war memorial

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

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

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

It is also the case that of the 161 casualties that fell among civilians, a large proportion also died from the bombing and were therefore not executed.

19 December 9 pm Legaeye house : shot 23 people taking refuge in a basement. The Germans thought they shot them and took revenge.

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

December 19, 3 p.m. ferme Legrand : Parfondry: 28 locked in the hangar and ready, then set on fire; 24 dead

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

STIWOT Forum - View topic - Massacre of people in Stavelot 17.12.1944 :

Responsibility for the murder is attributed to Kampfgruppe Peiper, responsible for the Baugnez massacre (better known as the Malmedy massacre), which took place on December 17, 1944. The Kampfgruppe Peiper was actually responsible for this murder of American soldiers. Opinions differ widely about the cause and course of this massacre.

As far as is known , Kampfgruppe Peiper arrived in Stavelot on the night of 17/18 December . Here he conquered the bridge over the Amel. At the entrance to Stavelot, tanks driving through the narrow streets seem to have killed civilians who showed up at doors and windows. Not all murders would have taken place on December 18th.

Much of the civilian killings were carried out by Schnelle Gruppe Knittel . This unit did not belong to Kampfgruppe Peiper, but many of its war crimes were attributed to Peiper . There are definitely several war crimes committed by the Germans in the early days of the offensive. The Kampfgruppe Peiper was also responsible for war crimes, but there is a growing feeling that these crimes are not being portrayed in an entirely objective manner . In the trial against Peiper and colleagues, the Americans made big mistakes, which makes many "facts" unbelievable. There are a great many contradictions and many general books on the Battle of the Bulge cover these war crimes very incompletely.

Willem Vandenameele