War Memorial Place St-Remacle

War memorial with the text "Ici fut arrêté l'envahiseur. Hiver 1944-45".

One of the still controversial events to this day is the mass murder of civilians during the Battle of the Bulge. To be clear, the controversy is in WHO is responsible for the mass murder, not in the facts themselves.

There have also been several mass murders in Stavelot. House Legaye, Parfondry, Vaulx Richar.

Here is an attempt to outline the situation without a monopoly on the truth...

It is also true that of the 161 civilian casualties, a large number also died in the bombings and were therefore not executed.

19 December 21h Legaeye home: 23 people shot dead who were hiding in a cellar. The Germans believed that they had shot at them and took revenge.

the stavelot massacre (battle-of-the-bulge.be)

December 19, 15h ferme Legrand: Parfondry: 28 locked up in hangar and killed, then set on fire; 24 dead

Bataille des Ardennes : le 19 December 1944, des civils désarmés sont massacrés par les SS à Parfondruy, près de Stavelot (rtbf.be)

STIWOT Forum - Show topic - Massacre of people in Stavelot 17 dec.1944 :

The responsibility for the murder is placed in the shoes of Kampfgruppe Peiper, responsible for the massacre of Baugnez (better known as the massacre of Malmédy), which took place on December 17, 1944. Kampfgruppe Peiper was indeed responsible for this murder of American soldiers. The cause and course of this killing spree is widely divided.

Kampfgruppe Peiper, as far as is known, arrived in Stavelot in the night of 17 to 18 December. Here he conquered the bridge over the Amblève. On entering Stavelot, tanks driving through the narrow streets seem to have killed civilians who showed themselves at doors and windows. Not all murders would have taken place on December 18. Much of the civilian massacres were carried out by Schnelle Gruppe Knittel. This unit did not belong to Kampfgruppe Peiper, but many of its war crimes have been attributed to Peiper. There were definitely several war crimes committed by the Germans in the early days of the offensive. Kampfgruppe Peiper was also responsible for war crimes, but it is increasingly believed that these crimes are not portrayed completely objectively. Major mistakes have been made by the Americans in the trial against Peiper and his colleagues, which makes many 'facts' implausible. There are an awful lot of contradictions and many general books about the Bulge Offensive deal very incompletely with these war crimes.

Willem Vandenameele