No Belgian forces remained
behind. No sooner did the Germans enter the town than they shot five or
six inhabitants whom they caused to leave their houses. In the evening,
pretending that a superior German officer had been killed on the Grand
Place by the son of the Burgomaster, or, according to another version of
the story, that a conspiracy had been hatched against the superior
commandant by the Burgomaster and his family, the Germans took every man
who was inside of Aerschot; they led them, fifty at a time, some
distance from the town, grouped them in lines of four men, and, making
them run ahead of them, shot them and killed them afterward with their
bayonets. More than forty men were found thus massacred.
They gave up the town to be pillaged, taking from private residences all
they could take, breaking furniture, and forcing safes. The following
day they lined up, three by three, the villagers whom they had arrested
the day before, taking one man out of each line. These they led to a
distance of about 100 meters from the town, taking with them the
Burgomaster of the town, Mr. Tielmans, and his son, aged 151/2 years, and
his brother, and shot them.
Later on they forced the remaining villagers to dig holes to bury their
victims.
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