DARK DEEDS OF THE HUN

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, 21 February 1916, Page 6

DARK DEEDS OF THE HUN

A SECOND CAVELL CASE. The Boston Record Advertiser pub- ! lish.es a letter stated to have been written by a German officer stationed at | "Fort Chartreuse" Belgium, to an Otto-1 man Government official stationed in i Berlin, which gives details of the execu- ] tio of Mrne. Louise Frenay and seven: Belgian patriots. The writer has since "disappeared," and, the paper says, has managed to cross the frontier into Holland after deserting the German army. "Terrible and inhuman as the Caved case is," the letter says, "it is not as paJhetic as the case of Mrne. Frenay, who was executed early .in October under my supervision. lam terribly ashamed that I had to perform tma grievous task which I no longer consider as my duty. ' 'At the time f L was stationed at the Fort< of Chartrelse, we learned through secret channels tli.ifc some more executions were to take place. My comrade told me that 29 persons were just taken before the court martial. This court at Liege pronounced sentence with the ease of a common police magistrate. This batch of 29 persons, several of them women, were marched into the hall where the military court held its session, between 4.3Cfand 5 p.m. At 7, the same day, about two. hours later, they were sentenced —11 condemned to death and the_rest to penal servitude in Germany for life. "About ten o'clock the same evening it. was known that eight out of those condemned to death by shooting were selected to be shot before the nex& morning. Why such haste ? The reasons and explanations are many, but there are only undercurrents of what ha's been or is alleged to have been said in high quarters. It was whispered that the condemned had secured secrets of submarine bases in the North Sea from naval officers. But according to the whispers one heard from all directions, the secrets 'were already communicated to our enemies. Then why such haste? Other whispers told us that these executions were to tak*e place in order to prevent their being saved through neutrals. If that? was the reason for their having been executed in such haste, it certainly accomplished its purpose. "Anywaj to the Fort of Chartreuse marched the 11 condemned Belgians, eight of whom were picked out to be executed at once.

"The procession was headed by Mrne. Frenay. The last person was Julien Lenders, a Belgian writer of note, 1 am told.

"The commandant had anticipated difficulties. The difficulties are known as the 'awkward incidents.' Instead of ten soldiers we were given charge of 50 soldiera, ten in line, five deep. The front line, ten men, formed the firing squad, the other 40, four deep, were reserves. The first victim is selected. The firing squad in the front line is ordered to fire. They withdraw, march to the rear, and form the fifth line. The second line is next ordered to fire at the second victim then this line also steps to the rear, and now becomes the fifth line, and so on, until every victim is shot to death.

"I selected the woman first. Not because I had more pity for her. This was not my motive. I might have thought so unconsciously, perhaps. The truth is, I feared myself. I suspected that I could not bear the ordeal. Neither did I like the attitude of the men, the soldiers. I lined up my men, I stepped back, revolver in hand. I gave the order, 'Fire!' .

"The squad instantly fired. Mrne. Frenay fell with a scream. She was not shot mortally. A bullet had shattered her ankle. The awkward incident had happened. I rushed at her, stood her against the wall once more. She was screaming, 'My God, my God, why torture me,' she was crying. "I ordered the second squad. Once more she fell. But this time she was not even struck. She was terrorised; she waited. Oh. God, what torture. For a second I wanted to give the command once more while holding her in my arms. Perhaps I would have wiped the taint off the name of my fatherland, but I confess I was, and am now, a coward. We Germans have only disciplinary courage. Otherwise we are cowards.

"I pulled a revolver, put it cruelly and deliberately at the back of her right ear, and killed her with my own hands. "It sickened me. I was relieved by a reserve officer. Other officers were ordered out. The rest of the execution proceeded satisfactorily, the officers with drawn revolvers threatening the squad. It lasted ten minutes.

"Shortly after, the last lifeless body was lifted from the ground. At Robermont a large grave was already awaiting the. warm, still panting and vibrating bodies, their fresh bullet wounds gaping. __ As their bodies were covered with dirt and soil, one of my superior officers said to me: 'They will be immortalised while the coming generations will remember us as their executioners.'

"Between 4.30 and 5 p.m. they -were taken to be tried, and at 2 the next morning they were buried. In nine hours they were tried and executed.