Chapter II: Part 2

"A shell burst near the 11th Company, and wounded seven men, three very severely. At 5 o'clock we were ordered by the officer in command of the regiment to shoot all the male inhabitants of Nomény, because the population was foolishly attempting to stay the advance of the German troops by force of arms. We broke into the houses, and seized all who resisted, in order to execute them according to martial law. The houses which had not been already destroyed by the French artillery and our own were set on fire by us, so that nearly the whole town was reduced to ashes. It is a terrible sight when helpless women and children, utterly destitute, are herded together and driven into France." (From the diary of Private Fischer, Eighth Bavarian Regiment of Infantry, Thirty-third Reserve Division.)

Other German soldiers, too, we are glad to see, show their horror at the foul deeds.

"The inhabitants have fled in the village. It was horrible. There was clotted blood on all the beards, and what faces one saw, terrible to behold! The dead, sixty in all, were at once buried. Among them were many old women, some old men and a half-delivered woman, awful to see; three children had clasped each other, and died thus. The altar and the vaults of the church are shattered. They had a telephone there to communicate with the enemy. This morning, September 2, all the survivors were expelled, and I saw four little boys carrying a cradle, with a baby five or six months old in it, on two sticks. All this was terrible to see. Shot after shot! Thunderbolt after thunderbolt! Everything is given over to pillage; fowls and the rest all killed. I saw a mother, too, with her two children; one had a great wound on the head and had lost an eye." (From the diary of Lance-Corporal Paul Spielmann, of the Ersatz, First Brigade of Infantry of the Guard.)

* * * * *

* * * In the night the inhabitants of Liége became mutinous. Forty persons were shot and 15 houses demolished, 10 soldiers shot. The sights here make you cry.

"On the 23rd August everything quiet. The inhabitants have so far given in. Seventy students were shot, 200 kept prisoners. Inhabitants returning to Liége.

"Aug. 24th. At noon with 36 men on sentry duty. Sentry duty is A 1, no post allocated to me. Our occupation, apart from bathing, is eating and drinking. We live like God in Belgium." (From the diary of Joh. van der Schoot, reservist of the Tenth Company, Thirty-ninth Reserve Infantry Regiment, Seventh Reserve Army Corps.)

* * * * *

"August 17th. In the afternoon I had a look at the little château belonging to one of the King's secretaries (not at home). Our men had behaved like regular vandals. They had looted the cellar first, and then they had turned their attention to the bedrooms and thrown things about all over the place. They had even made fruitless efforts to smash the safe open. Everything was topsy-turvy--magnificent furniture, silk, and even china. That's what happens when the men are allowed to requisition for themselves. I am sure they must have taken away a heap of useless stuff simply for the pleasure of looting."

"Aug. 23rd. * * * Our men came back and said that at the point where the valley joined the Meuse we could not get on any further as the villagers were shooting at us from every house. We shot the whole lot--16 of them. They were drawn up in three ranks; the same shot did for three at a time.

"* * * The men had already shown their brutal instincts; * * *

"The sight of the bodies of all the inhabitants who had been shot was indescribable. Every house in the whole village was destroyed. We dragged the villagers one after another out of the most unlikely corners. The men were shot as well as the women and children who were in the convent, since shots had been fired from the convent windows; and we burnt it afterwards.

"The inhabitants might have escaped the penalty by handing over the guilty and paying 15,000 francs.

"The inhabitants fired on our men again. The division took drastic steps to stop the villages being burnt and the inhabitants being shot. The pretty little village of Gue d'Ossus, however, was apparently set on fire without cause. A cyclist fell off his machine and his rifle went off. He immediately said he had been shot at. All the inhabitants were burnt in the houses. I hope there will be no more such horrors.

"At Leppe apparently 200 men were shot. There must have been some innocent men among them. In future we shall have to hold an inquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting them.

"In the evening we marched to Maubert-Fontaine. Just as we were having our meal the alarm was sounded--everyone is very jumpy.

"September 3rd. Still at Rethel, on guard over prisoners. * * * The houses are charming inside. The middle class in France has magnificent furniture. We found stylish pieces everywhere and beautiful silk, but in what a state * * * Good God! * * * Every bit of furniture broken, mirrors smashed. The Vandals themselves could not have done more damage. This place is a disgrace to our army. The inhabitants who fled could not have expected, of course, that all their goods would have been left intact after so many troops had passed. But the column commanders are responsible for the greater part of the damage, as they could have prevented the looting and destruction. The damage amounts to millions of marks; even the safes have been attacked.

"In a solicitor's house, in which, as luck would have it, all was in excellent taste, including a collection of old lace and Eastern works of art, everything was smashed to bits.

"I could not resist taking a little memento myself here and there. * * * One house was particularly elegant, everything in the best taste. The hall was of light oak; I found a splendid raincoat under the staircase and a camera for Felix." (From the diary of an officer in the One Hundred Seventy-eighth Regiment, Twelfth Saxon Corps.)

But this horror apparently was not shared by the German commander in chief, as is evident from the following:

"ORDER.

"_To the People of Liége._

"The population of Andenne, after making a display of peaceful intentions towards our troops, attacked them in the most treacherous manner. With my authorisation, the General commanding these troops has reduced the town to ashes and has had 110 persons shot.

"I bring this fact to the knowledge of the people of Liége in order that they may know what fate to expect should they adopt a similar attitude.

"Liége, 22nd August, 1914.

"GENERAL VON BÜLOW."

