On citation there appeared as witness Herr Karl Dörffer, born on December 25th, 1877, at Erda, district of Wetzlar; Protestant; 1st Lieutenant, Reserve of Prussian Railway Regiment No. 3, assigned to the Railway Constructing Company No. 17, at present commanded by the Bavarian Staff Officer of railway troops in Vielsalen.
The witness, to whom the importance of the oath was pointed out, was examined as follows:
As to Person: My personal description is correctly stated.
As to Case: On August 24th, 1914, I was commanded to effect the detraining at the station in Louvain. I was acting manager in the station as well as commandant over the station. On August 25th detraining took place almost continuously; I particularly mention the detraining of the IX. Reserve Corps and the General Staff of this corps. On the evening of August 25th, at nightfall, shots fell suddenly in front of and on both sides of the station area; in this area were detachment of troops and trains. At first I did not attach much importance to the firing; but as it became more violent I went to the front of the station building.
I now saw that violent firing was taking place, particularly from an hotel to the right of the station. From the long flash of fire from the individual shots I assumed that military rifles were not being used. I know for certain that firing took place from the upper floors of this hotel, but the windows from which firing took place were dark.
The following design will indicate the position of the hotel more clearly:
To judge by the violence of the firing I must assume that firing from other houses also took place.
Through officers of the Mecklenburg Dragoons belonging to the General Commando of the IX. Reserve Army Corps—if I remember right, through Captain von Alten and another officer—the news was received at the station that even the transport of the Army Corps had been fired on in the town. A high officer gave the command to search the hotel mentioned and other houses, and then to set them on fire. A number of persons, partly middle aged, partly older people, were taken out of these houses, and a great number of them—but only males—were immediately shot according to martial law. It was then quiet in the station square for a long time. I would point out that I could not stand in the station square continuously, because I had business to transact in the station itself. It was therefore impossible for me to watch all the events in front of the station. At about 11 or 11.30 p.m.—most of the houses in the station square were burning—a volley was fired on us from the roof of an hotel on the left of the station; the hotel was already burning at the bottom. I stood, as it happened, in the centre of the station square with several officers; there remained nothing for us but to throw ourselves upon the ground so as to offer the smallest possible target. Orders were then given to search this house once again; in spite of this, a few isolated shots were fired during the night from the houses in the station square, especially from the houses on the road to Tirlemont, opposite the loading ramp, upon which artillery and vehicles were unloaded even during the night.
I know that, after the volley had been fired from the house last mentioned, a high officer gave orders to clear the people from all the houses round the station; a number of women and children, also old and middle-aged men, were thereupon apprehended; a few of the men were shot according to martial law, but in a great number of cases it could not longer be ascertained whether they had taken part in the firing. These persons were first housed in the station; part of them were later on transported.