Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-12-21
WRITTEN RECORD
OF ATROCITIES
Diaries of German Soldiers Tell
of Murder and PiIIage in
Belgian Cities.
CALLED "DISGRACE TO ARMY"
No Discrimination Made Between In
nocent and Guity-lnfants Shot
In Dead Mothers Arms-Tes-
timony of Brand Whitlock.

Very many German soldiers wh'
hare been taken prisoner had KEEP
diaries, and these hare been confs-
Gated BY the captors. Many haut
been published, frequently NTH fac.
simiIe reproductions to guarantee
their authenticity. The following
extracts, nth the testimony Of
Brand WhitIock, are made public By
the committee on public Information
at Washington,
Aug. %. Our men came back
and said that at the point where the
valley Joined the Mouse we could not
get any further, as the villagers were
shooting at us from every house. We
shot the whole Iot-16 of them. They
were drawn up in three ranks; the
same shot did for three at a time.
.. The men had already shown
their brutal instincts; -.
1.-THE sight of the bodies of all the
inhabitants who had been shot was
indescribable. Every house in the
whole village was destroyed. We
dragged the villagers one after an
other out of the most unlikely corners.
The men were shot as well as the
women and children who were in the
convent, since shots had been fired
from the convent windows; and we
burnt it afterwards.
1.-THE inhabitants might have es-
capped the penalty by handing over the
guilty and paying $1,000 francs.
"The inhabitants fired on our men
again. The division took drastic
steps to stop this, the villages being
burnt and the inhabitants being shot.
The pretty little village of Cue
d'Ossus, however, was apparently set
on fire without cause. A cyclist fell
Off his machine and his rifle went off.
He Immediately said he had been shot
at All the inhabitants were burnt
in the houses. l hope there will be no
more such horrors.
Disgrace to Our Army"
AT Leppe apparently 200 men were
shot. There must have been some in
,nocent men among them. In future
we shall have, to hold an inquiry as
to their guilt instead of shooting
them.
an the evening we marched to
Maubert-Fontaine. Just as we were
having our meal the alarm was sound
ed-everyone is very jumpy.
September 3. Still. at Rethel, on
guard over prisoners. =. The houses
are charming inside. The middle class
in France has magnificent furniture.
We found stylish pieces everywhere
and beautiful silk, but in what a state
Good God Every bit of
furniture broken, mirrors smashed.
The Vandals themselves could not
have done more damage. This place
is a disgrace to OF army. The in
habitants who fled could not have ex-
pected, of course, that all their goods !
would have been left intact after so
many troops had passed. But the col |
umn commanders are responsible for |
the greater part of the damage, as
they could have prevented the looting |
and destruction. The damage amounts
% millions of marks; even the safes |
nave been attacked.
In a solicitors house, in which, as |
uck would have it, all was in excel
ent taste, including a collection of
I'D lace and Eastern works of art,
was smashed to bits.
81 could not resist taking little
myself here and there. F..
)ne house was particularly elegant,
in the best taste. The hall
vas of light oak; l found a splendid
aincoat under the staircase and
amera for Felix" (From the diary
f an officer in the One Hundred
regiment, Twelfth Sax
n corps.)
But his horror apparently was not
haired by the German commander In
hief, as is evident from the follow
ig:
"Order.
To the People of Liege.
"The population of Andenne, after
taking a display of peaceful inten-
ons toward our troops, attacked them
the most treacherous manner. With {
y authorization, the general COM
anding these troops has reduced the
,wn to ashes and has had 40 persons {
lot
81 bring this fact TO the knowledge ] I
the people of Liege In order that I
ey may know what fate to expect {
ould they adopt similar attitude. {
GENERAL Won BUELOW." S