“The Kreislandwirt reported to me that the dairy farm was
plundered by retreating units; the soldiers carried away with
them butter, cheese, _et cetera_.”
And the second excerpt:
“The co-operative store was plundered before the eyes of the
Ukrainians. Among other things the soldiers took with them all
the cash in the store.”
Then the third excerpt:
“On the 9th and 10th of this month the guards of the field
gendarmerie were posted at the co-operative store in
Korostyshev. These guards could not repel the onslaught of the
soldiers. . . .”
And the last excerpt:
“Pigs and fowls were slaughtered to the most irresponsible
degree and taken away by the soldiers. . . . The appearance of
the troops themselves can only be described as catastrophic.”
In these towns; Your Honors, is the conduct of the German soldiers
depicted by a German commissioner in his official report.
There is no doubt that this description is an objective one, especially
since it is supplemented by an official report of the German Ukrainian
company for supplying agriculture in the Commissariat General, addressed
to the Commissioner General of Zhitomir. This is how the report
describes the results of a raid by German soldiers on the company’s
premises, “. . . The office was in a horrifying and incredible
condition.” Second excerpt:
“. . . A 20-room private house at Hauptstrasse Number 57 had an
appalling appearance. Carpets and stair carpets were missing,
and all the upholstered armchairs, couches, beds with spring or
other mattresses, chairs, and wooden benches.”