177:
165:
263:
278:
48:
463:
directed by German troops on other German troops or on occasions when German troops could not work out the direction of enemy fire, the existence of illegal enemy combatants was immediately assumed with devastating and disastrous results. To make matters worse, the
Belgian Garde Civique - the home
253:
was saved because it was already the site of the German headquarters. Some 248 civilians were killed, and most of the city's 42,000 residents were exiled by force into the countryside, with some being taken from their homes at gunpoint. Approximately 1,500 citizens of the town, including women,
344:. For example, it was alleged that the captured and slain insurgents were not recognized as local residents by any Belgians in Louvain, so they were thought to have been sent from outside the city with orders to stage an anti-German uprising. Furthermore, Georg Berghausen, the 1st Army's chief
340:. The depositions alleged that the German soldiers believed themselves to be under attack by armed Belgian civilians and that the destruction of the city and its cultural heritage took place in the heat of what was thought to be an urban battle against civilian-clothed members of the Belgian
334:, the War Crimes Bureau of the Prussian Ministry of War collected 73-eyewitness depositions about the Sack of Louvain, which were mainly from German officers and enlisted men. The original protocols, according to de Zayas, are more complete and more reliable than the excerpts appearing in
437:
as orderly, well-disciplined, and invariably super-efficient, according to Weber, the real, "situational factors at play", during the August 1914 Rape of
Belgium were, "the nervousness and anxiety of hastily mobilized, largely untrained civilians, panic, the slippery slope from
235:. The burning of the University of Leuven's library caused the destruction of more than 230,000 books, including 750 medieval manuscripts. Personal libraries and the papers of notaries, solicitors, judges, professors, and physicians were also destroyed.
219:), which held significant special collections, including medieval manuscripts and books, and set it on fire. Within ten hours, the library and its collection was virtually destroyed. The fire continued to burn for several days. The rector of the
195:
On 25 August, although they had encountered no resistance from the population, German troops began a massacre. The massacre likely began when a group of German soldiers, panicked by a false report of a major Allied offensive in the area,
1251:
Williams, John P. (2018). "Chapter 3: The Flames of
Louvain: Total War and the Destruction of European High Culture in Belgium by German Occupying Forces in August 1914". In Christophe Declercq & Felicity Rash (ed.).
1163:
364:, it is intriguing, as the city government of Louvain had ordered the confiscation of all privately owned firearms in early August, believing that civilian resistance was futile and would provoke violent reprisals.
231:, who recorded the rector's account of "the murder, the lust, the looting, the fires, the pillage, the evacuation and the destruction of the city" as well as the arson attack that destroyed the library's
464:
guard - that had been deployed during the first few days of the war (and thus immediately prior to the eleven-day period in which most atrocities took place) did indeed not wear regular uniforms."
467:
The destruction of the university library, whether it was an act of poorly trained conscripts whose discipline had imploded, a deliberate act of cultural vandalism, or because, similarly to the
479:, that "in sieges and bombardment all necessary steps must be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes". For this reason, the
1319:
238:
The killings and other acts of brutality took place throughout the next night and day. The day after that, the German army bombarded the town with five shells. The town was thoroughly
1314:
228:
1349:
1339:
980:
124:, which was dominated by recent volunteers and conscripts who had received minimal military training before being sent into combat, had already committed multiple
189:
169:
475:
in 1944, the library buildings were believed to be in secret use for military purposes, still violated
Imperial Germany's obligation, as a signatory to the
494:
A monument was erected in
Louvain's municipal square, overlooking a mausoleum with the remains of 138 victims of the sack. The monument features panels by
502:
perpetrated against the civilian population of
Louvain following the collapse of their military discipline. The mausoleum was unveiled in 1925 by former
453:
According to Weber, vast numbers of minimally trained, poorly disciplined, and extremely paranoid teenaged German soldiers in August 1914 Belgium saw, "
176:
104:. Over the course of several days of pillaging and brutality, 248 people were killed and 1,500 were deported to Germany where they were held at the
511:
390:
high command immediately adopted in response to the global outcry. Acting with the benefit of both hindsight and detachment from the emotions,
348:, testified that the German soldiers wounded at Louvain had mostly been injured by bullets from hunting guns, rather than being the victims of
249:
In the town, some 1,100 buildings were destroyed, variously estimated to constitute one-sixth or more than one-fifth of the town's structures.
1172:
1210:
1191:
1142:
1369:
1261:
1233:
1299:
298:
386:, the vast majority of which took place between 18 and 28 August 1914 and which were curtailed by the disciplinary policies the
112:
was destroyed after it was set on fire by the occupying German soldiers and 1,120 of the 8,928 homes in Leuven were destroyed.
