GERMAN MASSACRE

Waikato Times, Volume 194, Issue 22355, 23 May 1944, Page 2

GERMAN MASSACRE

SHOOTING OF PRISONERS SHOCKING REVELATIONS “BEHAVED LIKE LUNATICS” (United Press Aps n. —Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Mnv 23, 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, May 22. Statements made at Stockholm by British war prisoners who escaped from the German prison camp Stalag Luft 3, reveal that the massacre of 47 British prisoners by German guards did not occur in the clash between the prisoners and the guards but was carried out by a group of guards who lost their heads and shot the prisoners in the barracks courtyards and workshops, says a Daily Express correspondent at Stockholm. Neither an inquiry nor a trial of any sort preceded the mass murder, the correspondent says. The escapees emphatically refute the German allegation that the prisoners were shot when rushing the gates. The official report on the statements which is expected in a few days is believed will be one of the most shocking stories of the war. The shooting lasted several days. Most of the prisoners were shot on March 22 but the executions continued to March 24.

The shootings apparently resulted from a breakdown of German discipline and morale. Escapees said the guards at Stalag Luft 3 for months past had behaved like lunatics. They were exasperated by frequent attempts at escape and decided as a deterrent example to shoot all suspected of planning to escape. The Daily Express in a leading article says preliminary reports of the massacre will strike a chill of cold hate through Britain. “Here is the ultimate vileness of Nazidom made plain as the nation is poised to attack and destroy it,” the paper says.