Here is the first-hand testimony of M. Mirman, the Prefet of the
Department. At Gerbeviller, he writes, the ruin and slaughter of the
town and its inhabitants had nothing to do with legitimate war:
"We are here in presence of an inexpiable crime. The crime was signed.
Such signatures are soon rubbed out. I saw that of the murderer--and I
bear my testimony.
"The bandits who were at work here were assassins: I have seen the
bodies of their victims, and taken the evidence on the spot. They shot
down the inhabitants like rabbits, killing them haphazard in the
streets, on their doorsteps, almost at arm's length. Of these victims it
is still difficult to ascertain the exact number; it will be more than
fifty. Most of the victims had been buried when I first entered the
town; here and there, however, in a garden, at the entrance to a cellar
the corpses of women still awaited burial. In a field just outside the
town, I saw on the ground, their hands tied, some with their eyes
bandaged--fifteen old men--murdered. They were in three groups of five.
Pages:
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219