1289:
319:
called it the "Holocaust of
Louvain". Intellectuals and journalists in Italy condemned the German act, and it contributed to
128:
since invading
Belgium on 4 August 1914, including mass killings of hundreds of civilians as hostages or under suspicion of
1324:
367:
The university was reopened in 1919, and the reconstructed library was inaugurated in 1927. The rector of the university,
109:
1359:
1329:
1309:
220:
515:
398:, as even overwhelmingly Catholic units of the Imperial German Army willingly took part. They were also not, as many
285:
The German atrocities and the cultural destruction caused worldwide outrage. It greatly harmed
Germany's standing in
152:
of Leuven; in the morning of the next day, Wednesday, 19 August, German forces—including infantry, artillery,
1364:
1354:
188:
made its headquarters in Leuven. The
Germans took hostages from the municipal administration, magistrates, and the
1344:
306:
394:, and political ideologies of the period, Weber alleges that German war crimes in Belgium were not motivated by
1304:
503:
499:
476:
375:
302:
185:
164:
246:
of money, wine, silver, and other objects of value, while killing those who resisted or did not understand.
975:
468:
331:
1334:
985:
434:
539:
336:
324:
105:
544:
1035:
480:
387:
320:
294:
215:
At around 11:30 pm, German soldiers broke unto the university's library (located in the 14th-century
121:
1294:
391:
361:
439:
1222:
192:, and forced inhabitants to keep their front doors open, and windows lit throughout the night.
200:. As the German 1st Army panicked further, their discipline evaporated, civilians were shot or
1267:
1257:
1239:
1229:
1206:
1187:
1168:
1138:
549:
488:
484:
379:
345:
293:, wrote that "the burning of Louvain is the worst thing have yet done. It reminds one of the
180:
The ruins of the University of Leuven's library after it was burned by the German army in 1914
129:
395:
250:
262:
534:
419:
383:
286:
277:
149:
101:
97:
89:
39:
1224:
Hitler's First War: Adolf Hitler, the Men of the List Regiment, and the First World War
507:
495:
403:
368:
315:
270:
254:
children, and four of the hostages, were deported to Germany in railway cattle-wagons.
224:
156:, and cavalry—entered the town, encountering no resistance from the population.
1283:
472:
460:
455:
430:
415:
407:
357:
349:
341:
290:
197:
483:, which ended the First World War, included a clause to strengthen protections for
423:
356:, in an effort to shield the officers and enlisted men of his Division from facing
310:
145:
17:
1135:
Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece
371:, said that "At Louvain, Germany disqualified itself as a nation of thinkers."
1271:
1243:
411:
232:
216:
125:
447:
399:
184:
About 15,000 German troops occupied the town, and from 19 to 22 August, the
212:. Many of those killed were dumped in ditches and construction trenches.
137:
71:
47:
1184:
Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
1164:
Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War
528:
443:
353:
243:
239:
209:
201:
141:
85:
61:
1254:
The Great War in Belgium and the Netherlands: Beyond Flanders Fields
276:
261:
205:
175:
163:
153:
133:
402:
thesis historians still allege, the natural outgrowth of both
27:
1914–1915 WWI German assault on the Belgian town of Leuven
459:
everywhere, with lethal consequences. In many cases of
414:, from which a straight line can allegedly be drawn to
67:
57:
32:
1221:
1320:Attacks on buildings and structures in the 1910s
498:depicting the atrocities that soldiers from the
321:Italy distancing itself from Germany and Austria
242:, with many German officers and men engaging in
96:), part of the events collectively known as the
1315:Attacks on buildings and structures in Belgium
84:was the German assault on the Belgian town of
289:. In the United Kingdom, the prime minister,
8:
1154:German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial
110:Library of the Catholic University of Leuven
1116:
1104:
1092:
1009:
807:
651:
981:The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939–1945
831:
46:
29:
1256:. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
939:
891:
843:
795:
735:
208:, and some bodies later showed signs of
108:internment camp until January 1915. The
1080:
879:
819:
639:
627:
560:
374:More recently, 21st-century historian
1350:Friendly fire incidents of World War I
1340:Building and structure fires in Europe
997:
963:
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855:
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771:
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723:
711:
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663:
615:
603:
591:
579:
567:
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1056:
1036:"Order makes Germans' world go round"
1021:
7:
378:has examined the root causes of the
352:. If Berghausen's testimony was not
313:, condemned the German atrocities.
1228:. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1034:Zudeick, Peter (19 November 2012).
