“Unearthing the Dark Secrets of Germany’s WWI Corpse Factories: What History Has Forgotten”
“We pass through Evergnicourt. There is a dull smell in the air, as if lime were being burnt. We are passing the great Corpse Utilization Establishment (Kadaververwertungsanstalt) of this Army Group. The fat that is won here is turned into lubricating oils, and everything else is ground down in the bones mill into a powder, which is used for mixing with pigs’ food and as manure.”
From here, the story spread rapidly with Rosner’s account appearing in dozens of Allied newspapers along with translations of the April 10 l’Independence Belge article. By April 30, it had even reached the floor of the British House of Commons, where Robert Outhwaite, Member of Parliament for Hanley, asked:
“May I ask if the Noble Lord is aware that the circulation of these reports has caused anxiety and misery to British people who have lost their sons on the battlefield, and who think that their bodies may be put to this purpose, and does not that give a reason why he should try to find out the truth of what is happening in Germany?”
Officially, the Government stated that it had no evidence to either confirm or deny the rumours, and refused to endorse the story. However, Lord Robert Cecil, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, rather pointedly admitted that:
“In view of other actions by German military authorities there is nothing incredible in the present charge against them… I confess I am not able to attach very great importance to any statements made by the German government.”