The following "Order of the Day" shows how the town of Huy escaped a like fate. Drunken German soldiers were frightened and began to shoot men and burn houses. The commanding officer condemned this because it was not done by his order and because two German soldiers were wounded. It is evident that massacres and arson were permitted only when commanded by the officers.

"Last night a shooting affray took place. There is no evidence that the inhabitants of the towns had any arms in their houses, nor is there evidence that the people took part in the shooting; on the contrary, it seems that the soldiers were under the influence of alcohol, and began to shoot in a senseless fear of a hostile attack.

"The behavior of the soldiers during the night, with very few exceptions, makes a scandalous impression.

"It is highly deplorable when officers or noncommissioned officers set houses on fire without permission or order of the commanding, or, as the case may be, the senior officer, or when by their attitude they encourage the rank and file to burn and plunder.

"I require that everywhere strict instructions shall be given with regard to the treatment of the life and property of the civilian population.

"I prohibit all shooting in the towns without the order of an officer.

"The miserable behaviour of the men caused a noncommissioned officer and a private to be seriously wounded by German bullets.

"The Commanding Officer,
"MAJOR VON BASSEWITZ."

In his report of September 12, 1917, to the Secretary of State, Minister Whitlock has much to tell of the policy of frightfulness. The following passages refer to the subject of massacres:

[Sidenote: Germans force wives to witness husbands' executions.]

"Summary executions took place [at Dinant] without the least semblance of judgment. The names and number of the victims are not known, but they must be numerous. I have been unable to obtain precise details in this respect and the number of persons who have fled is unknown. Among the persons who were shot are: Mr. Defoin, mayor of Dinant; Sasserath, first alderman; Nimmer, aged 70; consul for the Argentine Republic, Victor Poncelet, who was executed in the presence of his wife and seven children; Wasseige and his two sons; Messrs. Gustave and Léon Nicaise, two very old men; Jules Monin and others were shot in the cellar of their brewery. Mr. Camille Pistte and son, aged 17; Phillippart, Piedfort, his wife and daughter; Miss Marsigny. During the execution of about forty inhabitants of Dinant, the Germans placed before the condemned their wives and children. It is thus that Madame Albin who had just given birth to a child, three days previously, was brought on a mattress by German soldiers to witness the execution of her husband; her cries and supplications were so pressing that her husband's life was spared."

"On the 26th of August German soldiers entered various streets [of Louvain] and ordered the inhabitants of the houses to proceed to the Place de la Station, where the bodies of nearly a dozen assassinated persons were lying. Women and children were separated from the men and forced to remain on the Place de la Station during the whole day. They had to witness the execution of many of their fellow-citizens, who were for the most part shot at the side of the square, near the house of Mr. Hemaide. The women and children, after having remained on the square for more than 15 hours, were allowed to depart. The Gardes Civiques of Louvain were also taken prisoners and sent to Germany, to the camp of Münster, where they were held for several weeks.

"On Thursday, August 27th, order was given to the inhabitants to leave Louvain because the city was to be bombarded. Old men, women, children, the sick, priests, nuns, were driven on the roads like cattle. More than 10,000 of the inhabitants were driven as far as Tirlemont, 18 kilometers from Louvain."

"One of the most sorely tried communities was that of the little village of Tamines, down in what is known as the Borinage, the coal fields near Charleroi. Tamines is a mining village in the Sambre; it is a collection of small cottages sheltering about 5,000 inhabitants, mostly all poor laborers.

[Sidenote: Massacres in Tamines.]

"The little graveyard in which the church stands bears its mute testimony to the horror of the event. There are hundreds of new-made graves, each with its small wooden cross and its bit of flowers; the crosses are so closely huddled that there is scarcely room to walk between them. The crosses are alike and all bear the same date, the sinister date of August 22d, 1914."

"But whether their hands were cut off or not, whether they were impaled on bayonets or not, children were shot down, by military order, in cold blood. In the awful crime of the Rock of Bayard, there overlooking the Meuse below Dinant, infants in their mother's arms were shot down without mercy. The deed, never surpassed in cruelty by any band of savages, is described by the Bishop of Namur himself:

[Sidenote: Slaughter of the innocents at Rocher Bayard.]

"One scene surpasses in horror all others; it is the fusillade of the Rocher Bayard near Dinant. It appears to have been ordered by Colonel Meister. This fusillade made many victims among the nearby parishes, especially those of des Rivages and Neffe. It caused the death of nearly 90 persons, without distinction of age or sex. Among the victims were babies in arms, boys and girls, fathers and mothers of families, even old men.

"It was there that 12 children under the age of 6 perished from the fire of the executioners, 6 of them as they lay in their mothers' arms:

"The child Fiévet, 3 weeks old.
"Maurice Bétemps, 11 months old.
"Nelly Pollet, 11 months old.
"Gilda Genon, 18 months old.
"Gilda Marchot, 2 years old.
"Clara Struvay, 2 years and 6 months.

"The pile of bodies comprised also many children from 6 to 14 years. Eight large families have entirely disappeared. Four have but one survivor. Those men that escaped death--and many of whom were riddled with bullets--were obliged to bury in a summary and hasty fashion their fathers, mothers, brothers, or sisters; then after having been relieved of their money and being placed in chains they were sent to Cassel [Prussia]."

Mr. Hugh Gibson, the secretary of our legation in Belgium, visited Louvain during its systematic destruction by the Germans. In _A Journal from our Legation in Belgium_, New York, 1917, pages 164-165, he relates what the German officers told him:

"It was a story of clearing out civilians from a large part of the town, a systematic routing out of men from cellars and garrets, wholesale shootings, the generous use of machine guns, and the free application of the torch--the whole story enough to make one see red. And for our guidance it was impressed on us that this would make people respect Germany and think twice about resisting her."

