Similarly on the 5th May, in the afternoon, 170 men, part being

members of the civic guard and part militia-men of the communes

of Taviers, Dhuy, St.-Germain, Hemptinne, Villers-lez-Heest,

and Bovesse, were arrested because they refused to sign their

identification cards. The Government hopes that these men will

reflect and hear reason, and that they will submit spontaneously to

this measure, which serves only for purposes of registration, so

that they may be released.

It is expressly added that the signature of the identification

cards imposes no engagement on the signatory; these cards contain

only information as to identity, and all the Belgian militia-men,

as well as the members of the civic guard, have been several times

informed upon this point.

(_Communicated._)

(_L'Ami de l'Ordre_, 7th and 8th May, 1915.)

Let us look into this case.

In the first place, there never was a civic guard at Rhisnes nor at

Emines, so that it is absolutely fraudulent to give this title to all

the male adult inhabitants; and since they have not been civic guards

they have never borne arms against Germany, and cannot therefore engage

to cease doing so. Here again appears the German duplicity in all its

beauty. The men of Rhisnes and Emines assure us that the paper said

"no longer bear arms against Germany." The Germans have imposed a

communiqué upon _L'Ami de l'Ordre_ which gives another version--"not to

bear arms."

But in the communiqué provided by the German authorities and published

in _La Belgique_ on the 5th June, our enemies recognize that the

document said "no longer bear arms." However, a German communiqué is

never entirely truthful; and this one forms no exception to the rule.

Conforming to the truth in this respect, it departs from it in another.

It says, in effect, that the men of Rhisnes "regarded themselves as

still belonging to the Belgian Army." What absurdity! They refused to

sign precisely because the Germans wished to make them say that they

did belong to the Army!

In August and September 1914 the Germans were sending Belgians into

Germany as civil prisoners; in May 1915 they were sending them as

prisoners of war. The difference is important, since the Hague

Convention states that the cost of maintenance of war prisoners falls

upon their country of origin, but that it is not speaking of civil

prisoners. This is why the civilians of Rhisnes and Emines went

to Germany as prisoners of war, as did the curé and the vicar of

Cortemarck (p. 72).

We have already cited (p. 233) one case of premeditated abuse of a

signature. Here is another: In October 1914 the German authorities of

Mont St.-Guibert (between Ottignies and Trembloux) had the following

placard posted:--

NOTICE.

1. All the male inhabitants of the commune aged from 18 to 45

years, rich or poor, must present themselves to-morrow, Tuesday,

morning, the 6th October, at 7 o'clock in the morning (Belgium

time) at the railway booking-office.

2. These inhabitants can no longer change their place of residence;

their names have been given to the military authorities.

Those who do not carry out this order, who seek to escape, will be

made prisoners and will render themselves liable to be shot. The

families of offenders will be taken as prisoners and their property

destroyed.

3. English, French, or Russians who are in the locality must be

delivered to the military authorities. The same with Belgians

having belonged to the Army who are deserters or have been

prisoners. Offenders will be punished by death.

4. Fire-arms of all kinds which are still in possession of the

inhabitants must be deposited immediately with the commandant

of the railway-station. Those who are discovered to be still in

possession of these arms, after the publication of this notice,

will be shot.

5. Assemblies for roll-call will be held from time to time. The day

and hour will be given in advance.

6. Umbrellas and sticks are forbidden at the station. Men must not

present themselves in a state of drunkenness.

Mont St.-Guibert, 5th October, 1914.

The Burgomaster,

E. WAUTIER.

The Commandant of the Railway-station,

HAMICH, _Sergeant_.

This placard threatens penalties, even shooting, for the failure to

attend at the railway-station; moreover, the offender's family is of

course held responsible. So far it is commonplace enough. We will say

nothing as to the grade of officer who thus disposes of the lives

of citizens--he is a sergeant; but we know that the humblest German

soldier possesses every right. What does rather surpass the usual level

German administrative procedure is the fact that the burgomaster, whose

name figures at the bottom of the placard, knew nothing of the latter

until it was posted. The sergeant had used his name without deigning

to consult him.

To give a complete idea of the administrative methods employed by the

Germans against our country, it will be as well rapidly to describe how

they behaved in a certain locality immediately after proceeding against

the "francs-tireurs." Hitherto we have dealt only with places where

they did not have to carry out "reprisals." We will now select Andenne,

on account of the particularly savage character of the "repression"

which drenched this unhappy town with blood and fire. Here are the

facts in their tragic sequence:--

The German patrol which penetrated into the town on the 19th August,

1914, went straight to the house of the communal receiver and seized

the funds: 2,232 frs.

On the following day the bulk of the troops arrived. That evening,

between 6 and 9 p.m., a very sharp fusillade broke out. Immediately the

civilians were accused of having fired, and the troops began to shoot

down the inhabitants and burn the houses.

On the following morning--the 21st August--all the inhabitants not yet

shot were driven into the Place des Tilleuls. The men were herded on

one side, the women on the other. From time to time Major Scheunemann,

who commanded the operations, had a few men shot, sometimes before the

whole population, sometimes a little apart. During the morning the

soldiers dragged the corpse of the burgomaster, Dr. Camus, into the

Place. As soon as Major Scheunemann learned of the death of the first

magistrate, he appointed as burgomaster M. de Jaer, who was one of

the group of persons waiting their turn to be shot. From that moment

the order was given to kill no more; they contented themselves with

sack and pillage. There were then 300 houses burned at Andenne and at

Seilles, and 300 inhabitants were shot (_11th Report_).

We will confine ourselves, as regards the events which followed the

burning and the massacre, to reprinting the placard posted at Andenne

during the first ten days of the occupation:--

INHABITANTS OF ANDENNE.

By order of the German military authority occupying the town of

Andenne:--

All the men are held as hostages.

Per shot fired on the German troops, there will be _at least_ two

hostages shot.

The hostages will be fed by the women, who will carry them the

necessaries close to the bridge at 6 in the evening and 8 in the

morning.

Women are strictly forbidden to converse with the hostages.

All the streets and public places will immediately be cleaned by

all the women of the town, on pain of immediate arrest.

It is strictly forbidden to move about the town after 7 in the

evening and before 7 in the morning, on pain of severe repression.

The dead will immediately be buried without any formality.

Young people over 14 and the women must give their assistance in

every case of requisition.

It is strictly forbidden to show oneself at the windows.

By order of the German military authority,

The Burgomaster Designate,

E. DE JAER.

The Secretary,

MONRIQUE.

_Andenne, the 31st August, 1914._

PROCLAMATION.[46]

On the 20th August of this year there was firing from numerous

houses of the town of Andenne on the German troops who were passing

through the town; bombs also were thrown. It is certain that the

first outbreak of firing occurred, according to a certain plan, at

precisely the same time in several streets: in the Rue Brun, the

Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, the Place des Tilleuls, and several other

streets. A number of soldiers have been killed or wounded and war

material damaged.

After denying the first attacks, there was again firing from many

houses for several hours, and again on the 21st August, at two

o'clock in the afternoon, an under-officer was killed by a shot

from one of the houses in the Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville.

Those guilty inhabitants who have hitherto been found have been

shot by the Council of War, but it was not possible to find the

persons who arranged the plot.

We appeal, however, to the honour of the City of Andenne, which

appears in the eyes of the civilized world as a nest of murderers

and bandits.

Perhaps it is possible to restore the honour of this town; this

is why the inhabitants are invited, in their own interest, to

communicate to the military authority all that may make it possible

to make progress in revealing the plot and its authors.

He who delivers proofs capable [of revealing, etc.] receives

according to their value a reward of 500-1000 frs.

The measures which have been taken will or might be sooner

mitigated as soon as inquiry shall have made progress to make known

the guilty.

THE COMMANDANT OF THE CITY.

_Andenne, the 22nd August, 1914._

_Andenne, Sunday, 23rd August, 1914._

OFFICIAL NOTICE.

Between Saarburg and Metz there has been a great battle. The German

troops have made 21,000 French prisoners.

Long live His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia and

Margrave of Brandenburg!

SCHEUNEMANN,

Major and Chief of Department.

OFFICIAL NOTICE.

The revictualling of the population will be effected by the

efforts of the Military Administration, assisted by the Civil

Administration of Andenne constituted by the German Government, as

far as possible.

1. In this connection, the sale of provisions and commodities is

strictly forbidden.

2. Householders are advised to report at once the quantity of

their provisions. Commodities will be taken for cash or redeemable

voucher.

3. It would be in the interest of the population to announce

exactly the quantity of their provisions.

4. Provisions not exceeding two days for the family need not be

reported.

5. All the available forces of the commune are in the care of the

Administration for the harvest.

Properties abandoned will be harvested as the rest.

THE COMMANDANT OF THE TOWN OF ANDENNE.

_27th August, 1914._

PROCLAMATION.

I have confidence in the Administration and in the population,

that now each will be careful to obey as strictly as possible the

orders of the Kommandantur in order to soften as far as possible

the misfortune caused by the criminal deeds of a few inhabitants.

This is why I object to all that prevents the free circulation of

the inhabitants. I trust that none of the inhabitants of Andenne

and Seilles will make use of their liberty save for the prosperity

of the commune.

The Administrations of Andenne and Seilles are working with me day

and night to bring about a settled state of affairs.

All questions of revictualling and welfare must be addressed

directly to the Administrations of Andenne and Seilles, which have

also the power to require the inhabitants to work.

The German Army displays the greatest severity and energy if it is

perfidiously attacked by the inhabitants, but it sincerely desires

to use justice and humanity towards the people, if the conduct of

the inhabitants permit.

Der Kommandant,

SCHULTZE,

Hauptmann.

_Andenne, 25th August, 1914._

TO THE INHABITANTS OF ANDENNE.

We call the attention of the population to the proclamation which

the Military Commandant has just handed to us on leaving.

