MALINES, _November 18th, 1914_.
Court of the General Belgian Government.
Present:
President, STEMPEL.
Secretary, STEMPER.
There appears on request as a witness Assistant Medical Officer Keuten,
who declares:
As to Person: My name is Arnold Keuten, aged 25; Assistant Medical
Officer of the 2nd Mobile Landsturm Battalion Neuss, at present in
Malines.
As to Case: As far as I remember, I came to Louvain in the course of
the afternoon of August 27th, and was there until the beginning of
October, when the Landsturm Battalion marched off. In the course of the
afternoon I heard shots in the Rue de la Station. I was then wearing
the Red Cross armlet. I had the impression that shots were being fired
on us from a house in spite of my visible Red Cross armlet. We moved
towards the house. A German soldier of another battalion jumped out of
the first floor of this house, and in doing so broke the upper part of
the thigh. He related to me that he had just been pursued and shot at
by six civilians in the house. Later I went to the station at Louvain.
There two German soldiers, both wounded by small shot, were taken
to the ward under my care. They had small shot in the upper part of
the thigh and the abdominal muscles respectively. According to their
statement, civilians fired at them from houses when they were standing
at the station between carriages.
From September 10th to September 12th I had the care of a concentration
ward in Wygmael, about 5 kilometres from Louvain. From the 10th to the
12th of September there had been some engagements in the vicinity,
especially at Rotzelar and Wackerzerl. It was reported to me that there
were still on the battlefield about 300 Belgians. I went there twice
to take care of the wounded Belgians, the first time with a cart and
a few men wearing the Red Cross. In bringing out the severely wounded
Belgians from a house, we were shot at from bushes two or three times,
though it was still light. On the second occasion, too, when I went to
the field with two motor ambulances and two transport cars for wounded,
marked with the Red Cross and carrying flags with the Red Cross that
were visible a long way off, shots were fired at us from bushes; the
drive was merely undertaken in order to bring in Belgian wounded.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: A. KEUTEN.
The witness was duly sworn.
Signed: STEMPEL. Signed: STEMPER.