ly by the Second and Fourth Regiments
of Bavarian infantry. To explain them, the officers have alleged that
civilians had fired on their troops. As our inquiry has established
formally, this allegation is a lie, for at the moment when the enemy
arrived all arms had been deposited at the Mairie, and the part of the
population which had not quitted the country had hidden itself in the
cellars, a prey to the greatest terror. Besides, the reason alleged,
even were it true, would assuredly be insufficient to excuse the
destruction of a whole city, the murder of women, and the massacre of
children.
A list of persons who were killed in the course of the burning and the
shootings has been drawn up by M. Bievelot, Conseiller d'Arrondissement.
The list includes no less than 50 names. We have not quoted all of
them. For one thing, among the people whose death has been proved,
some died under conditions which are not stated with sufficient
precision; on the other hand, the dispersal of the inhabitants of the
town which has now been destroyed made our inquiry very difficult. Our
efforts will be continued. In any case, what we have already been able
to establish beyond dispute is enough to give an idea of what was, on
the day of Aug. 20, the martyrdom of Nomeny.
Luneville was occupied by the Germans from Aug. 27 to Sept. 11. During
the first few days they were content to rob the inhabitants without
molesting them in any other way. Thus, in particular on Aug. 24, the
house of Mme. Jeaumont was plundered. The objects stolen were loaded
on to a large vehicle in which were three women, one of them dressed
in black and the two others wearing military costumes and appearing,
as we were told, to be canteen women.
On Aug. 25 the attitude of the invaders suddenly changed. M. Keller,
the Mayor, went to the hospital about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon
and saw soldiers firing in the direction of the attic of a neighboring
house, and heard the whistling of the bullets, which appeared to him
to come from behind. The Germans declared to him that the inhabitants
had fired on them. He protested, and offered to go around the town
with them in order to prove the absurdity of this allegation. His
proposal was accepted, and as at the beginning of the circuit they
came across in the street the body of M. Crombez, the officer
commanding the escort said to M. Keller, "You see this body. It is
that of a civilian who has been killed by another civilian
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