I am leaving this town in the expectation that it will perform,

as during the last few days, and also in the future, all that may

ensure orderly conduct towards the German Army.

I hand over the new bridge to the town for its use, and require

it to be responsible for its safety and to maintain it in good

condition.

For the present a small garrison will remain here, which will be

fed and lodged by the town.

If all energies are permanently directed upon the prosperity of the

town of Andenne and Seilles these localities will soon be cured of

the grave wounds which the war has inflicted upon these communes,

by their own fault.

SCHULTZE,

Hauptmann.

_Andenne, 28th August, 1914._

We are profiting by this occasion to congratulate and to thank the

inhabitants of Andenne for the admirable manner in which they have

behaved, during these latter days, and we urge them strongly to

assist the Communal Administration to repair as far possible the

great misfortunes which we have experienced.

The Burgomaster delegated by

the Military Authority,

E. DE JAER.

The Secretary,

MONRIQUE.

_Andenne, 28th August, 1914._

PROCLAMATION.[47]

1. From _Saturday, 29th August, 1914_, midday, all the clocks must

be set to the German time (one hour earlier).

2. Assemblies of more than three persons are strictly forbidden

_under penalty of fines_.

3. To move about after 8 p.m. the authorization of M. le Commandant

is required.

4. Arms must be deposited with the guard _at the Casino, by noon on

the 29th inst_.

Where arms are still found in the houses after this date, the

householder will be hanged.

5. The German troops requiring absolute tranquillity, workmen can

return to work at once. Tho least revolt on the part of the inhabitants

will result in the complete burning of the town, and the men will be

hanged.

SIMONS,

Lieut.-Col. and Commander-in-Chief.

_Becker_,

_Captain and Commander-in-Chief._

DEAR FELLOW-CITIZENS,

We are happy to announce to you that the military authority will show

the greatest goodwill towards us if, as we doubt not, the worthy

population of Andenne continues to remain perfectly quiet, to labour

with courage, and to obey authority with docility, _as it has done_ up

to the present, for which we thank it.

At a military fête, at which the military authority expressly invited

us to be present, all the troops, including the officers--in our

presence, and before many of the notables of Andenne, and Dean Cartiaux

in particular--repeatedly shouted "Hurrah for Andenne!"

In the name of all of you, much affected, we expressed our thanks.

Dear friends, have confidence in us; we are working with all our souls

for the safety of Andenne.

We have assured the military authority that the soldiers might be

perfectly at ease in our midst, that none of us would wish to commit

the least aggression--that, on the contrary, we shall all treat the

Germany Army with _complete loyalty_. We have been responsible for

you. In return, we ask you only one thing: it is, to continue to do

what you have done until to-day, and, if, by some impossible chance,

there should be among us an ill-conditioned person who might be capable

of compromising honest people, point him out to us; for our worthy

fellow-citizens must not be responsible for the crimes of a scoundrel.

Let the German Army be sure that the communal administration will with

the utmost promptness hand over to it any one guilty of an act of

ill-will, whoever he may be.

Dear fellow-citizens, patience and courage to support privation. Be

easy in your minds; we are with you.

The Burgomaster delegated by

the Military Authority,

DR. LEDOYEN, E. DE JAER,

Councillor Lahaye.

The Secretary,

MONRIQUE,

_Andenne, 30th August, 1914_.

PROCLAMATION.

I am under the impression that the greater portion of the inhabitants

desire tranquillity, therefore I invite them not to leave the town.

Before employing violent means, I shall make a strict inquiry to

discover the guilty persons in case a revolt should break out.

I therefore expect of the population of Andenne that it will do

everything to ensure that no German soldier shall be molested otherwise

I shall be forced to act in accordance with the measures of my first

proclamation.

BECKER,

Captain, L.I.R. 29, and Commandant-in-Chief.

One word as to these placards.

_Placard of the 21st August._--The men are all regarded as hostages;

the women have to feed them; they also have to clean up the town.

_Placard of the 22nd August._--The military authorities declare, on the

22nd of August, that Andenne, where the "attacks of francs-tireurs"

were repressed during the night of the 20th and the morning of the

21st, is already regarded by the whole civilized world as "a nest of

murderers and bandits." It offers a reward of 500 to 1000 frs. to any

one who will denounce the author of the plot. It also promises, to

excite the zeal of the informers, that the severe measures in force

will be mitigated as soon as the leaders are discovered. (No one was

denounced.)

_1st Placard of the 23rd August._--This announces the great victory

between Sarrebourg and Metz: 21,000 French prisoners were taken. (An

attempt to demoralize the population.) Note that the Wolff Agency

reported only 10,000 prisoners; where did Major Scheunemann find the

other 11,000?

_2nd Placard of the 23rd August._--The Germans are attending to the

revictualling of Andenne. (In reality the people of Andenne were

starving.)

_Placard of the 25th August._--The German administration is strict, but

just. (The people of Andenne had noticed the severity.)

_1st Placard of the 28th August._--Once again the inhabitants are urged

to remain calm, and are congratulated on their good conduct. (The

burgomaster was forced to countersign this proclamation. Had he seen it

first?)

_2nd Placard of the 28th August._--The German time is made compulsory.

Assemblies of more than three persons are prohibited. If arms are found

in a house their owner will be hanged. At the least disturbance, the

complete burning of the town and the hanging of the men.

_1st Placard of the 30th August._--The German troops, having pillaged

Andenne and shot down its inhabitants, now shout "Hurrah for Andenne!"

Then a fresh appeal to informers.

_2nd Placard of the 30th August._--The German authorities now promise

to make an inquiry if there is another revolt. (This inquiry would have

been a novelty.)

E.--Ferocity.

We may be brief, for the cruel character of _Kultur_ is so obvious, and

appears so plainly from the documents cited, that it would be idle to

insist upon it.

If it were necessary to justify our aversion, we need only remark that

the cruelties recorded were systematically premeditated. Do not the

_Kriegsbrauch im Landkriege_ (_Usages of War on Land according to the

Great General Staff_) state that the observation of these usages is not

"guaranteed by any sanction other than the fear of reprisals," and that

the officer, the child of his age, carried away by the moral tendencies

which affect his country, must protect himself "against exaggerated

humanitarian ideas," and must realize that "the only true humanity

often resides in the unmitigated employment of these severities?" If

such principles are professed by the highest authorities, the German

soldier will not shrink from any degree of violence; for he knows that

wickedness will not merely provide him with amusement; it will also

help to achieve the final aim of warfare.

So that the officer shall be in no danger of forgetting the spirit in

which he should conceive his relations with the enemy population, he

carries some such aid to memory as the _Tornister-Wörterbuch_. If he

has letters or proclamations to draft, he has recourse to _L'Interprète

Militaire_ of Captain von Scharfenort, professor and librarian at the

Academy of War in Berlin. M. Waxweiler (in _La Belgique Neutre et

Loyale_, p. 265) has already drawn attention to the cruel and odious

character of this _vade-mecum_, so we will not enlarge upon it. It was

after consulting _L'Interprète Militaire_ that a certain placard posted

in Belgium in the August of 1914 was drafted. It gives no details as

to the "lugubrious cruelties"; it applies both to towns and villages;

it speaks of the "mayor" instead of the "burgomaster"; it is neither

dated nor signed; in short, it presents all the characteristics of an

"emergency placard," drafted beforehand.

PROCLAMATION.

We are not making war upon citizens, but only on the enemy army.

In spite of this, the German troops have been attacked in great

number by persons who do not belong to the army. They have

committed _acts of the most lugubrious cruelty_ not only against

combatants, but also against our wounded and our doctors who are

under the protection of the Red Cross. To prevent these brutalities

I order that which follows:

1. Any person who does not belong to the army and who is found arms

in hand, will be shot instantly. He will be regarded as outside the

laws of nations.

2. All arms, rifles, pistols, Brownings, sabres, daggers, etc.,

and all explosive material, must be delivered immediately by the

mayors of every village or town to the commander of the German

troops; if a single weapon is found, no matter in what house, or if

any act has been committed against our troops, our transports, our

telegraph lines, our railways, etc., or if any one gives asylum to

_francs-tireurs_; the guilty persons and the hostages who will be

taken in each village will be shot without pity. Besides this, the

inhabitants of the villages, etc., in question will be driven out.

The villages and towns even will be demolished and burned. If this

happens on the road of communication between two villages or two

towns, the inhabitants of the two villages will be treated in the

same manner.

I expect the mayors and populations will be able, by their prudent

supervision and conduct, to ensure the safety of our troops as well

as their own.

In the contrary case, the measures indicated above will come into

force.

Signed: THE GENERAL COMMANDING-IN-CHIEF.

(No name.)

The appeal to brutality comes from above. In 1900 the whole world

shuddered at the advice which Wilhelm II gave the expeditionary corps

setting out for China. "Follow the example of the Huns," cried the

Kaiser. Why, then, do the Germans profess to be annoyed when compared

to-day with the soldiers of Attila--or when their motto is spelt _Gott

mit Huns_?

A German lieutenant, whose military note-book we have had before us,

does full justice to his companions. After the massacre and burning

of Ottignies on the 20th August, 1914, he wrote as follows (we

translate):--

The inhabitants were in the square, under a guard of soldiers.

Several men were condemned by the Council of War and at once put

to death. The women, dressed in black, as in a solemn procession,

then departed. Among those who had just fallen, how many innocent

were shot! The village has been literally sacked: the "blond brute"

has shown himself for what he is. The Huns and the freebooters of

the Middle Ages could not have done better. The houses are burning

now, and when the action of the fire is not enough we raze what

remains standing.

Very suggestive too is the placard of the 26th April, 1915, in which

Baron von Bissing informs us that according to Mr. Fox, an American

journalist, the Germans have committed no useless "cruelties." Then

there are useful cruelties? Really the Governor-General, who seems to

know his subject, ought to publish a table differentiating the various

qualities of cruelty.