German pastors and professors far from the excitement of the firing have defended this policy of frightfulness, e.g.:

[Sidenote: Pastor defends frightfulness.]

"We are not only compelled to accept the war that is forced upon us * * * but are even compelled to carry on this war with a cruelty, a ruthlessness, an employment of every imaginable device, unknown in any previous war." Pastor D. Baumgarten, in _Deutsche Reden in schwerer Zeit_, "German Speeches in Difficult Days."

* * * * *

"The fate that Belgium has called down upon herself is hard for the individual, but not too hard for this political structure (_Staatsgebilde_), for the destinies of the immortal great nations stand so high that they cannot but have the right, in case of need, to stride over existences that cannot defend themselves, but live, as parasites, upon the rivalries of the great." Prof. H. Oncken, in _Süddeutsche Monatsheft_, "South German Monthly."

Would they have dared to defend such a policy if they could have seen the announcement sent out by the parish of St. Hadelin with its silent eloquence?

This is an invitation to a service in memory of 60 men and women from one parish, of whom all but two were killed by the Germans in the massacre of August 5 and 6, 1914. The closing sentences are:

PRAY TO GOD FOR THE REPOSE OF THEIR SOULS.

Gentle Heart of Mary, be my refuge.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
St. Joseph, patron of Belgium, pray for us.
St. Hadelin, patron of the parish, pray for us.
Sainte Barbe, patroness of kindly death, pray for us.

After reading such ghastly accounts, many of them written by German eyewitnesses, and knowing that similar tales were published widely in the German newspapers, it is difficult to read with patience such words as these:

"The German Army (in which I of course include the Navy) is to-day the greatest institute for moral education in the world."

"The German soldiers alone are thoroughly disciplined, and have never so much as hurt a hair of a single innocent human being." Houston Stewart Chamberlain, in _Kriegsaufsätze_, "War Essays", 1914.

"We see everywhere how our soldiers respect the sacred defencelessness of woman and child." Prof. G. Roethe, in _Deutsche Reden in Schwerer Zeit_, "German Speeches in Difficult Days."

II. HOSTAGES AND SCREENS.

The massacres described above were a part of the German system of frightfulness. Another feature of this system was the use of civilians as hostages and for screens.

In discussing the use of hostages the _German War Book_ (_Kriegsbrauch im Landkriege_) says:

[Sidenote: Views of the German General Staff.]

"By hostages are understood those persons who, as security or bail for the fulfillment of treaties, promises, or other claims, are taken or detained by the opposing State or its army. Their provision has been less usual in recent wars, as a result of which some professors of the law of nations have wrongly decided that the taking of hostages has disappeared from the practice of civilized nations. * * *

"A new application of 'hostage right' was practiced by the German Staff in the war of 1870, when it compelled leading citizens from French towns and villages to accompany trains and locomotives in order to protect the railway communications which were threatened by the people. Since the lives of peaceable inhabitants were, without any fault on their part, thereby exposed to grave danger, every writer outside Germany has stigmatised this measure as contrary to the law of nations and as unjustified towards the inhabitants of the country."

Although their deeds in the Franco-Prussian war had been universally condemned, as they themselves admitted, the leaders did not intend to abandon such a useful measure of frightfulness. In _L'Interprète Militaire_ the forms were provided for such acts in the next war. Both in Belgium and in France the Germans have constantly used hostages. The evidence is contained in the proclamations of the governing authorities and also in the diaries of the German soldiers. A few examples from these will illustrate the system which was employed.

A specimen of the arbitrariness and cruelty is furnished by the proclamation of Maj. Dieckmann, from which the following sections are presented:

FROM A PROCLAMATION BY MAJ. DIECKMANN, SEPTEMBER, 1914.

"4. After 9 a.m. on the 7th September, I will permit the houses in Beyne-Heusay, Grivegnée, and Bois-de-Breux to be inhabited by the persons who lived in them formerly, as long as these persons are not forbidden to frequent these localities by official prohibition.

[Sidenote: Maj. Dieckmann seizes hostages.]

"5. In order to be sure that the above-mentioned permit will not be abused, the Burgomasters of Beyne-Heusay and of Grivegnée must immediately prepare lists of prominent persons who will be held as hostages for 24 hours each at Fort Fléron. September 6th, 1914, for the first time [the period of detention shall be] from 6 p.m. until September 7th at midday.

"The life of these hostages depends on the population of the above-mentioned Communes remaining quiet under all circumstances.

"During the night it is severely forbidden to show any luminous signals. Bicycles are permitted only between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. (German time).

"6. From the list which is submitted to me I shall designate prominent persons who shall be hostages from noon of one day until the following midday. If the substitute is not there in due time, the hostage must remain another 24 hours at the fort. After these 24 hours the hostage will incur the penalty of death, if the substitute fails to appear.

"7. Priests, burgomasters, and the other members of the Council are to be taken first as hostages.

"8. I insist that all civilians who move about in my district * * * show their respect to the German officers by taking off their hats, or lifting their hands to their heads in military salute. In case of doubt, every German soldier must be saluted. Anyone who does not do this must expect the German military to make themselves respected by every means."

* * * * *

A PROCLAMATION BY VON BÜLOW. IN NAMUR, AUGUST, 1914.

"1. The Belgian and French soldiers must be delivered as prisoners of war before 4 o'clock in front of the prison. Citizens who do not obey will be condemned to hard labor for life in Germany.

"The rigorous inspection of houses will commence at 4 o'clock. Every soldier found will be immediately shot.

