A STORY OF DINANT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17234, 9 August 1919, Page 2 (Supplement)

A STORY OF DINANT.

'GERMAN "KULTUR" AT WORK SURVIVOR'S TRAGIC . NARRATIVE. Of ail the, scenes of atrocities DinanE is the place which, to.:,'iay-' mind,.. is to-day the most impressive :to the ; visitor, writes a special correspondent of the London Times from Brussels. Many d the towns and villages devastated by the ■ Germans have already lost much She. 3aid*ousaass of the condition in which fcUe outrages. loft them. At Loavaia, iae instance, it would be 'ia&y for anyone who bad neves seen the piaca baiote the war, or who was lacking m anamination, to walk through the town without being violently shocked, It la not until oiio comes to explore the' wnpoy shed of the University buddings '' th.d.l, uu» eight of tc,» nxaiteri&j. dsawucwou J .-.auiy overwhelms one. .Here one is i oMk&md by & sense of acuta pnyaical pain, j Una tjpi-.as one a mouth to apeak ana xoHiatus gii3i.ti(, chokatg with anger. _ j Vv'iioa one comes to talk to the inh&bi- i tauta oio realises tho mot si iniquity of ' uio Germans to tho full. The station open ep«tue baa ba-=n renamed Place Oes Martyrs id memory ei this slaughter of csvu-ana te'tre. ..he iKimsins looted the ■ housss beijro burning them. Many of the buildings wore marina wiui ».iia.k upon the door—'" This house has been i visited—all correct." 'Abe occupants tor j a moment lifted up their hearts, imagin- ' nig U»e iiisciipttan no mean Wiat the hoiifce ! was to be spared. But, on the ('contrary, what it reauy meant was: • ,Thia house has been looted of everything worth taking; &° ah«ad and burn ■ ft." A tew houses have already been reouilt—l regret to say In a " lavatory" eSylo quite unworthy of the opportunity w&ich now presents itself for beautifying the town. The lecture-rooms of the university still exist, and 2000 students are said to be at work, despite the fact thai their board and lodging cost three times what they did b*ior« the war. i'aia of Civilians. At Dinant, however* comparatively Ufc&'.e has buaa done towards statUug lite ■snew. early 1200 houses, 'more than two-thirds of tho town, including all the public buildings, except the Palais de Justios, are still bat.ghastly shells. The houses facing the ends of streets running at right angles to the Meuse are covered with the marks of rile ballets fired by the French dariug their last stand on the otter side of the river. But the realty human interest, lias ba the marks, of other and Oinw bull®ta, those fired through the bodies of harmless civilians, men, ' women, and children. At -one place there i* a facie in a stone wiindow-aOl, net much mors than two wet from the ground. I asked a passing girl about it. She said that that was where, in her own presence, | the son of the' local K.O. was shot, at a distance of five paces. "Why ia the bullet-mark bo Bear the ground 1" , " Beei»ase he was ill and they shot him ; in a ohaiai.** I £ was recommended to talk with a i young man who was one of the few who j csmapfd death ■by falling underneath a ' heap of corpses. ■ In the oourao of a long ■ and perfectly calm conversation, and sab- ; j&&t to my crosE-asaHiinaliiain, he told the , fo&rwiag story, I should preface fit by sfijiEg; feat tn«? German"*advanced guard < reached Binant on ..tho. evetaing of August ] 21, but, apart from killing.or wotmdmg ' three jaea,. one -woman, «and ' a email child, mtmftv eat &a to *; large WorkMien's' '•'. dweilfag; i: and < burned - a family of four persons and another man to death. ML bat iSDOO-.of. the population fled across the 3sfvor ; .is : - boats.. ; .Nothing-: much ;■ else' happened ea tb»':22n"d.'. '■■[ '-..■ -.': ~.,.-. "On August* 'J3 *tbo' battJa (with fl» liiiinchj began again; About three o'clock ; Id thar;3fto|QQOa.; row. i It ,f6*B. ttw Germans <»mmg ( 'down the | BOohmOrt stead, 'emashmg ;; - : dobj% :, ''''saS 'win-; dows. '' Tfeey came ray uu«le*a* honeeV ! wMw : *l was, ; and';.asked : ,;Whetb«r we had.