But a thing that does surprise us is that the virus of cruelty should

already have contaminated civilians--I mean the Catholic members of the

Reichstag. Herr Erzberger, the same who asserted, and who perhaps is

asserting still, that the Belgians invaded Germany on the 2nd August,

wrote what are perhaps the most coldly ferocious words imaginable:

"_Above all, no sentimentality!_" (_N.R.C._, 6th February, 1916,

evening edition).

Such advice bore fruit, as we shall discover when we come to

examine, in succession, the physical and moral tortures in which

our executioners delight. But first let us cite a few examples of

_aggravations_. By that we mean acts of malice which do not endanger

the life or reason of the victims, but which reveal, perhaps the more

clearly for that, the desire to torment.

1. AGGRAVATIONS.

A general remark occurs to us at once: it is that the Germans have

failed in their object. For instead of exasperating us to the point

of forcing us to commit some imprudence, which they would have been

obliged to repress, they simply made sure of our profound contempt. To

tell the truth, each fresh persecution makes us furious for a day; but

the sense of irony soon regains the upper hand, and then we have only

one anxiety: to make their latest form of vexation ridiculous by all

the means in our power.

Nothing better shows the contrast between the German mentality and the

Belgian than the manner in which we have obeyed the decree concerning

the German time.

After only a week's occupation the inhabitants of Andenne were obliged

to set their clocks to the German time. At Namur, too, this was

required from the 31st August. Elsewhere the German time was enforced

only at a much later date, and only in respect of the clocks in cafés.

Many cabaret-keepers merely stopped their clocks; others had fitted a

second small hand, an hour in retard of the first; others wrote beneath

the clock "German Time," or even "This clock is an hour fast." In the

window of a Brussels watchmaker, in the midst of many clocks which

indicated more or less precisely the German time, was one which was

specially labelled "Correct Time"--and that one told, of course, the

Belgian time. In short, every one did what he could to avoid letting

his customers regard the German time as the true time. And really, if

one has adopted, as is the case in Germany and in Belgium, the system

of hourly segments, it is obvious that Belgium ought to form part of

the segment of Western Europe, not part of that of Eastern Europe. It

is, therefore, solely in a spirit of aggravation that Germany forces

her time upon us; and she is fully aware of this, as her public

notices are always careful to speak of "German time," not of "Central

European time."

_Treatment inflicted upon Belgian Ladies._

What do you think of the additional suffering inflicted on ladies

condemned to several weeks' imprisonment for having conveyed letters

from Belgian soldiers to the parents of those soldiers, or for speaking

a little too boldly before an officer, or for some other crime of a

like nature? It is a delicate idea to shut them up in common with half

a score of other prisoners, in a room containing no convenience but a

pail furnished with a cover. They are lucky if the company does not

include some very dubious characters.

* * * * *

We need not insist: these are aggravations, not serious at bottom, but

their irritating nature can only be fully appreciated when one suffers

them daily, or hears them described by friends or relatives who have

been their victims.

After the examples of collective and impersonal malfeasance dictated by

some high officer desirous of justifying the fair fame of _Kultur_, we

will take those cases in which the personality of the author clearly

reveals itself, and, let us say at once, in which this personality

instantly excites the disgust and indignation of all merely civilized

persons.

The Germans reached Capelle-au-Bois on the 30th August. But on the

31st they were repulsed by Belgian troops. On the 4th September they

returned in force and forced back the Belgians; not without difficulty,

however, for they had many killed, of whom nineteen were buried at

Capelle-au-Bois. With the Belgian troops as they withdrew went all the

inhabitants of the village, leaving behind them only a few helpless

old people. In this all but empty village, where no one was left to

offer them the least resistance, the Germans hastened to kill several

inhabitants--four, it is believed. Then, under the orders of Captain

von Puttkammer, the strong-boxes were broken open, the objects of value

packed and sent to Germany, and the wines carried to the bank of the

canal and into the houses occupied by the officers. On the evening

of the 4th September the troops set fire to the village. Thanks to

incendiary pastilles and benzine pumps, the fire spread rapidly; 235

houses were burned of the three hundred which formed the heart of the

village. So far all was as usual; but here is the characteristic fact.

The better to enjoy the spectacle the troops spent the evening on the

bank of the canal; there they organized a little orgie, over eight

hundred empty bottles being afterwards discovered.

At the same period the Germans established a few miles further to the

west, at Londerzeel, pillaged and then burned the house of the notary,

M. Van Hover. They had tried in vain to open the safe, so, furious

at their failure, they poured benzine into it and set fire to it,

procuring at least the satisfaction of knowing that all the papers

would be reduced to ashes.

What are we to think of the officer who, lodging in the house of a curé

in the province of Antwerp, found it amusing to tear pages from the

books which formed his host's library, or to gum them together, so that

in seeking to separate them the owner himself would tear them? Note

that it was no clown who devised this kindly pastime, for he took care

to choose, in the Latin books, the pages bearing the most important

passages.[48]

_Filthy Amusements._

Others preferred to defile things. When in August and September 1914 we

were told that the Germans were amusing themselves by depositing ordure

in their beds we refused to believe in such perversion. But a walk

through Eppeghem, Sempst, and Weerde was enough to enlighten us. Not

only had they emptied all the houses, rich or poor; not only had they

taken the trouble to smash into quite small pieces all the glass and

crockery they could not carry away; not only, in the grocers' shops,

had they delighted themselves by mixing snuff with the butter, and

tacks with the cloves, and pepper with the flour, but all the bedding

bore the malodorous traces of their visit.

Let it not be imagined that this mania of beastliness is peculiar to

the common soldiers. The officers who spent the night of the 19th

August, 1915, at Cortenburg, between Louvain and Brussels, were

infected by the same _Kultur_. In a certain house they carefully laid

the table in the dining-room, without forgetting the serviettes,

and then deposited a souvenir on every plate. In another house

in Cortenburg they chose, as a receptacle, the tall hat of the

householder. In the château of Malderen (Brabant), having taken all

that pleased them and broken the rest into small pieces, they opened a

card-table, deposited their excrement there, and carefully closed it

again.

Another manifestation of the scatological mania: Many hundreds of

German Army surgeons met in congress during the Easter holidays of

1915, in Brussels. On the last day of the congress, Wednesday, the 7th

April, a banquet was held, on the premises of the Palais de Justice.

On the Thursday morning it was discovered that the surgeons had left

souvenirs behind them; they had evacuated the surplus of food and

liquor consumed by the three natural orifices, and had chosen for their

purpose the most beautiful halls of the Palais. Frankly, we should not

have expected this from the doctors; it is true, however, that they

were German military doctors.

A man amuses himself as he can--or, to put it more plainly, according

to his mentality. After all, these beastly habits, disgusting as they

are, are not those whose results are most disagreeable.

There are others who seek violent contrasts. Thus, at Houtem, while

the church was burning, on the 13th September, 1914, a military band

was playing its liveliest selections at a few yards' distance. At

Monceau-sur-Sambre, on the 22nd August, officers were playing the piano

in the château of the demoiselles Bourriez, on the Trazegnies road,

when the soldiers had already lit the upper floors. At Louvain, on the

25th August, 1914, in a café near the railway-station, soldiers set

fire to the upper floor without warning the proprietor, and remained

below, where they kept a mechanical piano going. They were thus able to

enjoy the despairing expressions of the inmates when they discovered

that they could no longer hope to save anything.

2. PHYSICAL TORTURES.

We shall not here refer to the innumerable cases of torture cited

in the Reports of the Commission of Inquiry, nor those reported in

Nothomb's _La Belgique Martyre_. We will confine ourselves to facts of

which we have personal knowledge. The Germans will, of course, seek to

deny them. So it is as well to begin by a declaration of their own.

_Vorwärts_, on the 23rd August, 1914 (the very day on which the chief

atrocities were committed in the Dinant district), protested against

the proposal made by a German officer, not to kill francs-tireurs

outright, but to wound them mortally and leave them to die slowly in

agony, while forbidding any one to go to their assistance. What to our

mind is even graver than the proposition itself is the fact that the

_Deutsches Offizierblatt_ accepted it as quite a natural thing.

It is clear that where they are proved, the cruelties committed by

our enemies must be denounced, and that everything must be done to

prevent their repetition. However, we must not allow the recital

of these cruelties to force us to resort to a sort of policy of

retaliation, or lead us to wash out what others have done with

innocent blood.

What are we to say when we find an organ like the _Deutsches

Offizierblatt_ expressing its sympathy for the following

proposition: The "brutes" captured as francs-tireurs should not be

shot outright, but should be fired upon and left to their fate, all

succour being prevented? What again are we to say when it is added

that the destruction, in reprisal, of whole localities even does

not represent "a sufficient vengeance for the bones of a single

Pomeranian grenadier assassinated"? These are the imaginings of

bloodthirsty fanatics, and we are ashamed to perceive that men

capable of speaking thus exist in our nation. Such expressions,

even if they are not carried into action, are truly of a nature to

place our struggle in an unfavourable light all the world over.

(_Vorwärts_, 23rd August, 1914.)

_The Fate of the Valkenaers Family._

One of the most horrible tragedies of this war was the massacre of

the Valkenaers family, at Thildonck, on the 26th August, 1914, while

Louvain was burning. Because they had not prevented the Belgian

soldiers from utilizing their farms as points of support, the members

of the two Valkenaers households were shot down in cold blood. Of these

fourteen unfortunate people three were grievously wounded and seven

killed. The better to amuse themselves, the Germans forced the elder of

the young girls to wave a sort of flag.

During the preceding night (that of the 25th August), in Louvain, they

had savagely mangled the corpse of a young woman.

On the afternoon of the 25th, being still in the immediate

neighbourhood, at Bueken, they had seized the curé and cut off his nose

and ears before giving him the _coup de grâce_ (p. 238). At the same

time began the torture of the curé of Pont-Brûlé, to end only on the

26th.