"2. Arms, powder, and dynamite must be given up at 4 o'clock. Penalty, being shot.

"Citizens who know of a store of the above must inform the burgomaster, under penalty of hard labor for life.

[Sidenote: Von Bülow takes hostages in every street.]

"3. Every street will be occupied by a German guard, who will take ten hostages from each street, whom they will keep under surveillance. If there is any rising in the street, the ten hostages will be shot.

"4. Doors may not be locked, and at night after 8 o'clock there must be lights at three windows in every house.

"5. It is forbidden to be in the street after 8 o'clock. The inhabitants of Namur must understand that there is no greater and more horrible crime than to compromise the existence of the town and the life of its citizens by risings against the German Army.

"The Commander of the Town,
"VON BÜLOW.

"NAMUR, _25th August, 1914_. (Printed by Chantraine)."

* * * * *

PROCLAMATION POSTED AT BRUSSELS AND ELSEWHERE, OCTOBER 5, 1914.

"September 25th, in the evening, the railroad track and telegraph were destroyed on the line Lovenjoul-Vertryck. * * *

[Sidenote: Hostages are made responsible for railroads.]

"Henceforth the villages situated nearest the spot where such events take place--it is of no consequence whether they are guilty or not--will be punished without mercy. For this purpose hostages have been taken from all places in the vicinity of railways in danger of similar attacks; and at the first attempt to destroy any railway, telegraph, or telephone line they will be immediately shot.

"Furthermore, all troops entrusted with the protection of railways have received orders to shoot anyone approaching railways or telegraph or telephone lines in a suspicious manner.

"The Governor General of Belgium,

"BARON VON DER GOLTZ,
"_Field-Marshal_."

* * * * *

PROCLAMATION TO THE POPULATION OF RHEIMS.

"In order to insure sufficiently the safety of our troops and the tranquility of the population of Rheims, the persons mentioned have been seized as hostages by the Commander of the German Army. These hostages will be shot if there is the least disorder. On the other hand, if the town remains perfectly calm and quiet these hostages and inhabitants will be placed under the protection of the German Army.

"THE GENERAL COMMANDING.

"RHEIMS, _12th September, 1914_."

[Sidenote: Over 80 hostages in Rheims.]

Beneath this proclamation there were posted the names of 81 hostages and a statement that others had also been seized as hostages. The lives of all these men depended in reality upon the interpretation which the German military authorities might give to the elastic phrase, "the least disorder," in the proclamation.

Hugh Gibson, in _A Journal from our Legation in Belgium_, page 184, explains what was likely to happen:

"Another thing is, that on entering a town, they hold the burgomaster, the procureur du roi, and other authorities as hostages to insure good behavior by the population. Of course, the hoodlum class would like nothing better than to see their natural enemies, the defenders of law and order, ignominiously shot, and they do not restrain themselves a bit on account of the hostages."

STATEMENT FROM DIARY OF BOMBARDIER WETZEL.

"Aug. 8th. First fight and set fire to several villages.

"Aug. 9th. Returned to old quarters; there we searched all the houses and shot the mayor and shot one man down from the chimney pot, and then we again set fire to the village.

"On the 18th August Letalle (?) captured 10 men with three priests because they have shot down from the church tower. They were brought to the village of Ste. Marie.

[Sidenote: Hostages at Willekamm.]

"Oct. 5th. We were in quarters in the evening at Willekamm. Lieut. Radfels was quartered in the mayor's house and there had two prisoners (tied together) on a short whip, and in case anything happened they were to be killed.

"Oct. 11th. We had no fight, but we caught about 20 men and shot them." (From the diary of Bombardier Wetzel, Second Mounted Battery, First Kurhessian Field Artillery, Regiment No. 11.)

The Germans also found it convenient on many occasions to secure civilians, both men and women, who could be forced to march or stand in front of the troops, so that the countrymen of the civilians would be compelled first to kill their own people if they resisted the Germans. This usage is illustrated in the following:

LETTER OF LIEUT. EBERLEIN.

"OCTOBER 7, 1914.

[Sidenote: Civilians used as screens.]

"But we arrested three other civilians, and then I had a brilliant idea. We gave them chairs, and we then ordered them to go and sit out in the middle of the street. On their part, pitiful entreaties; on ours, a few blows from the butt end of the rifle. Little by little one becomes terribly callous at this business. At last they were all seated outside in the street. I do not know what anguished prayers they may have said but I noticed that their hands were convulsively clasped the whole time. I pitied these fellows, but the method was immediately effective.

"The flank fire from the houses quickly diminished, so that we were able to occupy the opposite house and thus to dominate the principal street. Every living being who showed himself in the street was shot. The artillery on its side had done good work all this time, and when, toward 7 o'clock in the evening, the brigade advanced to the assault to relieve us I was in a position to report that Saint Dié had been cleared of the enemy.

"Later on I learned that the regiment of reserve which entered Saint Dié further to the north had tried the same experiment. The four civilians whom they had compelled in the same way to sit out in the street were killed by French bullets. I myself saw them lying in the middle of the street near the hospital."

"A. EBERLEIN,
"_First-Lieutenant_."

Letter published on the 7th October, 1914, in the "Vorabendblatt" of the _Münchner Neueste Nachrichten_.

Minister Whitlock, in his report of September 12, 1917, to the Secretary of State, gives an instance of this German practice of seeking protection.

[Sidenote: "No respect to the cassock."]

