In all, ten men were picked
out ... the remainder were made to turn their backs upon the
ten. I then heard some shots fired, and I and the other men
turned around and we saw all the ten men, including the
Burgomaster, were lying on the ground."
This incident is spoken to by other witnesses also. Some of their
depositions appear in the appendix.
GELRODE.
On the same day at Gelrode, a small village close to Aerschot,
twenty-five civilians were imprisoned in the church. Seven were taken
out by fifteen German soldiers in charge of an officer just outside. One
of the seven tried to run away, whereupon all the six who remained
behind alive were shot. This was on the night of Aug. 19. No provocation
whatever had been given. The men in question had been searched, and no
arms had been found upon them. Here, as at Aerschot, precautions had
been taken previously to secure the delivery up of all arms in the hands
of civilians.
Some of the survivors were compelled to dig graves for the seven. At a
later date the corpses were disinterred and reburied in consecrated
ground. The marks of the bullets in the brick wall against which the six
were shot were then still plainly visible.
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