At Elewijt, on the 27th, they amused themselves by amputating the hands

of four men--the three brothers Van der Aa and François Salu.

A little further to the east the first German troops who had passed

through Schaffen, near Diest, on the 13th or 14th August, had there

tortured the blacksmith Broeden. All day long he had laboured, shoeing

the horses of the enemy's cavalry. Early in the evening he repaired to

the church, with the sacristan, with the object of saving some precious

articles which had not been placed in security. He was surprised by the

soldiery and seized. Successively the Germans broke his wrists, his

arms, and his legs; perhaps he suffered yet other tortures. When he was

practically lifeless the soldiers asked him whether he thought that he

would in future be capable of undertaking any kind of labour. On his

replying, in an almost inaudible voice, that he did not, they declared

that in that case he ought not to continue to live. Immediately they

threw him, head first, into a ditch dug for the purpose; then the ditch

was filled, leaving his feet protruding.

* * * * *

In other parts of the country also the most varied tortures. At

Spontin, near Dinant, on the 23rd August, 1914, they pierced the curé

and the burgomaster with bayonet-wounds until death ensued; but first

they had bound each man with a strong cord, drawn violently tight round

the waist by the combined efforts of two soldiers. It must be supposed

that the officer who presided over the "severities" at Spontin had

quite a special affection for cords, for having taken alive some 120

inhabitants of the place (the rest were killed, shot down while they

were trying to escape), he had them all tied together by the wrists and

conveyed them towards Dorinn; but many were shot before reaching that

village.

On the same day, in Dinant prison, a soldier strangled a baby in the

arms of its mother because it was crying too loud.

At Sorinnes, still in the Dinant district, and on the same day, Jules

and Albert Houzieaux were burned alive.

At Aiseau, on the 21st August, the Germans shut two men into a house,

to which they set fire. But the unexpected arrival of a shell

prevented them from enjoying the sufferings of their victims.

At Hofstade chance favoured them better; they threw Victor de Coster,

whom they had just stripped, into the furnace provided by his own

house; his servant shared his fate.

We must suppose that the Germans take great pleasure in the contortions

of the hanged. Herr Heymel had to content himself with admiring the

corpse of a priest swinging in a tree; and his friend, Herr Klemm,

was careful to devote, to the memory of this comforting spectacle, a

drawing, published in _Kunst und Künstler_ (January 1915). Herr Heymel

expresses his great satisfaction before this spectacle; but what

pleasure he would have experienced could he have witnessed the hanging

of the men whom the Germans boast of having hanged to the trees of

the Herve district; or could he have assisted to hang that inhabitant

of Èvelette, whom the soldiers put to death at Andenne, on the 20th;

or the cabaret-keeper who was strung up to a lantern before the

Louvain railway-station, on the night of the 26th; but our fastidious

_littérateur_ would have tasted the keenest delight at Arlon, when an

old man was put to death; he remained hanging for hours, with his feet

just grazing the soil (p. 351).

The Germans, perhaps, will say--supposing they think they ought to

excuse themselves--that these executions were carried out as a result

of the attacks of francs-tireurs, or after the mutilation of the German

wounded by Belgian civilians. But it will be impossible for them to

allege these lies as circumstances extenuating the inhuman treatment

which they inflicted upon Belgian soldiers at the time of their first

attacks on the forts of Liége, on the night of the 4th August; that

is, a few hours after the commencement of hostilities. Not only did

they maltreat in every imaginable manner their Belgian prisoners, but

certain German soldiers pushed _Kultur_ so far as to refuse water to

poor wounded fellows dying of thirst; more, they even gave themselves

the atrocious pleasure of spilling on the ground the water contained in

the wounded men's own flasks, and this before their eyes.

3. MORAL TORTURES.

The physical tortures which the Germans have inflicted upon us cannot

rival their methods of moral torture. In these they have achieved

refinements worthy of the inventive genius of an Edgar Allan Poë.

_Moral Torture before Execution._

To force those about to be shot to dig their own graves, as they did at

Tavigny,[49] is quite a commonplace method. In the Fonds de Leffe, on

the 23rd August, 1914 (p. 360), they perfected their mode of operation.

They had called up eight men of Dinant to bury the victims as they

were shot (there was so much work to do that it had to be entrusted to

experienced hands). In the evening each of the gravediggers dug his own

grave; four were shot, and buried by their colleagues; just as these

were about to suffer the same fate an officer "pardoned" them: not out

of humanity (that would have been too decent), but simply because their

services would be required during the following days.

At Dinant, during the bloody days of the 23rd and 24th August, they

invented many other moral tortures. On the morning of the 23rd they

shot, in a meadow of the Fonds de Leffe, a group of thirteen men. But

instead of leading them all together before the firing platoon, they

cunningly prolonged their pleasure; the thirteen unfortunates were

tied, in succession, to the same tree, and shot down one by one.

The whole of the 23rd was consecrated, in the Fonds de Leffe, to

killing the men in small batches of half a dozen; these were shot

either before their wives and children, or at a short distance, but

within earshot, so that the family should lose none of the groans of

the dying.

When, later on, the women and children were shut up in a windmill,

having first been marched in front of the corpses, the Germans allowed

themselves the distraction of lighting fires before the windows from

time to time, in order to make the women believe that they were about

to be burned alive with their children, and to delight in their anguish.

While men were being shot in the Fonds de Leffe, horrible massacres

were being committed at Leffe and at Dinant, at only a few minutes'

distance. Here, too, men were shot before their families--for example,

Victor Poncelet and Charles Naus--and the survivors were forced to

pass through the midst of the corpses. The officers, too, devised more

complicated diversions; for instance, allowing a group of women and

children to escape into the mountains, in order to shoot them down from

a distance.

A moral torture commonly employed is that which consists in making

people believe that they are going to be killed. All the inhabitants

of Sorinnes were placed before machine-guns, and a German chaplain,

speaking French, ceremoniously shook each man by the hand. At Dinant

two or three hundred persons were lined up against a wall; then a

pastor recited the prayers for the dead (perhaps the chaplain of

Sorinnes had found another opportunity for his pleasantry), and an

empty machine-gun was pointed at them. An officer laughed as though his

sides would split while he threatened, with his revolver, some fifteen

women shut up in the convent of Prémontré, at Leffe.

Pretended executions and threats of execution were everywhere in common

usage. At Wépion, near Namur, on the 23rd August, 1914 (the day of the

Dinant horrors), the Germans packed the women into boats, and told them

to row into the middle of the Meuse. They took aim at them several

times; then, having sufficiently amused themselves, they allowed them

to return to the bank.

On the 28th September, 1914, a group of civil prisoners from the north

of Brabant were going towards the railway-station, whence they left for

Germany. The procession was preceded by a military band, which played

funeral marches, so that they were convinced that they were being led

to execution.

Two citizens of Brussels, taking a walk on Sunday, the 30th August,

ventured as far as Koningsloo, in the suburbs. They were seized by

German sentinels, and imprisoned at the post. From time to time an

under-officer approached them, held his revolver under their noses,

and grimaced at them: "Ah, ah, walk's over, walk's done!" (_Fini,

promenade!_). One of the prisoners asked the guard if they were

really going to be shot; in which case they would wish to make certain

arrangements. But the soldier reassured them: "Don't be afraid," he

said, "it's only a game of our officer's; he does it every day to amuse

himself." And sure enough, towards evening the two prisoners were set

free without further ceremony.

Sectional execution--execution by small groups--under the eyes of those

awaiting their fate, was applied on a large scale at Arlon. On the 26th

August, 123 (or 118, or 127) inhabitants of Rossignol and neighbouring

localities were taken thither, and were killed in groups of ten or

twelve. Madame Hurieaux was reserved for the last; she saw her husband

and all her companions in misfortune perish first; and she died crying

"Vive la Belgique! Vive la France!"

It will be of interest to reproduce here the narrative of a medical

student who was present at the executions which took place at Arlon.

It may be taken as a sample, so to speak, of the German procedure:

massacre and incendiarism, with no previous inquiry; the most varied

moral and physical tortures; capricious condemnation or liberation of

prisoners; pillage of the communal funds, etc.

At the beginning of August I left Y----, where my parents live, to

go to the village of X----, lying to the north of my native town.

Two days later the French arrived, making towards the north of

Luxemburg. There were movements of troops in different directions,

and soon one could see that battles would be fought in the

neighbourhood.

I thought I could make myself useful by opening a small ambulance,

which I did.

I was lodging with one of my aunts, who has a son of my own age.

One day an engagement took place between the French and the German

troops, and a wounded German soldier was brought into my little

ambulance; his name was Kohn.

I gave him first aid; I apologized for not being able to do more,

and I told him that towards evening it might be possible to carry

him to Arlon, where he would receive all necessary care.

I returned to my aunt's house; I found her in tears; they had just

taken away her son, my cousin Jules, on the pretext that he had

fired on them. It was a piece of stupidity, for there was nothing

in the whole house but one revolver, and I was carrying that on me.

I had had it on me all the time I was at the ambulance. I hastened

to hide it under a chest, and I decided to go and demand my cousin

of the Germans. I speak their language a little, and I was so

convinced of my cousin's innocence that I imagined a few words of

explanation would make them give him up.

I soon found him, tied to a tree, beside other prisoners.

I began to parley with a German officer.

He replied that there was nothing to do for the moment, that the

prisoners would be sent to Arlon, and that he was convinced that if

I followed them I should be able, at Arlon, to obtain justice for

my cousin.

We set out for Arlon; I was beside the prisoners. At a determined

spot we were handed over to other soldiers. I was greatly

astonished, at a given moment, to see that I had become a prisoner

myself; I was no longer accompanying my cousin, to save him; I was

sharing his fate.

We arrived at Arlon; we were lined up against a wall. There were

with us, notably, a woman, with two young children of nine and ten,

an old villager with his son, and other people whom I did not know.

An officer on horseback approached us. He was, it seemed a judge.