"The Germans attacked Hougaerde on the 18th August; the Belgian troops were holding the Gette Bridge in the village. The Germans forced the parish priest of Autgaerden to walk in front of them as a shield. As they neared the barricade the Belgian soldiers fired and the priest was killed. After the retreat of the Belgians the Germans shot 4 men, burned 50 houses, and looted 100."

Hugh Gibson, in _A Journal from our Legation in Belgium_, page 155, gives another incident:

"Two old priests have staggered into the ---- legation more dead than alive after having been compelled to walk ahead of the German troops for miles as a sort of protecting screen. One of them is ill, and it is said that he may die as a result of what he has gone through."

STATEMENTS OF CARDINAL MERCIER AND HIS FELLOW BISHOPS.

"At the time of the invasion Belgian civilians, in twenty places, were made to take part in operations of war against their own country. At Termonde, Lebbeke, Dinant, and elsewhere in many places, peaceable citizens, women, and children were forced to march in front of German regiments or to make a screen before them.

[Sidenote: Cardinal Mercier's judgment on the system of hostages.]

"The system of hostages was carried out with a fierce cruelty. The proclamation of August 4th, quoted above, declared, without circumlocution: 'Hostages will be freely taken.'

"An official proclamation, posted at Liége, in the early days of August, ran thus: 'Every aggression committed against the German troops by any persons other than soldiers in uniform not only exposes the guilty person to be immediately shot, but will also entail the severest reprisals against all the inhabitants, and especially against those natives of Liége who have been detained as hostages in the citadel of Liége by the commandant of the German troops.'

"These hostages are Monsignor Rutten, Bishop of Liége; M. Kleyer, burgomaster of Liége; the senators, representatives, and the permanent deputy and sheriff of Liége."

The above quotation is taken from _An Appeal to Truth_, addressed Nov. 24, 1915, by Cardinal Mercier and the other bishops of Belgium to the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

[Sidenote: Will Irwin on brutality of German drive through Belgium.]

"Some ten or a dozen American correspondents, of whom I was one, witnessed the First German drive through Belgium. Most of us were so appalled and horrified by what we saw as to become anti-German for life." Will Irwin, in _Saturday Evening Post_, Oct. 6, 1917, p. 41.

III. FINES.

The contracting nations, including Germany, who signed the Conventions of the Second Peace Conference at The Hague, 1907, pledged themselves to the following:

[Sidenote: Germany's promises in Hague conventions.]

"Article L. No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, shall be inflicted upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they can not be regarded as jointly and severally responsible."

"Article LII. Requisitions in kind and services shall not be demanded from municipalities or inhabitants except for the deeds of the army of occupation. They shall be in proportion to the resources of the country, and of such a nature as not to involve the inhabitants in the obligation of taking part in military operations against their own country."

[Sidenote: German violations of Hague conventions.]

The German authorities have violated these articles from the very beginning. As soon as they invaded Belgium, heavy fines were laid upon individual communities as reprisals for some act against the German Army or its regulations which was committed within their boundaries. In _An Appeal to Truth_ Cardinal Mercier cites the following cases:

"Malines, a working-class town, without resources, has had a fine of 20,000 marks inflicted on it because the burgomaster did not inform the military authority of a journey which the Cardinal, deprived of the use of his motor car, had been obliged to make on foot. In fact, upon the flimsiest pretexts heavy fines are inflicted on communes. The commune of Puers was subjected to a fine of 3,000 marks because a telegraph wire was broken, although the inquiry showed that it had given way through wear."

In addition to such arbitrary, sporadic exactions, in December, 1914, the Germans demanded 40,000,000 francs ($8,000,000) a month to be paid by the Belgian Provinces jointly.

Concerning this enormous imposition Cardinal Mercier says, in the _Appeal to Truth_:

"The essential condition of the legality of a contribution of this kind, according to the Hague Convention, is that it should bear _relation to the resources of the country_, article 52.

[Sidenote: Cardinal Mercier's comments.]

"Now, in December, 1914, Belgium was devastated. Contributions of war imposed on the towns and innumerable requisitions in kind had exhausted her. The greater part of the factories were idle, and in those, which were still at work, raw materials were, contrary to all law, being freely commandeered.

"It was on this impoverished Belgium, living on foreign charity, that a contribution of nearly 500,000,000 francs was imposed."

[Sidenote: The crushing fine is increased.]

The German authorities were not satisfied with this impoverishing levy. In November, 1915, one month before the expiration of the twelve-month period fixed for the levy, they decreed that this contribution of 40,000,000 francs a month should be paid for an indefinite period. In November, 1916, they increased the levy to 50,000,000 francs a month, in May, 1917, to 60,000,000 francs a month. In addition, the German authorities have continued to levy fines upon towns and villages for acts committed in their neighborhood, although they had no proof that these acts had been committed by any inhabitant of the city or village thus fined. (Compare taking of hostages, noted above.)

The German military rulers have also made the families responsible for acts committed by or charged against members as is shown in the following examples, which are quoted from the _Appeal to Truth_, cited above.

[Sidenote: Family made responsible.]

"The Belgian Government has sent orders to rejoin the army to the militiamen of several classes. * * * All those who receive these orders are strictly forbidden to act upon them. * * * _In case of disobedience the family of the militiaman will be held equally responsible._"

"A warning of the Governor General, dated January 26th, 1915, renders the _members of the family_ responsible if a Belgian fit for military service, between the ages of 16 and 40, goes to Holland."

The Commander in Chief of the German army in Belgium posted a proclamation declaring:

[Sidenote: Villages made responsible.]

"The villages where acts of hostility shall be committed by the inhabitants against our troops _will be burned_.

"For all destruction of roads, railways, bridges, etc., _the villages in the neighborhood_ of the destruction _will be held responsible_.

