WHITE TERROR IN BERLIN.

Auckland Star, Issue 123, 24 May 1919, Page 19

WHITE TERROR IN BERLIN.

SHOT TWO BY TWO. PRISONERS FALL LIKE DOMINOES. The "Chicago Daily News" has received the following message from Mr. lien Hecht, Us special correspondent in Berlin: — A noisy, good-natured crowd waited outside the sunflecked walls of MoaMt Prison. Men, women, and children h.-wl lif-en waiting since morning- They stood about in ■well-dressed groups, talking and laughing. The day grew brighter, the sun shone more warmly, a hurdy-gurdy struck up a rollicking tune round the corner, and then the White Terror came. » It marched in perfect step to the rollicking tune of the hurdy-gurdy. It was clad in grey uniform. Its helmets shining greeu, and the barrels of the rifles shining grey. The noisy crowd became sjieut. The soldiers, marchiug towards the prison gAte, liegan firing tueir rifles into the air and watching carefully any movement in the crowd. Machine guns began to peep over the top of motor lorries crammed with soldiers. But the crowd made .to movement. Men, women, and children rose on their toes to peer over the head of the marching soldiers at "the creatures" who walked within the military line. Handcuffed two by two, these creatures moved with th e soldiers. They were men who had been captured In workins-class quarters of the city, where he Government was still fighting a mob army of Spartaelsts, workers, and marines. They were being led now to be executed under the law made by General Noske that all citizens found armed or suspected of fighting the Government should be summarily killed. PLEADING FOR MERCY. The White Terror approached the prison walls. A sound resembling men's voices came from inside the soldiers' ranks. For a moment the crowd was unat>le to mnke out the cause of the noise, then realised that ' the creatures" were pleading for mercy. I caught a glimpse of handcuffed men being led inside the prison gates. I saw a handful of disarmed, handcuffed men In faded soldiers' uniforms. Yesterday these had been soldiers of the Kaiser and 'ought shoulder to shoulder with the comrades now leading them to death Inside the walls of Moaliit. The bulk nipn. men poorly dressed and heavy featured. Few looked like criminals. 1 counted four women, and noticed that six of the men were lame and dragged along beside upright comrades chained to their wrists. There were perhaps 200 in all. perhaps more. They walked like two-legged cattle between ranks of armed soldiers, with motor lorries loaded with ma-ehilue guns, more soldiers clattering at the side. 220 VICTIMS. The regiment filed in through the open gate. For ten minutes silence lay In the smi-liathed street. The hurdy-gurdy had stopped, the crowd had thinned out. SudI dcnly. as I was turning to leave, I heard the sputter of machine guns. They were shooting behind the walls of Moubit. The shooting continued. Above the sound of the guns came the cries of men. I could not distinguish <he words. The cries changed to howling. The machine guns continued. I waited till the howling and sputtering were both over. It had grown dark in the street when through the gate of Moablt Prison came n lieutenant whom I recognised. "What happened?" I asked. White-faced, he turned to mc and whispered, "Two hundred and twenty of them, all men, all Germans. We stood them up. We made them pass in front of the machine guns. Did you hear them howling? They fell like dominoes, two by two." The lieutenant, shaking all over, hurried on. lie was a young man, fresh from the University of Rerlin. I waited till the regiment marched out of the gates of Moablt. this time no "creatures" wkhln their ranks. They started back towards Alexandcrplatz. At the police headquarters dozens more were waiting to play the little game of dominoes in front of the machine guns. "How long will the White Terror last?" I asked General Luttwitz. "Until we stamp out the murderers and disturbers of the peace," he answered.