He turned to the soldiers and asked, pointing to each of us: "Did

that one fire?" And the soldiers always replied in the affirmative.

Now it should be noted that these soldiers had seen nothing, and

could have seen nothing, for they were not those who seized the

prisoners in the village in which they were arrested.

The head-dress of the troops was entirely different; the first had

helmets, and the second caps.

When the officer had finished pointing at us, we were informed that

we were all condemned to death.

An old man was seized; I myself was seized; and we were pushed to

one side, to be shot.

The old man's son rushed towards him and tried to drag him away

from the soldiers. The result was that the son was seized, to be

shot with the father.

This is how things happened:

The two were put against a wall; a platoon of soldiers commanded by

an officer took up their position in front of them.

The officer commanded all their movements with a deliberation

calculated to increase the torture of the victims.

"Load!"... Then a pause. "Take aim!"... Then a pause. "Fire!"...

The two unhappy men fell to the ground, groaning.

The officer went up to them, recognized that they were not dead,

and again gave orders to fire, with the same deliberation and the

same method. This time the father ceased to move; it took a third

volley to finish the son.

We were then all led to a guard-house.

There we remained for three days. We were given nothing to eat. We

fasted from the morning we were taken; it was only on the following

day, or the day after that, that we received a little water.

In that room we were literally tortured.

We were forced to stand upright; an old man was groaning he was

so thirsty that his tongue protruded from his lips and the flies

settled on it. As he could not stand any longer, the Germans passed

a cord round his neck and attached it to a ring-bolt in the wall,

so that he was supported only on his toes. The cord stretched and

the wretched man fell now to this side, now to that. The soldiers

made him stand upright again by striking his face with the butts of

their rifles.

At one time his trousers fell down and we saw he was wounded in the

thigh, by bayonet-thrusts. Later he became insane. In his delirium

he cried: "Prepare food for the cows."[50] It was a horrible scene.

At another time the woman was taken out, with her two little

children, and all three were shot against the wall of the Palais

de Justice at Arlon. The soldiers asserted that they had "found a

German soldier's purse" in this woman's house.

The time passed in the most atrocious moral anguish and physical

suffering. We had lost all notion of time. The soldiers insulted

us, spat upon us, made signs that our throats would be cut, that we

were going to be shot. They took a pleasure in drinking in front of

us.

At a certain moment an officer of superior rank entered the room.

He came up to me and asked: "Why are you here?"

I replied: "They accuse us of having fired on the troops."

Immediately he turned his back upon me, but I cried, with energy:

"Yes, and far from having fired on them, I looked after them. If

you want the proof of this, ask the soldier called Kohn who must be

in the hospital here at Arlon."

I then told him of Kohn. He went to the hospital, and returned some

time later; he had found the soldier Kohn, who confirmed my story.

An officer on horseback (the judge) came to the door of the

guard-room: we were sent out, my cousin and I, and without even

questioning us he said, "You are acquitted." I protested, saying:

"There are still five or six people there of my village who are no

more guilty than we are."

They were sent out, and the judge told them, as he told me, without

any further inquiry, "You are acquitted."

As for the unhappy old man, I will tell you later how he escaped.

He returned to his village; he is crippled.

* * * * *

I remained at Arlon until the end of August, at the house of one of

my relatives, whose business brought him daily into contact with

the Belgian authorities and the German army. I was thus able to

obtain a good deal of precise information.

* * * * *

The Germans entered Arlon on the 12th August. They came from

Mersch, in the Grand-Duchy. Several days earlier, all the weapons

the inhabitants possessed had been deposited at the Hôtel de Ville.

The people of Arlon knew from the newspapers what atrocities the

Germans had committed in the neighbourhood of Liége, at Visé,

Herve, Battice, Warsage, etc., and they were far from meditating

any disturbance.

On entering the town the Uhlans began to break in the doors with

the butts of their rifles.

On the following day Commandant von der Esch, commandant of the

town, had a notice posted up, which I have copied _verbatim_.

PROCLAMATION.

Luminous signals have been made to-night between Freylange and the

lower part of this town; one of our patrols has been attacked; our

telephone wires have been cut. To punish the population guilty of

these acts of ill-will, I order for to-day at 3 o'clock the burning

of the village of Freylange and the sack of 100 houses in the west

of Arlon. I also condemn the town to pay a war contribution of

100,000 frs., which must be paid over before 6 p.m., or I shall

have the hostages shot.

VON DER ESCH.

* * * * *

While the communal administration of Arlon was deliberating on

the subject of the war contribution, the burning of Freylange and

the sack of 100 houses of Arlon was carried out according to the

programme.

After the 100,000 frs. had been paid to the Germans, they summoned

to the general headquarters, established in the Hôtel de Ville of

the northern portion of Arlon, a police agent, named Lempreur, and

instructed him to proceed to arrest those who had fired on the

German troops. He came back to say that he had found no one. "Ah!"

they told him, "you are going about it unwillingly! Very good; you

shall pay for the others." And without listening to his pleading,

without allowing him to see his wife or children again, he was

placed with his back to a door and a firing platoon shot him down.

I saw the door at the Hôtel de Ville; it was riddled with bullets.

A few days later another army division replaced the first.

Immediately the town was condemned to pay a fresh war contribution:

a million francs.

The town could get together only 238,000 frs. It was let off the

remainder.

* * * * *

From the day when I was set at liberty we used almost daily to hear

of executions in Arlon; they were of prisoners, brought just as we

were, from the neighbouring villages, notably from Rossignol and

Tintigny, who were shot in small parties.

One of these executions took place in the courtyard of the Church

of St. Donat. The Dean succeeded in obtaining pardon for two of the

condemned.

The most important execution was that of 123 (others say 127)

inhabitants of Rossignol and its immediate surroundings, who were

shot on 26th August. They were taken near the viaduct which passes

over the Arlon railway-station (towards the connecting station).

They were killed in small groups of ten or twelve. Those who were

not dead were finished with the bayonet. Each group had to climb

over the surrounding corpses. They kept to the last a lady of

Rossignol, Mme. Hurieaux, who thus had to see her husband and the

greater part of the inhabitants of her village killed before her

eyes. She died crying "Vive la Belgique! Vive la France!"

Here is one little detail which I was able to verify. When

the receiver and examiner of Customs of Arlon learned of the

approaching arrival of the Germans they removed all the money

from the safe, leaving only copper coin to the value of about a

franc. The Germans immediately proceeded to break open the safe,

but succeeded only after two days' work. Infuriated by this

discomfiture, they used the safe as a commode.

But whatever the moral sufferings inflicted on those who were executed,

the tortures which the Germans applied to those against whom no

accusation was brought were a hundred times more atrocious. Think of

the martyrdom of Mme. Cambier, of Nimy, who was forced to tread on her

son's brains; and the sufferings of the innumerable men and women of

whom the Germans made a living shield, at Anseremme, Mons, Tournai, and

Charleroi (p. 195). As to Charleroi, here is a detail not recorded by

Herr Heymel. The prisoners collected at Jumet and Odelissert were tied

in couples by the wrists, to prevent them from trying to escape when

the French should fire on them. Moreover, they had to walk with their

hands raised. When, by reason of fatigue, they dropped their arms, the

soldiers struck them with the butts of their rifles. We know a man who

was thus placed before the German troops, who saw one of his relatives

killed at his side, and two of the latter's sons. He himself received

three bullets, one in the right wrist, one in the left arm, and the

third under the chin. He escaped, but is lamed for life.

Imagine also the tortures suffered by the civil prisoners who, in

defiance of all justice, were sent to Germany. Hunger, thirst,

threats, and insults; packed into cattle-trucks, they had no room

to lie down, or even to sit. Above all, they had no news of their

families. On the 4th September, 1914, more than 100 inhabitants of

Lebbeke, near Termonde, were placed as a screen in front of the German

troops marching against Termonde. In the evening, those who had not

been shot were added to others just captured, and all together, in all

some 300, were sent into Germany. At the moment when these unhappy

folk were leaving Lebbeke the Germans set fire to some of the houses,

and kindly informed the prisoners that the whole village was about to

be burned. Moreover, they said, the women and children would in part

be killed, and the rest driven off in the direction of Termonde and

Gand. Imagine, if you can, the sufferings endured by these unfortunate

people for the two months during which they remained without news of

their homes, in the conviction that their families were massacred or

wandering wretchedly across the devastated country. While by means of

these cruel lies, whose horrible effect was systematically calculated,

they filled with despair the hearts of those who were departing, the

soldiers amused themselves also by wringing the hearts of the poor

women--mothers, wives, sisters, daughters--who remained in the village.

For they, too, were for long weeks without news from the prisoners, and

the abominable manner in which the German troops, drunk with carnage,

had assassinated, on the day of exodus, twelve of their fellow-citizens

(_9th Report_), permitted them to entertain the most frightful

suppositions.

Make no mistake: the case of Lebbeke is far from being exceptional. All

the civil prisoners were treated with the same barbarity, a barbarity

utterly unjustified, since, in the judgment of Baron von Bissing, no

complaint had been formulated against the civil prisoners who have been

sent back to their homes. But all have not returned. In June 1915, for

example, most of the prisoners from Visé were still in Germany. As for

those taken from Rossignol and so many other localities in Luxemburg,

they will never return, alas! They have been shot without pretext.

Another horrible torture consists in the suppression of communications

between the Belgian soldiers and their parents. Since mid-October 1914

all connections have been severed between the Belgian army which is

fighting on the Yser and the Belgians remaining in Belgium. Those who

seek to establish communication between the Belgian soldiers and their

relatives are spied out and sentenced.

Against Jules-Arthur de Cuypere, bachelor, domiciled in the last

instance at Liége, a deprivation of liberty of five months has

been pronounced, because, contrary to the known regulations, he

took charge, during a number of journeys to the Dutch frontier and

into Holland, of a large number of letters from Belgian soldiers

in France and interned Belgian prisoners in Holland; and delivered

these letters, addressed to different members of families of Namur

and the environs, at their addresses, by carrying them thither. At

the same time he rendered himself guilty by crossing the frontier.