"The punishments announced above will be carried out severely and without mercy. _The whole community will be held responsible._ Hostages will be taken in large numbers. The heaviest war taxes will be levied."

At the end of the _Appeal to Truth_ Cardinal Mercier says:

"But we can not say all here, nor quote all.

[Sidenote: Cardinal Mercier has proofs.]

"If, however, our readers wish for the proof of the accusations * * * we shall be glad to furnish them. There is not in our letter, nor in the four annexes [to the _Appeal to Truth_], one allegation of which we have not the proofs in our records."

A striking illustration of the German methods is contained in the archives of the State Department, because the Prince of Monaco appealed to President Wilson against the injustice of a fine imposed upon a small and impoverished village. The following documents from the State Department archives tell the story. They need no comments.

"PARIS, _Oct. 27, 1914_.

"SECRETARY OF STATE,
"_Washington_.

"Prince of Monaco called this morning and asked that the following case be submitted to the President:

[Sidenote: The case of Sissonne.]

"Prince states that General von Bülow for weeks has been inhabiting Prince's ancestral château near Rheims, historical monument, containing works of art and family heirlooms; that von Bülow has imposed fine of five hundred thousand francs on village of Sissonne some miles distant from château, because broken glass found on road near village. Sissonne being unable alone to pay has raised with a number of other neighboring villages one hundred twenty-five thousand francs but von Bülow has sent two messengers from Sissonne to Prince that unless latter pays fine for Sissonne the château and adjoining village, as well as Sissonne, will be destroyed on November first. Prince has answered refusing to pay sum now but willing to give his word to German Emperor that amount would be paid after removal of danger of fresh war incidents. Prince now fearful lest returning messengers, as well as male employees on his estate, be shot because of refusal to pay.

"I have arranged meeting this afternoon between Spanish Ambassador and Prince, to whom I have suggested that matter be presented to German Government through Spanish Ambassador at Berlin inasmuch as Prince's threatened property is in France.

"HERRICK."

"ARMY HEADQUARTERS,
"_Warmériville, Sept. 19th, 1914_.

"TO the MAYOR OF THE COMMUNE OF SISSONNE,
"_Sissonne_.

[Sidenote: Von Bülow's levy on Sissonne.]

"It has been conclusively proven that the road between Sissonne and the railway station of Montaigu was, on September 18th, strewn with broken glass along a distance of one kilometre and at intervals of 50 metres, for the purpose, no doubt, of impeding automobile traffic.

"I hold the commune of Sissonne responsible for this act of hostility on the part of its inhabitants and I punish the said commune by levying upon it a contribution of 500,000 francs (five hundred thousand francs).

"This sum must be entirely paid into the Treasury of the Etape by October 15th.

"The Inspection of the Etape now at Montcornet has been directed to enforce execution of this order.

"The General Commander in Chief of the Army.

"VON BÜLOW."

LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE GERMAN EMPEROR.

"MONACO, _Oct. 22nd, 1914_.

"SIRE:

"I forward to Your Majesty several documents relating to a very grave and urgent matter.

[Sidenote: Prince of Monaco writes Emperor William.]

"The General von Bülow has caused to be occupied since one month and a half my residence of Marchais, situated at five kilometres from the village of Sissonne. The general has levied upon the fifteen hundred inhabitants of this poor ruined village a war contribution of five hundred thousand francs, of which they are unable to pay more than one-quarter. Moreover, he has sent to me two emissaries bearing a document in which he threatens to destroy my property and the village of Marchais, over and above that of Sissonne, in the event of my not disbursing myself the sum in question before the end of the month of October.

"That is how a Prussian general treats a reigning Prince who for 45 years has been a friend to Germany, and who in all the countries of the world is surrounded with respect and gratitude for his work.

"In reply to the summons of the General von Bülow I have given my word of honor to complete the above contribution in order to avert a horrible action accomplished in cold blood, but adding that as a sovereign Prince I submit this matter to the judgment of the Emperor by declaring that the said sum shall be paid when the Château de Marchais will be free from the danger of intentional destruction.

"I am, with great respect, Your Majesty's devoted servant and cousin,

"ALBERT, _Prince of Monaco_."

LETTER ADDRESSED TO GEN. VON BÜLOW.

"MONACO, _Oct. 22nd, 1914_.

"GENERAL:

"To avert from the Commune of Sissonne and that of Marchais the rigorous treatment with which you have threatened them, I give my word of honor to remit to His Majesty the Emperor William, should the war come to an end without intentional damage being caused to my residence or to these two communes, the necessary sum to complete the amount of five hundred thousand francs imposed by you upon Sissonne.

"As a Sovereign Prince, I wish to deal in this matter with the Sovereign who, during fifteen years, called me his friend and has decorated me with the Order of the Knight of the Black Eagle.

[Sidenote: Prince comments on German treatment of monuments.]

"My conscience and my dignity place me above fear, as also my personal will shall elevate me above regret; but should you destroy the Château de Marchais which is one of the centers of universal science and charity, should you reserve to this archeological and historical gem the treatment you have given to the Cathedral of Rheims--when no reprehensible action has been committed there--the whole world will judge between you and myself.

"I tender to Your Excellency the expression of my high regard.

"ALBERT, _Sovereign Prince of Monaco_."

IV. DEPORTATIONS AND FORCED LABOR.

[Sidenote: Advance in humanity--until August, 1914.]

Until the present war the whole civilized world has boasted of its advance in humanity. This advance had been marked in many fields, and in none had greater progress been made than in the protection to be given to the private citizen in an invaded country. As far back as 1863, in the _Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field_ the United States declared:

[Sidenote: United States treatment of civilians, 1863.]