510:, before an audience that included
1152:Horne, John; Kramer, Alan (2001).
198:fired on some fellow German troops
25:
1201:Veranneman, Jean-Michel (2018).
1:
190:Catholic University of Leuven
172:in a turn-of-century postcard
170:Catholic University of Leuven
144:. On Tuesday, 18 August, the
1186:. Harvard University Press.
297:... and the achievements of
1167:. Oxford University Press.
221:American College of Louvain
1386:
100:, taking place during the
1370:Rape of Belgium massacres
1182:Ovenden, Richard (2020).
435:traditionally stereotyped
307:Irish Parliamentary Party
45:
37:
1203:Belgium in the Great War
1156:. Yale University Press.
504:Supreme Allied Commander
477:Hague Convention of 1907
323:and drifting toward the
52:The city's ruins in 1915
1300:1914 murders in Belgium
1117:Horne & Kramer 2001
1105:Horne & Kramer 2001
1093:Horne & Kramer 2001
1010:Horne & Kramer 2001
976:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
808:Horne & Kramer 2001
652:Horne & Kramer 2001
332:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
330:According to historian
1220:Weber, Thomas (2010).
1133:Charney, Noah (2010).
986:University of Nebraska
282:
281:Peace Memorial, Leuven
274:
181:
173:
93:
1290:1910s fires in Europe
1161:Kramer, Alan (2007).
540:Destruction of Kalisz
516:Désiré-Joseph Mercier
382:committed during the
337:The German White Book
280:
265:
179:
167:
1325:Attacks on libraries
481:Treaty of Versailles
388:Imperial German Army
269:, by Belgian artist
122:Imperial German Army
1205:. Pen & Sword.
418:and the many other
392:atrocity propaganda
362:German military law
168:The library of the
1360:Looting in Belgium
1330:August 1914 events
1310:Arson in the 1910s
545:Lwów pogrom (1914)
360:proceedings under
283:
275:
182:
174:
148:withdrew from the
1365:Massacres in 1914
1355:History of Leuven
1174:978-0-19-280342-9
1137:. PublicAffairs.
550:Siege of Tsingtao
489:international law
485:cultural property
380:German war crimes
295:Thirty Years' War
287:neutral countries
130:guerrilla warfare
78:
77:
18:Burning of Leuven
16:(Redirected from
1377:
1345:Fires in Belgium
1275:
1247:
1227:
1216:
1212:978-1-52671662-0
1197:
1193:978-06-7424120-6
1178:
1157:
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1144:978-1-58648800-0
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1024:, pp. 35–41
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988:Press, pp. 5-6.
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966:, pp. 14–15
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429:Even though the
396:anti-Catholicism
251:Leuven Town Hall
50:
30:
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1305:Arson in Europe
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832:Veranneman 2018
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535:Burning of Cork
524:
512:Queen Elisabeth
500:German 1st Army
420:Nazi war crimes
384:Rape of Belgium
346:medical officer
260:
229:U.S. ambassador
223:was rescued by
186:German 1st Army
162:
150:university town
118:
102:First World War
98:Rape of Belgium
82:Sack of Louvain
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40:Rape of Belgium
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508:Ferdinand Foch
496:Marcel Wolfers
440:requisitioning
404:German culture
369:Paulin Ladeuze
316:The Daily Mail
271:Gisbert Combaz
259:
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225:Brand Whitlock
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33:Sack of Leuven
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796:Williams 2018
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736:Williams 2018
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514:and Cardinal
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497:
492:
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486:
482:
478:
474:
473:Monte Cassino
470:
465:
462:
461:friendly fire
458:
457:
456:franc-tireurs
451:
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431:German people
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417:
416:the Holocaust
413:
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408:Prussian Army
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342:Garde Civique
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291:H. H. Asquith
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1088:
1081:Ovenden 2020
1076:
1071:, p. 36
1064:
1059:, p. 37
1052:
1042:16 September
1040:. Retrieved
1029:
1017:
1005:
993:
979:
971:
959:
947:
942:, p. 41
935:
930:, p. 14
923:
918:, p. 14
911:
906:, p. 14
899:
894:, p. 41
887:
880:Charney 2010
875:
863:
858:, p. 11
851:
846:, p. 38
839:
827:
820:Charney 2010
815:
810:, p. 38
803:
798:, p. 41
791:
779:
767:
755:
750:, p. 11
743:
738:, p. 38
731:
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671:
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640:Charney 2010
635:
628:Ovenden 2020
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466:
454:
452:
428:
424:World War II
376:Thomas Weber
373:
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335:
329:
314:
311:John Redmond
284:
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