(_L'Ami de l'Ordre_, 5-6th July, 1915.)

Since the spring of 1915 the posts have been operating between

Belgium and Holland, so that those few privileged persons who have

a correspondent in Holland might thus indirectly obtain news if the

Germans had authorized correspondence through an intermediary. But they

have strictly forbidden it (pp. 22-3). They could easily organize a

service enabling soldiers to write to their relations: "I am going on

all right ... I am wounded ..." and enabling the relations to reply,

so that the soldiers' families would be reassured; while now the only

news arrives by precarious methods, and often goes astray. But what

our enemies desire is to make the poor relatives suffer as much as

possible. We do not believe that such a form of torture has ever in

any previous war been inflicted on a whole population. It is untrue,

it seems, that Bismarck was the first to use the words which have been

attributed to him: "In territories occupied by our victorious troops

the inhabitants must be left nothing but eyes to weep with." But he

quoted them with an approval that made them his own. Now they have come

true.

Here is quite another kind of moral torture. The Germans are fond

of leading small groups of Belgian prisoners through the streets of

Brussels at moments when the latter are as busy as possible: for

instance, on Sunday afternoons. One can imagine the humiliation of the

poor soldiers exposed to the curiosity of the crowd; but it delights

their guardians. It was evidently the desire to enjoy, simultaneously,

the misery of the prisoners and the impotent anger of the spectators

which led the Germans, at the time of their entry into Louvain on the

19th August, and into Brussels on the 20th, to place a few Belgian

countrymen, with their hands tied behind their backs, at the head

of their columns. In ancient Rome captives used to walk before the

triumphal car of the conqueror. Do not the Germans realize how utterly

this practice is contrary to the humane principles enjoined by Article

4 of the Hague Convention? We must suppose that they do not; for not

only do they not abandon the practice, but they make use of it to coin

money.

CONDEMNATION OF THE TOWN OF ROULERS.

AMSTERDAM, _29th May_ (Havre Agency).--The town of Roulers

is condemned to pay a fresh fine of 1½ millions, because the

population cheered Belgian prisoners passing through the town.

(_L'Ami de l'Ordre._)

Impossible, it will be said, to invent tortures yet more diabolic. But

no, when it is a question of doing evil, _Kultur_ can surpass itself.

Imagine the mentality of the person who sent to M. Brostens, of

Antwerp, the identity-disc of his son, who was taken prisoner. And

imagine the inward joy of the sender in picturing the parents' despair

on receiving the medal!

REFINED CRUELTY.

When they make prisoners they sometimes detach the

identification-discs from the men and send them, unaccompanied by

comment, to the parents, to make them believe that their son is

dead.

This is what has just happened to M. Brostens, Lieutenant of

Customs, of Antwerp. Having received, a few days ago, his son's

regimental number, he went into mourning. So yesterday morning,

what was not his amazement to see his son return, who, having

been made prisoner at the beginning of the war, had succeeded in

escaping.

(_Le Matin_, Antwerp, 14th September, 1914.)

Here, perhaps, the culprit was an uncultivated soldier. But what are we

to think of the mentality of Baron von der Goltz, when he informs us by

placard that a record is kept in a register of all aggressions against

the German army, and that the localities in which such attacks have

taken place may expect to receive their punishment?

GENERAL GOVERNMENT OF BELGIUM.

It has recently happened, in the regions which are not at present

occupied by the German troops in more or less force, that convoys

of wagons or patrols have been attacked, by surprise, by the

inhabitants.

I draw the attention of the public to the fact that a register is

kept of the towns and communes in whose vicinity such attacks have

occurred, and that they may expect their punishment as soon as the

troops are passing through their neighbourhood.

The Governor-General in Belgium,

BARON VON DER GOLTZ,

_General-Field-Marshal_.

When one learns on what ultra-trivial hints the German troops have

based their condemnation of the inhabitants, one may conclude that not

a commune will escape repression. It was evidently this generalized

terror which the Governor wished to inspire. He, too, wished to have

the pleasure of inflicting moral torture.

* * * * *

To give point to the contrast between the mentality of our oppressors

and our own, between their _Kultur_ and our civilization, we should

like to reproduce a letter in which a young girl, living in Gand,

invited Belgian women to enter the hospitals for the purpose of

assisting the wounded, Germans as well as our own, to write to their

families. Committees of this kind were immediately constituted, notably

in Brussels.

BELGIAN COMPASSION.

M. Paul Fredericq, Professor at the University of Gand, writes to

the _Soir_:--

"A young girl of Gand has had a touching inspiration.

"She wished Belgian women who can write English and German,

forgetting international hatred, and listening only to the voice

of compassion, to attend at the ambulances and hospitals, in order

to place themselves at the disposal of wounded foreigners, without

distinction, and to write, at their dictation, letters intended to

reassure their relatives.

"This truly Christian work of charity would put an end to the

anguish of so many mothers, who know that their sons are engaged on

the Belgian battlefields.

"I am certain that this appeal to the good hearts of our girls and

women will not have been made in vain."

While the Germans are butchering our sons and wives, this is what

Belgian hearts are thinking of.

(_Le Peuple_, 10th August, 1914.)

Finally, to close with, here is a numerical example which, better than

any reasoning, gives you the _Kultur_ of the German Army to the life:--

On the morning of Sunday, the 23rd August, 1914, the population of

Fonds de Leffe (a suburb of Dinant) comprised 251 men and boys,

including some fifteen inhabitants of neighbouring communes whom the

Germans had dragged away with them. By the evening of the following day

243 had been put to death: none of those taken was spared; the eight

who escaped the massacre had succeeded in fleeing. "Happily"--we were

told by a woman whose father, husband, and four brothers-in-law were

massacred--"happily many of the men had left for the army and were

fighting on the Yser. A strange war, in which the soldiers are less

exposed than the children, the old folks, and the sick who are left at

home!"

FOOTNOTES:

[32] Apparently our author had never heard timber burn before.--(TRANS.)

[33] As the Chancellor must have known, if the civil population _had_

been called to arms it would have been a perfectly legal measure. But

the Germans, who claim the right to do what is forbidden to others,

would forbid others to do even those things that are lawful.--(TRANS.)

[34] See the _Tägliche Rundschau_ supplement, 24th September, 1914; and

_Hamburger Fremdenblatt_, weekly supplement, 4th October, 1914.

[35] Epistle to Romans viii. 31.

[36] The bill-stickers of Brussels take a malign pleasure in refraining

from pasting other matter over the burgomaster's denial. In July 1915,

eleven months after it was posted, one could still read the famous

denial in several parts of Brussels.

[37] Nothing was known of the torture inflicted on the curé of

Bueken until, at the request of the Dutch Government, the body of

Father Vincentius Sombroek was exhumed, at the end of September 1914

(_N.R.C._, 1st October, evening). The body of M. De Clerck was found at

the same time, and it was then seen that he had been mutilated. This

was known to his parishioners, but they had never dared to speak of it.

What other horrors shall we learn of when tongues are again unloosed?

[38] Rom. xii. 12, 13.

[39] Oratio in Dominica infra Octavam Epiphaniae.

[40] Rom. xii. 12, 13.

[41] Prayer for the Sunday in the Octave of Epiphany.

[42] _Etappen_, a provisioned halting-place for troops.--(TRANS.)

[43] The words in brackets are ours.

[44] Other witnesses, however, more sincere, admitted in May 1915 that

the attitude of the people of Antwerp had remained just as hostile as

at the outset (see the article by Dr. Julius Burghold, in _K.Z._ for

the 29th May, 1915, 1 p.m. edition).

[45] In Brussels the tramways had issued, up to the 15th July, 1915,

1,032 gratuitous permits to German spies.

[46] The French of this proclamation is so bad that literal translation

is impossible, but I have kept as close to the original as is

consistent with intelligibility.--(TRANS.)

[47] The passages italicized were underlined in pencil on the placard

posted at Andenne.

[48] We shall give names at a later date.

[49] At least, they boast of having done so.

[50] I was told later that this old man was a sand merchant of

Chatillon, and was in a state of senile dementia. He was well known to

the people of Arlon.

INDEX

Absentees, tenfold tax on, 298-9

Accusations, German, of Belgian cruelty, why made, 36;

absurdity of, 36-7;

progress of, 38-49;

against the Belgian Government, 89-92

Administration, German, of Belgium, 295-338

Aerschot, return of prisoners to, 95;

German burgomaster of, 140-1;

massacre at, 166

Agadir Crisis, 27

Agents-Provocateurs, 317-20

Aggravations, 336-41

Agreements, attempt to enforce illegal, 320-4

Air Raids, German, 122-4, 259-60, _see_ Dirigibles

Albert, King, 178;

his patron saint's day, 268-9;

portraits of, 269-71;

his birthday, 272;

German abuse of, 282-3

America, Germany desires to influence, 38;

sends help, 173;

Belgium's gratitude towards, 178

Andenne, massacre at, 164, 326-33

André, M. François, speech by, 139-40

Anseremme, men sent to Germany, 119;

