The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1918-09-26
Diaries of German Soldiers Tell
OF Murder and Pillage in
Belgian Cities.
CALLED "DISGRACE TO ARMY"
No Discrimination Made Between In
nocent and Guilty-Infants Shot
in Dead Mothers Arms-Tes-
timony of Brand Whitock.

hdUe Oeeh taken prisoner hdd kept
diaries, and these haze been confS-
Gated by the captors. Many haze
been published, frequently NTH fac
sinatle reproductions to guarantee
their authenticity. The following
extracts, NTH the testimony of
Brand Whitlock, 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 lot--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; -.
"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 1t afterwards.
'The inhabitants might have es-
capped the penalty by handing over the
guilty and paying $4,000 francs.
"The inhabitants fred 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
dOssus, however, was apparently set
on fire without cause. A cyclist fell
off his machine and his rifle went of.
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"
Eat 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.
I'm the evening we marched to
Maubert-Fontaine. Just as we were
hsying 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
P,,I oil h,,4 H., no. % 10
Good God Every bit of
furniture broken, mirrors smashed.
The Vandals themselves could not
have done more damage. This place
is a disgrace to our 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
to millions Of marks; even the safes
have been attacked. j..
"fn solicitors house, in which, as
luck would have it, all was in excel
lent taste, including q collection Of
old lace and Eastern works of art,
everything was smashed to bits.
81 could not resist taking a little
memento myself here and there. . E.
One house was particularly elegant
everything In the best taste. The hail
Was of light oak I found a splendid
raincoat under the staircase and a
camera for Felix" (From the diary
of an officer in the One Hundred
Seventy-eighth regiment, Twelfth Sax
on corps.)
But his horror apparently was not
shared by the German commander in
chief, as Is evident from the follow
Z Z =ordsr.
ITO the People of Liege. ..e-ls42
1.-THE population of Andenne, after
making a display Of peaceful inten-
lions toward our troops, attacked them
In the most treacherous manner. With
my authorization, the general com'
rnandipg these troops has reduced tbs
town to ashes and has had no persons
shot. II
II 4 bring this fact to TIE knowledge
Of the people OF Llese in order that
they may know what fate to expect
should they adopt a similar attitude.
'Liega a2d August. 1elA IF
'GENERAL Won BtEL0w."
Brand Whltiook Writes Of Msssaorss
In his report Of September IL, 1917
to the secretary of state, Ministe
Whitlock has much to tell Of the pol
icy of frightfulness. The following
passages refer to the subject OF mar
4 eacres:
\ Summary executions took place Ga
Dinant) without the least senblanc
Of judgment. The names and humble
/ of the victims are not known, but the
/ must be numerous. I have been VI
II able to obtain precise details In thi
respect and the number Of person
L a -