-l atraus, -yrimi 'ai^;£ood-.S We replied; that j there was sot a weapon- in . tis house, for, by order of ' ibis; burgomaster, all civilians had to hand is their arms at, tfc* Soldi de Tiße, : -but any wine" and &*jd we had' was at their disposal. In a jfeaaent ■■ 'the ' house.'" 'was thoroughly s<^cch6dt. found'ao' arms, • but took all ilia food/ &«%:«■■ gjreat &$& & wine, and tried : to break apen a eafo with a The meat were separated from the / womaa ''"an(i:-tafceffl'.'.fe the street. . • At fesf>' I- was put Tfith tits men, but <■ because I ' war'only ''IS ■I , was Rent by- an ofiioar, together with -my■-brother;;"' ; to join ' ] women ir, ■ the kitchen. Soon & soldier came 'to ' fetch me. ri7 He made me : and •. my'lwotbar'loaa a haudeari with stores from my tm«Sfi*s store-rc^M&j.- -4 could not J carry ' the weights. ,y Every pi 1 stopped I to take breath the- soldiiera, Uieir hideous I faces' swollen with s drink, cursed and pushed ' mis alcasg. At last I collapsed ffiga&sft- : a essski<,;&•■' soldier lock pity on ma* and sent me : back 'to ; , my mother ' in the" &rlcSwi3i'- The women were crying and bisggiiig .the ■, Germans on their knees not .to shoot their men. My Stile sister, sick With fear, was lying on two chairs. My aunt, aged 68. had hidden in a «mpboard .on the , .fast . fleer.. The, Germane found I her, and droraher downstairs wit&s blow*, of their Jratti;'.' 'They kept 'on..repeating that they were going to burn all the houses and that . then everybody would be snot.L " f . ''. 'rh- >"'■■ -, : " About -past, throe we were taken into the street, where tbs men were, and , an pfpcej" told us thai we were going to cross .the br'dge' first, but that if he keaird 'a single shot from tbo French we shoiiild be aS shot. The column ot eivt- I liaitfi, with cries and tears, slowly ap-'' proached the plecjL where the engineers were building tbs'^crjdge. - -There were a hundred of as, men; women, children, and babies. Just before reaching the bridge £-; beard shots fired. I . immediately crouched down. The erica of fear of the crowd were mingled w'fcb cries of pain. My brother said to me : " " The Germans are &ing on us; I think I am. wounded j i feel bad.' A Heap of Corpses. "' I did not hear the rest of the senfence, for we were pushed against a 'ow wall. I saw the soldiers load their rifles, get in front of us, and take aim. Instinctively I lay down, and immediately afterwards there was. a fresh fusjiw-■«, much more violent than the first. I felt the -weight of the dead increasing and pressing upon me. Th* soldiers tared cries of rage &nd triumph around the heap of corpses. I kept motionless, holding my breath. I felt the limbs of the dying atj.ffen. I heard their death-rattle and their last murmured words. Some prayed, others said good-bye. One woman close to me spoke as she died to the ' baby dead in her anna. All the while I I could hear the heartrending voice of my . brother calling for water. i " An <be night grew cold some of the i wounded recovered consciousness and be- I pan to ask for water or to be finished I off. Several shot* were fired; then all was rtfil. About midnight I got TO together with the few survivors A uroill, fat soldier beckoned to ua to anproach. We were robbed of ouv money ) tied two and two fc geth«r. with our I hards behind vur backs, and taken to th© bank of .the river. We pas* d the night lying on the ground. Severnl reicimenta paeeed without ill-tieatmK usothers iiwrulted os, spat in our faces, and gave ua kicks. " At dawn the soldiers set fire to the houses facing the bridge. About seven o clock in the morning we were untied and forced to carry the corpses of the civilians to a pit already dug by the enenuHM. I buried my broth** then mv saW, wnosa brains were blown out, and anally my father, most of whose head wag gone, and my mother. "Then an officer assembled us in the garden, highlj praised the victorious Uerman Army, and told un that all Belpans deserved death for having opposed the puaase - of the German Army, but that the Xauer bad pardoned us and « « w SJ ho ** Pwsooers in Germany persons, including 26 pnan «d 48 children under 16, were ■SSL-w.w, tbi * particular occasion, the .. S 4^. 4 ™>™* of 88 and* the 7 &' 1 rf tare* weeto!