Germans hide behind women at, 119-20

Antwerp, siege of, 51, 144;

bombardment of, 123-4, 128-9;

the city fired, 148;

sorties from, 163;

flight from, 166

Arlon, massacre at, 349;

narrative of an eye-witness, 349-54

Arms, surrender of, 90, 207

Army, Belgian, the "enemy," 272-3;

correspondence with, 356-7

Army, German, _see_ German soldiers, Prisoners, Wounded, Officers

Assessment Bureau, suppressed, 304

Asquith, Mr., speaks in Dublin, 53

Atrocities, pretended Belgian (98-108);

refuted by _Vorwärts_, 102-3;

by German wounded, 104-5, 106-8

Atrocities, German, 63, (70-88);

responsibility for, 70;

formula for excusing, 74-5;

method of, 91-2;

repetition of, 164-5

August 4th, Anniversary of, 276-9

August 6th, Anniversary of, 279-80

Baer, on "military necessity," 82

Bas-Luxembourg, massacres in, 71

_Belge Neutre et Loyale, La_, by E. Waxweiler, 37, 49, 75, 189, 200

Belgian Army, _see_ Army

Belgian Government, proposals made to, 50-1;

accusations brought against, 89-92;

preventive measures taken by, 108-11;

people incited against, 289-94

Belgium, invaded, 30-2;

her attitude in defence of her neutrality, 33;

invasion of, 34;

pacific

character of, 53;

disinterested behaviour of, 61-2;

offered a bribe, 61, 140;

famine in, 164;

present administration of, 295-333;

_see_ Invasion

Bernstoff, Count, 32, 124

Bethmann-Hollweg, his "scrap of paper" speech, and denial of same, 31;

the "strategic necessities" speech, 31-2, 34;

admits injustice of invasion, 63, 140;

refers to "gouged-out eyes," 207;

libellous declaration by, 209, 263-4, 281-2

Bismarck, 9, 31;

boasts of Ems telegram, 218

Bissing, Baron von, 23;

incites to massacre, 70, 83, 139;

cynicism and audacity of his lies, 188, 238, 336

Blinded soldiers, legend of, 99-100, 102-3

Blindness, deliberate, of German "intellectuals," 204, 209

Blöm, Captain, on theory of terrorization, 89, 164, 197

Boiling oil, legend of, 99-100

Bombardment, of coast, 121-2;

of open towns, 123-4;

of monuments, 124-8

_Brabançonne_, the, prohibited, 273-4

Brabant, return of prisoners to, 96

Bredt, on Belgian art and character, 69

Brussels, supposed "francs-tireurs" in, 81;

return of prisoners to, 94;

pretended outrages on Germans in, 107-8;

the truth, 110-11;

the city fined, 147;

contributions imposed upon, 156-8;

Palais de Justice in, 162;

Belgian colours prohibited in, 268;

shops closed as demonstration, 275

Brutality, the Kaiser calls for, 335

Bueken, the curé of, tortured and murdered, 238

Buisseret-Steenbecque, Count, 49

Bülow, General von, responsible for massacres, 71

Cæsar, sells Belgians into captivity, 93

Camps, prisoners', 92, 94

Capelle-au-Bois, atrocities at, 338-9

_Carte de ménage_, the, 172

Catholic priests, German, servility of, 216-17

Censorship, the German, 14-16, 204;

censored papers, 258-9;

examples of censorship, 259-60

Chamberlain, Houston Stewart, shameful libel by, 237

Chancellor, the German, _see_ Bethmann-Hollweg

Charleroi, atrocities at, 75;

German story of, 100, 118;

Alfred Heymel's account of, 195-7, 230, 354

Churches, German hatred and destruction of, 73-4

"Circulation," prohibited, 169;

allowed, 296

Civil population, attitude of, 89-90;

accused of guerilla warfare, 91-2;

more civilians killed than soldiers by Sept. 14, 131;

lying accusations made against, 188-90

Civil Prisoners, _see_ Prisoners

Clergy, German hatred of, 72;

murdered and tortured, 72-3, 238, 343

Cockerill workshops, 55-6

Coercive measures taken by Germans, 115-17

Collective penalties, illegal, 143-9

Colours, Belgian, prohibited, 265-7;

wearing of the, 309

Communal trading, exploitation, etc., 170-1

Communes, property of, requisitioned, 163-4

Commission for Relief, the American, 173

Committee of Relief, the National, 173

Conrad, Pastor, author of libel, 103

Contributions, illegal, 154-6;

imposed on cities, 156;

on Brussels, 156-8

Cooper-Hewitt lamp, claimed as German, 181

Correspondence, regulations as to, 22-3;

with the Army, 356-7

Credulity, German, 207-9

Critical spirit, German surrender of the, 202-5

Cruelty, necessity of, 82-3;

is it effectual? 195;

supposed Belgian, _see_ Atrocities

Cugnon, lying placard at, 233

Cynicism, German, 191-3

Dead, German, transport of, 231-2

Declaration of war, 50;

ignored by German newspapers, 52

Demonstrations, prohibition of, 274-80

Destitution, statistics of, 178

Destrée, M. Jules, 50

_Deutsch-Französischer-Soldaten-Sprachführer_, 143

Dinant, return of prisoners to, 95-6;

massacres at, 98, 164, 166, 194, 347, 360

Dirigibles, at Deynze, 123;

Antwerp, 124;

imaginary tale of raid on Liége, 225-6, 229-30;

Germans lose one and pretend it is French, 230-1

Discussion, liberty of free, abolished, 205

Disdain of others, German, 184

Disunion, incitements to, 282-9

Drunkenness, in German Army, 80-2, 134

Dryander, Dr. O., servile complacency of, 213-15

Ducarne Report, the, 43-4

Dum-dum bullets, 113;

the Kaiser accuses Belgians of using, 208

Duplicity, German, 29

Economic depression in Belgium, 166

Egoism of German character, 182

Emblems, wearing of, prohibited, 268

Ems telegram, the, 131;

Bismarck boasts of, 218

Engagements, violation of, 262-4

England, as the guarantor of Belgian neutrality, 39, 41-3;

Germany attempts to obtain promise of neutrality from, 264;

Belgium incited against, 294-5

Eppeghem, fined, 148-9, 189

_Eroberung Belgiëns, Die_, propagandist publication, 252-3

Erzberger, Herr, objects to sentimentality, 336

Escaille, M. de l', 47-9

Espionage, German, 54-6, 316-20

Evere, air-raid at, 260

Executions, insufficiency of inquiry before, 74-6

Factories, destruction of, 168

Falsifications, German, of documents, 41-9

Famine in Belgium, causes of, 166-7, 169

Ferocity, instances of German, 333

Filthy tricks and amusements, 340-1

Fines, illegal and absurd, 146-9, 232

Flag, Belgian, prohibited, 265-8, 277

Flemish tongue, favoured, 285-7

Fleming-Walloon problem exploited, 284-9

Flight of Belgians before invasion, 166

Fonds de Leffe, massacre at, 360

Forest, hostages taken at, 150

France, Germany accuses, 31-3;

were her suspicions genuine? 33;

pacific mood of, 35;

accused of entering Belgium in July, 36-7;

sudden attack on checked, 61

Francorchamps, atrocities at, 75;

plundering of, 132

"Francs-tireurs," the German pretence of (63-80);

were there any? 64-5;

an obsession, 66-70;

Germany's invention of, 89;

method of "repression," 86-7;

the Great General Staff prepares the Army for, 98-9;

fines for attacks by, 147-9;

pretext for massacre and pillage, 165;

German lies concerning, 188-90, 196, 207;

organization of "attacks," 236;

proposal to torture, 342

Frankenberg, pretended murder of, 107-8

Freemasons appealed to, 202

Gand, coercion at, 116;

Belgian girl's proposal, 359-60

Gas, poisonous, use of, 112-13, 198-9

German Administration in Belgium, 295-333

German character, classical authors on, 281

German language, attempt to enforce, 272

German mentality, 56-8, 67, 179-360

German Prisoners, letters of, 56-8

Germans, Belgian antipathy to undiminished, 307-11

Germany, Belgian distrust of, 27-8;

Gerard, Mr., 111

Godet, M. Philippe, 47

Goltz, Baron von der, 23, 144, 149, 188, 199, 264-5, 296, 358

Gottberg, Herr, narrative of, 68

Graphic Lies, 218-24

Great General Staff, the German, murderous tactics of, 98-9;

methodical care of, 236-7

Greindl Report, falsification of, 41-3

Haecht, massacre at, 163

Hague Convention, violations of the, 12, 111-78

Hainaut, incendiarism in, 85;

Provincial Council convened, 139

Hate, Hymn of, 294

Harden, Maximilian, 183, 200

Hedin, Dr. Sven, deluded by Germans, 77-8, 165, 221

Herve, massacre at, 63

Heymann, Robert, lying narrative of attack on Jesuits, 225-8

Heymel, Alfred, on the Battle of Charleroi, 195-6, 345

Hindenburg, 83, 206

Holland, refugees in, 166

Honour, Belgian, German price of, 61, 140

Hoover, Mr. Herbert, 174, 178

Hostages, taking of, 149-51, 195-6, 327

Hostilities, precede declaration of war, 51

Houtem, atrocities at, 189

Humanitarian sentiments, claimed by German Army, 83

Huns, the Kaiser invokes the, 335

Huy, atrocities at, 77, 81

Identification cards, 322-3

Incendiarism, methods of, 84-5;

a cover to pillage, 132;

organization of, 236

Incendiary material, 84-5

Information, extraction of, 141-2

Informers, appeal to, 313-16

Innocent, to suffer with or in place of guilty, 84, 143-9, 199

Inscriptions, protection, 87-8

Insults, German, reason of, 36

Intellectual life in Belgium, 12

Intellectuals, German, wilful blindness of, 209-10;

the "Ninety-three," 211-12

International law, suppressed by war, 183

_Interprète Militaire, L'_, 334

Invasion, of Belgium, reasons for the, 34-5;

danger of recognized, 40-1;

the Greindl Report, 41-3, 58;

