ALLEGED GERMAN OUTRAGES

39
August 1914, and before the Germans had actually occupied Couillet,
I left my father's house before noon to try to buy some bread for the
family. I returned about 6.10 p.m. I happened to look at the clock
and am sure therefore of the hour. The Germans had by this time
occupied Couillet.
When I returned I found our doctor in the house. The doctor at
first tried to prevent me from entering the dining room. I, however,
insisted upon doing so, and found there the dead bodies of my father
and my mother and a little nephew of mine. My father's body had
eight bullet wounds in it, of which three were in the head and five in the
body. My mother's body had five bullet wounds in it, one in the
temple, one at the back of the skull, and three in the back. My said
nephew had been killed by a bayonet or sword—there were four wounds
in the head and one in the stomach.
There were 27 bottles lying in the room, all of which were empty,
except one, which had a little wine left in it. These bottles formerly
contained red wine.
The said doctor told me how my parents and my nephew had been
killed. He informed me that eight Germans, officers belonging to
the 45th Battery or regiment of artillery, had demanded bread of my
father, and when they did not obtain it they shot him with their
revolvers, although my father had told them that I had gone out to
buy bread and that they should have some when I returned. My
mother, who had begged the officers for mercy for my father, was
then ordered to get some wine. When she had done this she also was
shot by the officers and immediately afterwards my said nephew was
killed with bayonets or swords.
At about 7 p.m. on the same day some German soldiers arrived at
our house. They were all drunk. I had shut the doors of the house
but they smashed one of them in. They took me prisoner, and I was
taken to Charleroi and locked up there with about 50 other Belgian
civilians and we were sent off next morning in cattle cars to Aix-la-
Chapelle. We were kept prisoners at Aix-la-Chapelle for 12 days,
being guarded by the 22nd Prussian Regiment, At the end of the
twelfth day the said Prussian regiment was relieved by a Bavarian
regiment. On the 18th day of my imprisonment at Aix-la-Chapelle a
Bavarian soldier helped me to escape and gave me some bread. The
Bavarian soldiers expressed themselves as friendly and said they did
not wish to fight the Belgians. After my escape I came to Liege,
Namur, and Charleroi. I found that my father's house had been
burnt in the meantime and I eventually made my way to England where
I arrived on the 24th September 1914.
MARRIED WOMAN.
Before coming to England we lived at Charleroi. I saw the b 24
German troops enter the town last September. As the troops entered Charleroi.
the people fled from the streets to their houses. I saw an old Belgian
named P . . ., whom I knew by sight and who was 60 to 65 years old,
trying to get up the stairs leading to his rooms. The German soldiers
seized him by the legs, dragged him back into the street and shot him
dead with rifles. I cannot say how many shots, but several. I saw
this myself. It was in our street. Before this happened the soldiers
had ordered all the civilians to march in front of them with their hands
held up. The old man, however, tried to get into his house and was
shot as I have stated.
Shortly after this I saw a baker in the same street putting up his
shutters and closing his shop. The Germans ordered him to march,
hands up, with the others, but he refused and was shot and wounded
in the leg with a rifle.