There appears on citation as witness Paymaster Otto Rudolph, Reserve Railway Constructing Company No. 11, at present at Péronne, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, was examined as follows:
As to Person: My name is Otto Rudolph, aged 34; Protestant; police officer at Worms.
As to Case: The Reserve Railway Constructing Company No. 11, of whom I am paymaster, marched into Louvain on August 24th, 1914. My Commandant instructed me to arrange for quarters for the officers and the horses of the company near the principal railway station. I first applied to the proprietors of the hotels in the station square, especially to the proprietor of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa." Everywhere I was received in the kindest way. As the rooms of the hotel were, however, already engaged by officers of other units of troops, I could not get the necessary rooms. I therefore tried to find quarters in the main road leading from the town hall direct to the station, but the name of which I have forgotten. Here the necessary rooms were put at my disposal in the kindest way. In the house No. 105 of this street I found quarters for three officers. In the house diagonally opposite, the apartments of a bank official, I was also well received.
The quarters were not occupied on this day, because the company was trench-digging at the station during the whole night.
On the following day I had requisitioned vegetables, straw, etc., at Linden and Kessel-Loo, the latter a suburb of Louvain. The various farmers fulfilled my requirements in the kindest way. In the evening I returned from the requisitioning. On the way, in the suburb Kessel-Loo, male civilians, who had assembled in imposing numbers, intimated to me that the English had succeeded in breaking through near Louvain. On inquiring for the messenger who had brought this news I heard that priests had related it. I also remember actually to have seen three priests at the eastern exit of the village at about 7 o'clock p.m. They went through the streets singly, and here and there made communications to the people. As I heard the firing of cannon at no very great distance, I hurried to reach the main station at Louvain. I arrived there at about 8 o'clock p.m. At about 9 o'clock I suddenly saw, near the station, a rocket go up. At the same moment I heard violent gun-fire. In order to inform myself regarding the firing, and to have a better view, I went to a "G"-car of the company transport, which was about 30 metres distant from the station square. From the open peep-hole of the "G"-car I obtained a good outlook over the station square and towards the road that connects Louvain with Kessel-Loo. I saw quite clearly firing upon the railway train from the roof of the third house of the street opposite to the train entering Louvain. I also remarked firing towards the station square from a window on the third floor of an hotel. From a window of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa" firing upon the station square took place. During the firing, the station square and the adjacent streets, which I was able to overlook, were filled with our troops. The firing could only be intended for our troops. Our men replied to the firing. I myself fired at a window of the second floor of the fifth house of the road that is parallel to the train, from which a civilian, whom I could clearly see, was firing.
After our side had received the signal to stop firing, I went to the station square; this may have been at about 10.30. A General there had instructed the field-gendarmes to search the houses from which firing had taken place for arms and ammunition. On my report of what I had seen, a search was also made in the third and fifth houses of the street parallel to the train. In both houses suspected persons with guns and suitable ammunition were found. One of these persons who was examined at the station had cartridges which fitted the guns in his pocket.
At about 12 o'clock p.m. several civilians, among them about six or seven priests, were shot in the station square. Suddenly a window was opened on the second floor of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa," where I had received information in such a trustworthy manner during my search for quarters on the previous day. I saw a male person who repeatedly fired upon the troops assembled in the station square. Firing also took place from houses whose inhabitants had wished to signify their friendliness by flying white flags.
On the following day, August 26th, at about 12 o'clock, I again went to the station square. A large number of male and female inhabitants of Louvain were there. Among the male inhabitants who were held as hostages I recognised the bank official who was the proprietor of the house in the Rue de la Station in Louvain. I entered into conversation with him; he told me that the Belgian Garde Civique had fired from his house, as well as from house No. 105 in which I had intended to engage quarters. When asked why he had permitted it, he told me that on August 25th, 1914, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, members of the Belgian Garde Civique had appeared and had forcibly seized the houses under threat of death; he said that the citizens of Louvain did not wish this treacherous firing, but had been forced by the Garde Civique to put up with the firing from the houses.
At about 2 o'clock p.m., when a few of the houses in the main street of Kessel-Loo, opposite the main railway station, had been set on fire, firing took place from the other houses of this street whose inhabitants had on the previous day conversed with me apparently in the kindest way.
In my opinion, supported by the foregoing personal observations, this treacherous firing was organised according to plan.