"22. Nevertheless, as civilization has advanced during the last centuries, so has likewise steadily advanced, especially in war on land, the distinction between the private individual belonging to a hostile country and the hostile country itself, with its men in arms. The principle has been more and more acknowledged that the unarmed citizen is to be spared in person, property, and honor as much as the exigencies of war will admit.

"23. Private citizens are no longer murdered, enslaved, or carried off to distant parts, and the inoffensive individual is as little disturbed in his private relations as the commander of the hostile troops can afford to grant in the overruling demands of a vigorous war.

"24. The almost universal rule in remote times was, and continues to be with barbarous armies, that the private individual of the hostile country is destined to suffer every privation of liberty and protection, and every disruption of family ties. Protection was, and still is with uncivilized people, the exception."

[Sidenote: German Government's reversion to barbarism.]

These declarations were made in the midst of our Civil War--one of the world's fiercest conflicts. A half-century later, after more than 50 years of progress, the German Government has gone back to the methods used by "barbarous armies" and "uncivilized people." It has deliberately adopted the policy of deporting men and women, boys and girls, and of forcing them to work for their captors; it has even compelled them to make arms and munitions for use against their allies and their own flesh and blood.

No other act of the German Government has aroused such horror and detestation throughout the civilized world. Thousands of helpless men and women, boys and girls, have been enslaved. Families have been broken up. Girls have been carried off to work--or worse--in a strange land, and their relatives have not known where they have been taken, or what their fate has been.

This system of forced labor and deportation embraced the whole of Belgium, Poland, and the occupied lands of France.

The plan for setting forth the essential facts of the deportations and forced labor is as follows: the documents, that is to say, a small fraction of those which could be cited, will be allowed to tell the story, and only such comments will be added as are needed to enable the reader easily to grasp the connection of events.

BELGIUM.

"The deportations * * * were the most vivid, shocking, convincing, single happening in all our enforced observation and experience of German disregard of human suffering and human rights in Belgium." Vernon Kellogg, in _Atlantic Monthly_, October, 1917.

A summary of the whole situation, down to January, 1917, can be obtained by reading continuously the report of Minister Whitlock, taken from the files of the State Department, which is given in italics on pages 48-49, 53, 54-55, 67-68, 74-75, 78. The insertion of his report at appropriate points has made it possible to avoid all but a minimum of repetition.

"_Legation of the United States of America_,
"_Brussels, January 16th, 1917_.

"_The Honorable the Secretary of State_,
"_Washington_.

[Sidenote: Horrifying behavior of the Germans in Belgium.]

"_Sir: I have had it in mind, and I might say, on my conscience, since the Germans began to deport Belgian workmen early in November, to prepare for the Department a detailed report on this latest instance of brutality, but there have been so many obstacles in the way of obtaining evidence on which a calm and judicious opinion could be based, and one is so overwhelmed with the horror of the thing itself, that it has been, and even now is, difficult to write calmly and justly about it. I have had to content myself with the fragmentary despatches I have from time to time sent to the Department and with doing what I could, little as that can be, to alleviate the distress that this gratuitous cruelty has caused the population of this unhappy land._

[Sidenote: Belgian Government wished to support unemployed Belgians.]

"_In order to understand fully the situation it is necessary to go back to the autumn of 1914. At the time we were organizing the relief work, the Comité National--the Belgian relief organization that collaborates with the Commission for Relief in Belgium--proposed an arrangement by which the Belgian Government should pay to its own employees left in Belgium, and other unemployed men besides, the wages they had been accustomed to receive. The Belgians wished to do this both for humanitarian and patriotic purposes; they wished to provide the unemployed with the means of livelihood, and, at the same time, to prevent their working for the Germans. I refused to be connected in any way with this plan, and told the Belgian committee that it had many possibilities of danger; that not only would it place a premium on idleness, but that it would ultimately exasperate the Germans. However, the policy was adopted, and has been continued in practice, and on the rolls of the Comité National have been borne the names of hundreds of thousands--some 700,000, I believe--of idle men receiving this dole, distributed through the communes._

[Sidenote: German cupidity excited.]

"_The presence of these unemployed, however, was a constant temptation to German cupidity. Many times they sought to obtain the lists of the chômeurs, but were always foiled by the claim that under the guarantees covering the relief work, the records of the Comité National and its various suborganizations were immune. Rather than risk any interruption of the ravitaillement, for which, while loath to own any obligation to America, the Germans have always been grateful, since it has had the effect of keeping the population calm, the authorities never pressed the point, other than with the burgomasters of the communes. Finally, however, the military party, always brutal, and with an astounding ignorance of public opinion and of moral sentiment, determined to put these idle men to work._

"_General von Bissing and the civil portion of his entourage had always been and even now are opposed to this policy and I think have sincerely done what they could, first, to prevent its adoption, and secondly, to lighten the rigors of its application._"

(Continued on page 53.)

In the early days of the German advance into Belgium, the people had learned to fear the worst. This was particularly true in Antwerp. In order to alleviate their fears and to obtain guarantees which might hasten the restoration of settled conditions, Cardinal Mercier secured from the German governor of Antwerp promises, and in a circular letter dated October 16th, 1914, asked the clergy of the Province of Antwerp to communicate them to the people:

[Sidenote: Solemn promises of Germans not to exploit Belgians.]

"The governor of Antwerp, Baron von Hoiningen, General von Huene, has authorized me to inform you in his name and to communicate by your obliging intermediary to our populations the three following declarations:

"(1) The young men need not fear being taken to Germany, either to be enrolled into the army or to be employed at forced labors.

