The Omaha guide., 1941-03-29


groes did take place. These were
"justifiedn-in St far as anyone
bothered to justify them-hy the
Negroes sniping activities. To
the Germans, every soldier who
continued to fight after the mi,it-
airy formation to which he belang-
ed had surrendered, was a sniper.
After the occupation of Bayon,
they charged that Negroes. con-
called in houses, had fired at
peaceful German soldiers. Such
Individual fighters were treated
not as soldiers but as ordinary
murderers."
We spent a few days in a state
IF paralyzed suspense. Our Ger
man guards told us that their Of
ficers were waiting for Berlin to
instruct them what to do with The
Negroes. | DO not know whether
or when such instructions came.
I do know that on the morning of
June %, eighty Negroes and Arabs
we're selected among the 800 cap
tured with us, taken to a woods
near Villacourt and shot. The
Germans calmly told US that more
would have been executed but the
authorities wanted to show spec
ial moderation. The eighty vic
Tins had been chosen at random
No one accused them of any spec
fic crime: we were told that their
Execution was intended as an cx-
ample for French snipers,
The Negroes were mistreated
even during their removal-on foot
Il eourse,-to their places of in
ternment. We marched, uudsi
German supervision, from forty to
v Kilometers daily, enroute to
ur camps in Luneville, Morhange,
leuze, or Sarrebourg. The
fench civilian population of Lor-
.aine helped us as much as they
could. Our food supplies were
soon exhausted; but at the road
side stood women and old men with
large buckets of fresh water, com
forl.ing the marching thousands
with cold drinks. The heat was
unbearable, and we would have
collapsed with fatigue without
water. The German guards had
apparently received instructions to
far the Negroes from this solace.
Though we were allowed to drink
in every village we passed, the
Negroes were prodded on with
barred bayonets.
This march through the village
was like running a gauntlet. In
every locality the Negroes We're
photographed dozens of times by
the garrisons; in the larger towns
moving pictures were taken, AS
a rule, Negroes and whites march
| ed in separate groups; but for the
films they were forced to pose to-
gether. Again and again we
heard German soldiers calling to
our guards: Haven't you shot
them yet? What are you waiting
for?"
We arrived at the camp in Die
uze. Here, as in all German pris-
on camps, the Negroes were i'm
mediately isolated. Barbed wire
was strung around their barracks
No white man was allowed to con-
verse with a black. Our own shsl-
| .ers were miserable enough; those
Of the Negroes, crowded mo a
narrow space, were much worse
| Our food, though insufficient was
| princely in comparison with that
given to the Negroes, who prac'
tieallv starved. Hundreds of them
fell sick, but were not cared for
The Germans explained that the
French would surely object to shaI
ing their hospitals with them
Only much later were special IN
firmaries created for Negroes. Gel
man soldiers regarded the 'eamI
within a camp as a kind OF zec
They were constantly standing a
round it and taking pictures, us
Tally through the barbed wire. T'
give the Negroes pieces OF orea'
or to shake hands with them wa
strictly forbidden; a German cor
poral who became friendly with
Negro and was seen shaking hand
with him was given fourteen day
house arrest.
Such breaches of discipline wer
the exception; for, curious'y
1-I-n .I HA