the Germans ascribed firing from a church
to priests, whereas in fact this firing came from Belgian soldiers, and
also because it seems to show that the Germans from the moment of their
arrival in Aerschot were seeking to pick a quarrel with the inhabitants,
and this goes far to explain their subsequent conduct. Hostages were
collected until 200 men, some of whom were invalids, were gathered
together.

M. Tielmans, the Burgomaster, was then ordered by some German officers
to address the crowd and to tell them to hand in any weapons which they
might have in their possession at the Town Hall, and to warn them that
any one who was found with weapons would be killed. As a matter of fact,
the arms in the possession of civilians had already been collected at
the beginning of the war. The Burgomaster's speech resulted in the
delivery of one gun, which had been used for pigeon shooting. The
hostages were then released. Throughout the day the town was looted by
the soldiers. Many shop windows were broken, and the contents of the
shop fronts ransacked.

A shot was fired about 7 o'clock in the evening, by which time many of
the soldiers were drunk. The Germans were not of one mind as to the
direction from which the shot proceeded. Some said it came from a
jeweler's shop, and some said it came from other houses. No one was hit
by this shot, but thereafter German soldiers began to fire in various
directions at people in the streets.

It is said that a German General or Colonel was killed at the
Burgomaster's house. As far as the committee have been able to
ascertain, the identity of the officer has never been revealed. The
German version of the story is that he was killed by the 15-year-old son
of the Burgomaster. The committee, however, is satisfied by the evidence
of several independent witnesses that some German officers were standing
at the window of the Burgomaster's house, that a large body of German
troops was in the square, that some of these soldiers were drunk and let
off their rifles, that in the volley one of the officers standing at the
window of the Burgomaster's house fell, that at the time of the accident
the wife and son of the Burgomaster had gone to take refuge in the
cellar, and that neither the Burgomaster nor his son were in the least
degree responsible for the occurrence which served as the pretext for
their subsequent execution, and for the firing and sack of the town.[A]

[Footnote A: This account agree