GERMAN ATROCITIES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2393, 24 February 1915, Page 6

GERMAN ATROCITIES

BABIES BAYONETED CHILDREN MUTILATED I • •' ( _ i BELGTAN" REFUGEES- STORIES ./Anokland, February 23. Coafirmattou of tho stories of German atrocities in Belgium was given by tho first party of Belgian refugees to land in Auckland. . They .arrived to-day as ..■members'of' the crew of the Matatua, after'an-:eight-weeks voyage from Lon- ■ iFour.ofthe sick Belgians,are trimmers •on thoship,four'aro from Antwerp, : one .from Ostend, .and one from" Brus- . sels. - All:were'in the Refugees' -Home, at Alexandra Palace,. London, when thoy signed on for the round trip by "the Matatua. . When they went on board they possessed nothing tut tbo clothes they wore, wearing, and' the captain- had to buy boots lor them in . Gape Town.

Siege of Antwerp. : | [ 1 Describing his personal cxporieiicea itfuring the siego of Antworp, Iho deck; Jjoy, van Gysol, eaid: "At tho first : sound of the big siege guns the people fled into the streets,- many .being in. itheir - night attire,i whilst .all the cafes • icere left.wide.open!' There/was a.gene- ■ ral panic for'two .'days and nights." , : 'The 'terrified : people remained in cellars while they, • listened, terrorstricken, ;totho booming of the guns, ithe : crashing of timbers,, the splintering ■ - 'of glais),and the cries, of those in, the , Streets.... . ''JVien.'Antwerp.fell tiro Germans- eti- ■ : 'tereiT at. first in squadslof about 20," 1 proceeded the narrator,; "and .civilians "in "lie city 'were forced to take off their ihats as they passed;, if they did not •'do so they wero dragged from their iheads: by German officers , and f.ung on Ho tiie ground.' This' happened to mo, : the. officer who did it striking me in : the' face, and threatening to,': shoot, me; ■ Then, tliey made me marcli with- others ■&i front of them.' ' 1 .

Sister Shot Dead. . '"Three German soldiers and aa. (officer camo into our house, and at sight of my sister, a girl of 17, at once offered her a degrading insult. My parents, my'brothor, and I intervened, and on my sister resisting, then, one of the soldiers raised his revolver and shot her dead before our eyes. My father seized the man'by the throat, and would have' choked him but that the, totters ' dragged him away and then bound him hand aid foot. Then my brother and. I, eaoh weilding ; a chair, attacked the invaders, a blow from my brother's chair .killing one of them." ' "We two then ran. npi to the'top of the house, and made our escape over the' roof, coming down a water-pipe ithat night, and. sneaking away' in the dark.. We succeeded in passing various groups of German 6oldiers in the ]str<fets, ■ some of ; them with machine--guns, and by. keeping 'in the shadows and hiding 'for one whole night in, a, sewer we managed to reach an empty ■house belonging .to friends."

; Soma Dreadful Scenes. • "Hero wo hid v for two days and nigtts; in >the basement, from whence we could watch what was going on outV jßido, and many . horrible a&ocities were ; " .witnessed ; by' my brother.and I from; t <rar -observation window in'that house:. ; "We saw old men being marched in j front of the Germans. Once 200 of them for refusing to march thns were shot right in front of the house in which wo were hiding, and their women-, f :' folk were brutally, mutilated. I ■ . - Boy Scout Shot. i "We saw babies: a few-months old : ' torn from, the arms of their- mothers, and we saw Germans plunge their bay- • onets.right through their bodies; and carry, them, away impaled, upon their shoulders, j Then they; wonld march on, i , waving their bayonets in the air." "And wo. saw Germane cut off hands ; ■ and fingers of boys, so that they should i never be able to. fight against the ini - ya'ders, and even the noses and ears of : children were cut off, whilst we looked !■■■■• on from our hiding-place. "Another atrocity we witnessed- was ; ! <the putting to death of a,boy scout. He | had been caught .bearing an. unimportant message from one Belgian officer i'■ -3o another, and because .he would not ! xeveal >the name of the -officer who had . /dispatched .him with t-ho message he ,'jvas shot with his' back to a: tree." Escaped to Flushing. . ; , -Van Gysel and . his brother were : . finally dnven i out; of . thier , sanctuary i hy, hunger,, having , had nothing to eat ! for three days. By secret methods |!• ithey .succeeded'in reaching, the. Dutch' f-. port of. Flushing, 20.miles away, whence' !. ; they escaped to England. ' . . ; ■ The' refugees state that both in Anti , .iverp and Brussels the Germans have (completely under-mined the cities-with , ■ the intention ,of blowing them up if •they are forced to retire.