"(2) If individual infractions of police regulations are committed, the authorities will institute a search for the responsible authors and will punish them, without placing the responsibility on the entire population.

"(3) The German and Belgian authorities will neglect nothing to see that food is assured to the population."

These promises were not kept, as Cardinal Mercier and his colleagues show by abundant evidence in the _Appeal to Truth_.

"On March 23rd, at the arsenal at Luttre the German authority posted a notice demanding return to work. On April 21st, 200 workmen were called for. On April 27th soldiers went to fetch the workmen from their homes and take them to the arsenal. In the absence of a workman, a member of the family was arrested.

[Sidenote: Violation of German promises.]

"However, the men maintained their refusal to work, 'because they were unwilling to co-operate in acts of war against their country.'

"On April 30th, the requisitioned workmen were not released, but shut up in the railway carriages.

"On May 4th, 24 workmen detained in prison at Nivelles were tried at Mons by a court-martial, 'on the charge of being members of a secret society, having for its aim to thwart the carrying out of German military measures.' They were condemned to imprisonment.

[Sidenote: Early deportations.]

"On May 8th, 1915, 48 workmen were shut up in a freight car and taken to Germany.

"On May 14th, 45 men were deported to Germany.

"On May 18th a fresh proclamation announced that the prisoners would receive only dry bread and water, and hot food only every four days. On May 22nd three cars with 104 workmen were sent towards Charleroi."

"A similar course was adopted at _Malines_, where, by various methods of intimidation, the German authorities attempted to force the workers at the arsenal to work on material for the railways, as if it were not plain that this material would become war material sooner or later.

"On May 30th, 1915, the Governor General announced that he 'would be obliged to punish the town of Malines and its suburbs by stopping all commercial traffic if by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2nd, 500 workmen had not presented themselves for work at the arsenal.'

"On Wednesday, June 2nd, not a single man appeared. Accordingly, a complete stoppage took place of every vehicle within a radius of several kilometres of the town."

"Several workmen were taken by force and kept two or three days at the arsenal."

[Sidenote: Belgians asked to make barbed wire.]

"The commune of _Sweveghem_ (Western Flanders) was punished in June, 1915, because the 350 workmen at the private factory of M. Bekaert refused to make barbed wire for the German Army.

"The following notice was placarded at _Menin_ in July-August, 1915: 'By order: From to-day the town will no longer afford aid of any description--including assistance to their families, wives, and children--to any operatives except those who work _regularly_ at _military work_, and other tasks assigned to them. All other operatives and their families can henceforward not be helped in any fashion.'

[Sidenote: Punished for refusal to work for German Army.]

"Similar measures were taken in October, 1915, at Harlebekelez-Courtrai, Bisseghem, Lokeren and Mons. From Harlebeke 29 inhabitants were transported to Germany. At Mons, in M. Lenoir's factory, the directors, foremen, and 81 workmen were imprisoned for having refused to work in the service of the German Army. M. Lenoir was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the five directors to a year each, 6 foremen to 6 months, and the 81 workmen to eight weeks.

[Sidenote: Interference with Red Cross.]

"The General Government had recourse also to _indirect_ methods of compulsion. It seized the Belgian Red Cross, confiscated its property, and changed its purpose arbitrarily. It attempted to make itself master of the public charities and to control the National Aid and Food Committee.

[Sidenote: Trickiness of German rulers of Belgium.]

"If we were to cite _in extenso_ the decree of the Governor General of August 4th, 1915, _concerning measures intended to assure the carrying out of works of public usefulness_, and that of August 15th, 1915, '_concerning the unemployed, who, through idleness, refrain from work_,' it would be seen by what tortuous means the occupying Power attempts to attack at once the masters and the men."

October 12th, 1915, the German authorities took a long step in the development of their policy of forcing the Belgians to aid them in prosecuting the war. The decree of that date reveals the matter and openly discloses a contempt for international law.

DECREE OF OCTOBER 12, 1915.

"Article 1. Whoever, without reason, refuses to undertake or to continue work suitable to his occupation, and in the execution of which the military administration is interested, such work being ordered by one or more of the military commanders, will be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year. He may also be transported to Germany.

[Sidenote: Germans flout international law and order Belgians to work for them.]

"Invoking Belgian laws or even international conventions to the contrary, can, in no case, justify the refusal to work.

"On the subject of the lawfulness of the work exacted, the military commandant has the sole right of forming a decision.

"Article 2. Any person who by force, threats, persuasion, or other means attempts to influence another to refuse work as pointed out in Article 1, is liable to the punishment of imprisonment not exceeding five years.

"Article 3. Whoever knowingly by means of aid given or in any other way abets a punishable refusal to work, will be liable to a maximum fine of 10,000 marks, and in addition may be condemned to a year's imprisonment.

"If communes or associations have rendered themselves guilty of such offence the heads of the communes will be punished.

"Article 4. In addition to the penalties stated in Articles 1 and 3, the German authorities may, in case of need, impose on communes, where, without reason, work has been refused, a fine or other coercive police measures.

"This present decree comes into force immediately.

"Der Etappeinspekteur,
"VON UNGER,
"Generalleutnant.

"GHENT, _October 12th, 1915_."

Cardinal Mercier's brief comment is as follows: "The injustice and arbitrariness of this decree exceed all that could be imagined. Forced labor, collective penalties and arbitrary punishments, all are there. It is slavery, neither more nor less."

[Sidenote: October 3, 1916, German Government inaugurates wholesale deportations.]