to wit
ness or to participate in. They are to
be published in a forthcoming pamphlet
on German War Practices, to be issued
soon by the committee on public in
| formation.
Here is the protest of a German sol
! der. an eyewitness of the slaughter of
Russian soldiers in the Masurian lakes
and swamps:
/, 1T was frightful heart rending, as
these masses of human beings were
driven TO destruction Above the tor
! rible thunder of the cannon could be
heard the heartrending cries of the
! Russians: oh, Prussians! Oh, Prus-
slams but there was no mercy Our
captain had ordered: THE whole lot
must die: so rapid fire
| As | have heard, FIVE men and one
officer on our side went mad from those
heartrending cries. But most of nv
comrades and the officers joked as the
unarmed and helpless Russians shrieked
for mercy while thev were being suf-
located in the swamps and shot down.
The order was: Close up and at 1t
harder,
:" For days afterward those heart
rending yells followed me and l dare
not think of them or | shall 90 mad
There is no God, there is no morality
and no ethics any more. There are no
human beings any more, but only
beasts Down with militarism.
This was the experience of Prus
sian soldier. AT present wounded; Ber
lin, Oct. %, 1914.
If YOU are a truth loving man
please receive these lines from 4 com
mon Prussian soldier
Here Is the testimony of another Ger
man soldier on the east front:
Russian Poland, Dec. IS, 1911.
= IN the name of Christianity I send
YOU these words Ny conscience forces
me as a Christian German soldier to in
form YOU of these lines.
Wounded Russians are killed with
the bayonet according to orders, anC
Russians who have surrendered arc of
ten shot down in masses according Il
|, orders in spite of their heart rendine
prayers.
: In the hope that you, as the repre-
sentative of Christian state, will 20
test against this, / sign myself
= GERMAN SOLDIER AND CHRIS
TIAN.
q would give my name and reei
ment. but these words could get M
: court martialed for divulging miIitar,
; secrets.
The following letter is from a sol
der on the western front:
ITO the American Government. Wash
:, ington, L. S. A..
= Englishmcn who have surr nndere
are shot down in small groups. VII
the French one is more considerat
: l ask whether men let themselves II
l taken prisoners in order to be disarma
and shot down afterwards Is tina
chivalrv in battle9
!, 1T is no longer a secret among TN
: people; one hears everywhere that re,
prisoners are taken; they are she
\ down in small groups. They say aaig,
": We don't want any unnecessat
mouths to feed. Where there is no on
to enter complaint, there is no Judge
Is there then, no power in the worl
which can put an end to these murder
and rescue the victims? Where