GERMAN BARBARITES.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15222, 9 March 1915, Page 8

GERMAN BARBARITES.

FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORT.

"The French Commission appointed to investigate acts committed by tie enemy in violation of international law in those portions of French territory occupied by him and emoo retaken, reports that the ample crop of information it hue gathered only comprises established facts, positively crovinff ft of cr^ 3 . n *i abuse, while statements N^,*^^,' 9 * 001 havo been Vanned. 3 of V* lacJdcnte m<mtion«d can bo dier puted each of them being based not on the .PNsnoaal oboervationa of the Commission, but also upon photo-raphic documents ad a quantity of takeiTn -"^ of thcoath ' , (From the "Daily Chronicle" Special Correspondent, Martin H. DonoEoe.) TJ ln «nm ■, t PAR JS> Ja nuary 7. „ ti- i A ? ffic,al Journal." will to-morrow g£ he re P°ft of the French Official Oommittee which has investigated the atroc,t.es committed by German invaders in French territory. Tlie reoort kM mi 42 pages of the "OffidJl'jSS

lie report that .the members of the committee were impressed by tho admirable resignation with which the population of the devastated distnets boro. unprecedented calamities. In Lorraine they did not hear a single request or a single thS they saw fearful misery, surpassing in extent and horror every thins the imaKirmtion can conceive. On every hTnd they saw rums-whole villages desW-P-d b> hre arid cannonading that Were former y busy centres, and "are nmfuV sorts filled with ruins. Ihrv continually had tho illusion of "nnihiUUed 03^^1,35 ° f ~ tere 2ad BARBARISM'S WARS OUTDONE. ''Never," they continue, "has a war bete eon civilised nations presented tho savage and ferocious results of this one? r>r Ja M°'/»P e . arson, and murder are P ?,n ,sed b -V th e enemy. rrirk » tl S Kes " l)on won,on and . vo "nK gnJs, the report continued "were n? incredible frequency, but the viclfms of them T S aCtS oft f n refuse? toreveSl tnem i<ewer such outrages would doubtless have been committed if So tm ary T } hlefs X"™ , prevent e5 ?' *i ah ? y ,"?>'• honrevor. be rc K ardcd as the mdividual and spontaneous ,fu v "fnamed brutes. £n^ommitS SSlnatlOnS Which haY «

- YET TRUE. commanding officers boa the crueL,n R responsibility thereof Vrmv hT ° f h " ma ?'>- ' ™c German A-rmj has constantly manifested the most complete disregard for human life s and officer, 'finishing off' the funded pztilessly murdering inoffen! snarin" ■ 'tr- 5 £ f i ? vaded territories, S h f ,r hom; cida] racro neither n0 < r Z n nor tf .'e aged nor children. Lunevtllp mr n 7 s hich J^ 0, * p!ace at ivunevijle. Gerlwviiler, Xomer.y, and th? are terrif ying examples. I n those, scenes of carnage officers themselves were no t ashamed U> take part " liVv£%T* the report - «nnot beoSmm-« at i al , thps « butcheries -were 'TThe frT Vlthout a «ason. hut such GERMANS' FALSE EXCUSES. nJi is i that the Germans always that cinlians had comment Vf by firing upon them. "This allegail '' i avs tho a is untrue, and r-inf 6 -? ° madD ifc could not rt>rKl er it Piaus,bie; even by discharging rifles near nouses (a s they irere accustomed to }mV X L Order t0 , be abie to affi™ they ! Sufe n attacked l»y the innocent Populations on whose massacre they n-ia resolved.' , uS? 6 #^?- ht a shot was firwl "■ bile the cW * h rector of Croismaro. was close to a German officer. TJio latter SS^iKfM* 0 !? ,0 priest: " Jt is just you should be snot, as well as th e

ourTnn|jj now. thJ h r P " eSt il L repl - v Ported out that the German officer weli knew that it Tiflo S 6 f 7! St M\ CtlVe , crack of » German rifle that hati been heard. Almost everywhere citizens were dragged from their homes and carried killed on the road.

INCENDIARY WEAPONS. Tor purposes of arson, the German army ntilised a comoleto plant, comprisiiiK torches, explosive grenades, fuses, petroleum pumps, rolls of explasive stuff and ba Ss containing pellets of a nu,njy inUammable compressed powder. Lhnrohes. thousands of houses, were burned down." Pillage was methodically practised everywhere, even in t h 0 presence of officers. Wino collars ircre emptied safos burst open, table silver, jewellery. pictures, tiirmture. lmen. Ureses, " sewing raachines. and even children's toys wore carted «oross tho frontier.

INDIVIDUAL PROVED CASES. The 42 pages of the report contain a large number of specific eases Of Gorman atrocities. On October olst. at Mouchy Hunneres (in the Oise Department), an ofTicer ordered three Dra«;oo.>is to shoot down people in the street. A iittlo prl aged 4. and a boy were killed, besides a :nnn.

At Ravenel, next day, a man was killed as lie passed on his bicvelo during the pulasjing. At Mcry 25 persons were taken from the sugar u-->-!« ;.,.'! driven forward to form a Hvinc shield against tho fire of the British cavalry At SttMlh on Ist t.lie houses wore systematically burned. Tho Mayor was shot without any reason, and the town was sacked. At Creil, on September 3rd, the town was pillaged and Gorman soldiers showed stolen jewels to their officers borne inhabitants were shot and many houses were burned clown. At Baron, tho wife of a French soldier who was at tho front was brutally maltreated by two German soldiers.

At Choisy-au-Bac the invaders bnrnecl down '45 houses.

In the Seine and Marne Department three α-irle (ar»ed respectively IS. 15 and 13 years) were by* their s««Jc mother's bedside in the. villago of Marais when two German soldiers arrived seized the eldest girl, and dragged her i'itr» nri nd.-oiuing room, where they subjected her to the worst indigni-

Mennn-'iile. solders wi+h rifle , ? kept the maddened mother under restraint.

-MURDER AT THE DOOR. At Xomeny (Menrthe and Moselle) oO soldiers burst into the house owned by M. Vasso through the door and windows, and set fire to it. The occupants tried to flee, but they were shot down one by one as they" went out. M. Mentre was first killed, his MM henn next fell with his 8-ye.irs-old sister in his arms. As he had not been killea outright, the muzzle of v rifle was placed on his head, and his brains were blown out. Then came the turn of the KiefFer family. The mother was wounded in the arm and shoulder. The father, the son, aged 10, and the little daughter, aged 3, wore shot. Their torturers again ;nred on them when thov had fallen putting another bullet into M. Kiefl fer s head, and blowing off tho top of his Ron's skull.

Afterwards M. Strieffert and one u-i \r ss £ s son 6 were murdered, while Mme. Mentro received three bullets—ono in tho leg, another in the ar ™. and a ihir <i « tho forehead. M Guillaiime was dragged into the street and killed.

loung Mile Simonin, aged 17, who had been in the cellar, finally emenred with her sister Jeanne, aped 3. The latter'e elbow was smashed by a bullet. Her elder sistor fell down feigning death for five minutes, in fearful anguish. A German kicked her crying out "Kaput!" ' y