reason for, 63

Ivy leaf, wearing of, 268

Jagow, Herr von, sends ultimatum, 30, 34

Jesuit Convent, lying tale of, 225-8

_Journal de la Guerre_, German propagandist journal, 247-8

Jungbluth Report, the, 43-4

King of Belgium, the, _see_ Albert, King

Kitchener's Army, German account of, 187

Koch, the apotheosis of, 180-1

Koester and Noske, authors of _Kriegsfahrten_, 59, 132, 162, 221, 262

_Kölnische Volkszeitung_, suspended, 203

_Kriegsbrauch im Landkriege_, 137, 141, 159, 333

_La Guerre_, German propagandist journal, 248-9

Ladies, treatment of, 338

Laeken, orgies at, 81

_L'Ami de l'Ordre_, propagandist journal, 254-5

Latin authors, on German race, 281

Law of Nations, violation of the, 12

_Le Bien Public_, propagandist journal, 255-6

Leaflets, propagandist, 251-2

League of German Scientists and Artists, 251

Lebbeke, atrocities at, 68, 119, 354-5

Leffe, massacre at, 347

Leffe, Fonds de, massacre at, 347-8, 360

Legation, British, documents found in the, 45-6

Leman, General, 198, 238

Liége, German lies concerning forts of, 50;

occupation of, lies concerning, 38-60;

warned against Belgian news, 187;

marvellous tale of Jesuit convent near, 225-8;

keeps anniversary of August 6th, 279-80

Lies, concerning the situation in Belgium, 188;

concerning "francs-tireurs," 188-90, 217-282;

photographic, 218-20, 222-4;

written, 224-31

Lissauer, Ernst, author of the "Hymn of Hate," 294

Living shields, Belgians used as, 117-22, 263, 334-5

Lloyd George, speaks at City Temple, 35

Loot, _see_ Pillage

Louvain, atrocities in, 87;

protective inscriptions, 88;

return of prisoners to, 95-6;

massacre in, 164;

lies concerning, 220-1

_Lügenfeldzug_, 60

Luttre, strike at, 300-1

_Lusitania_, sinking of the, 194

Machinery, requisitioned, 158-9

Magnet, M. Charles, appeals to Freemasons for inquiry, 202-3

Malines, bombardment of cathedral, 126-8;

traffic in suppressed, 301-2

Manuals, military, 45

_Marseillaise_, the, shopkeepers fined for selling, 146, 273-4

Max, M., imprisoned and released, 10;

and the Governor of Belgium, 156-9;

his denial of a lying placard, 233-5, 265;

portrait worn, 309

Massacre, the two great periods of, 86-7, 131, 164-5;

_see_ Atrocities, Reprisals, etc.

Massacres, pretended, of German civilians, 106-8

Mentality, German, 179-360

Mentality of a German officer, 78-80

Mercier, Cardinal, 202, 239-46

Meuse, pillage on the banks of the, 197-8

Middelkerke, Belgians detained at, 120-1

Might before Right, 183-4

Militarism, 182-4

Military employment of Belgians, 113-14

Militia, Belgian, escape of, 152-3

Mons, pillage at, 133

Monuments, destruction of, 124-8, 130-1

Murders, German, 63-80

Music, censored, 16, 146, 273-4

National anniversary, the 274-6

National Committee of Relief, 172-8;

food, etc., distributed by, 175-7

Neutral opinion, necessity of influencing, 36, 38, 46-7

Neutrality, Belgian, violation of, 12, 27-62;

justification of, 31-2;

Germany accuses France of violating, 31-2;

England guarantees, 39-40

News published by the German Government, 185

News, secret propagation of, 20-1, 204-5

Newspapers forced to appear by the German Government, 13;

censored, 15;

authorized German newspapers, 16;

official, 17;

Dutch, 18-19;

introduced surreptitiously, 19-20;

secret, 21

_Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant_, correspondence in, 103-5

"Ninety-three Intellectuals," the, 11, 211-12

Nissen, Herr Momme, on German virtues, 181;

pretends the Belgian attitude conciliatory, 310

_Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_, 38

Observation-posts, pretended, 128-9, 130

Officers, German, lie to their men, 235-6

Organization, peculiarities of German, 303

Ostend, Belgians detained in, 120-1

Ottignies, account of atrocities at, by German officer, 335-6

Pasteur, ignored by Germans, 180-1

Pastoral Letter, Mgr. Mercier's, 240-6

Pastors, Protestant, servility of, 213-16

Photographs and picture-postcards, 193-4;

"faked" photographs, etc., 218-20;

showing Germans before Paris, etc., 238-9

Pillage, 131;

officers join in, 132-4;

methodical nature of, 136-7;

prohibited by _Kriegsbrauch_, 137, 166;

systematic, 197;

on the Meuse, 197-8

Placards, German, 22

Plague, lying report of, in Paris, 236

Poison-gas, _see_ Gas

Poincaré, President, 220

Pope, the, surrenders Peter's Pence, 177

Portraits of Royal Family, 269-71, 309

Postcards, _see_ Photographs

Preventive measures, _see_ Reprisals, Terrorization

Pride, German, 179

Priests, _see_ Clergy

Prisoners, civil, treatment of, 92-5;

return of, 95-6;

admittedly innocent, 96-8, 324;

torture of, 354-5

Prisoners, German, letters of, 56-8, 104-6

Proclamations, some absurd, 185-8

Professors, manifesto of the, 3, 125, 212-13

Propaganda, perfection of German, 11;

organization of, 246-7;

bureaux in Germany, 247-53;

abroad, 253-7

Provincial Councils convened, 138

Queen of Belgium, the, 11;

German abuse of, 283-4

Railway journeys, 24

Railways, stoppage of, 168-9, 300

Rape, 131

Raw material, requisitioned, 158-9, 167-8

Red Cross, Belgian, suppressed, 105-6, 304-7

Refugees, Belgian, 166

Reims, bombardment of Cathedral, 124-6

Relief, measures of, 171;

food, etc., distributed, 175-7

Relief, National and American Committees, 172-8

Repression, measures of, 152-3;

at Andenne, 326-33

"Reprisals," against "francs-tireurs," 63-80;

excuse for, 74;

frivolity of, 75;

_see_ Atrocities

Requisitions, illegal, 158-61;

in kind and service, 159-60, 166;

of forage, 167;

of provisions intended for relief, 174

Royal Family, portraits of, 269-71

Ruysbroeck, coercion at, 117

Sabbe, M. Maurice, denies German libel, 287-9

Sacrilege, 133

School inspection, 280-2

"Scrap of paper," the, 31

Shelters, temporary, 170

Sibret, atrocities at, 76

Socialists, German, docility of, 206-7;

visit Belgium, 262, 296

Sorel, E., 39

Sorinnes, atrocities at, 347-8

Spontin, torture and murder of priest and burgomaster at, 344

Spitteler, Herr Karl, 46

Stamps, theft of, 135

State property, treatment of, 161-2

Submarine campaign, 194-5

Sweveghem, coercion at, 116-17

Tamines, atrocities at, 135-6, 164

Tavigny, atrocities at, 346-7

Taxation, illegal, 137-41, 166, 168;

of absentees, 298-9

Telegraph and telephone wires, fines, etc., for damages to, 145-9

Termonde, incendiarism at, 73, 85, 164, 167, 221

Terrorization, 64;

uses of, 83;

Blöm on theory of, 84;

the theory of the German Staff, 98-9;

in practice, 164

Tervueren, prisoners from, 93

Theft, _see_ Pillage

Time, aggravation in respect of, 337-8

_Tornisterwörterbuch_, 141-3, 334

Torture, inflicted on priest, 238;

recommended, 342;

another priest tortured, 343;

other cases, 343-6;

moral and physical, 346-60

Trade, stagnation of, 168-9

Traffic, suppression of, 168-9

Treaty of London, 39

Ultimatum, the, 30

Uncensored newspapers, 261-2

Unemployment, 168-70;

patriotic reasons for, 296

Untruthfulness, German, 217-82

Useful cruelties, 336

Villalobar, Marquis of, 173

Violation of Belgian neutrality, _see_ Neutrality, Belgium, Invasion

Violence, claimed as legitimate, 84, 263

Visé, massacre at, 64

_Vorwärts_, protests against German lies, 102-3, 184;

suspended, 203, 237;

protests against incitement to torture, 342

War, _see_ Ultimatum, Invasion, etc.

War Booty, 132, 135, 197, 249-50

War Tax, monstrous, 139-40

Waxweiler, M. Emile, 37, 49, 75, 189, 200

Weber, pretended murder of, 107-8

Wépion, atrocities at, 75

Werchter, atrocities at, 164

White flag, abuse of, 118

Whitlock, Mr. Brand, 10, 110-11, 173, 178

Wiart, M. Carton de, 61-2

Wilhelm II, his "well-intentioned proposal," 35;

his three successive proposals, 50-1;

his telegram to President Wilson, 54, 89;

tacitly admits innocence of civilians, 97, 180, 189, 191, 207;

text of his telegram, 208, 264, 335

Wilson, President, Kaiser's telegram to, 34, 208

Wounded, German, letters from, 104-5;

Houston Chamberlain on Belgian treatment of, 237;

_see_ Atrocities, pretended Belgian

Zobeltitz, refers to museum specimens

as proving Belgium's preparation for war, 207

_Printed in Great Britain by_

UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON

* * * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritical markings were corrected.0

Inconsistent hyphenation was made consistent.

P. 5: Contributions and Requsitions -> Contributions and Requisitions.

P. 34: German troops entered Belguim -> German troops entered Belgium.

P. 46: sacrified on the altar of Kultur -> sacrificed on the altar of

Kultur.

P. 60: pepetrates this trickery -> perpetrates this trickery.

P. 64: It would be impossible as this moment -> It would be impossible

at this moment.

P. 157: degree of obstinancy -> degree of obstinacy.

Latin letter on pp. 242-3:

Militess onim -> Milites enim.

dignitate nestrae -> dignitati nostrae.

di eadem matutina -> die eadem matutina.

aminarum pastor -> animarum pastor.

potius aminarum -> potius animarum.

decenatus evenerunt -> decanatus evenerunt.

P. 298: German Goverment -> German Government.

P. 354: proceded to break open -> proceeded to break open.

Index entry for Propaganda, bureaux in Germany changed from 274-53 to

247-53.