[Mark W. Tonner]

As requested by Carman;

Source: Blood and Honor, the History of The 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth", 1943-1945, by Craig W.H. Luther, pages 181-182.

The Murder of Canadian Prisoners by the 12th SS Panzer Division (June 7-17, 1944)

From statements given during routine screening to U.S. Military Police at a POW camp in April, 1945, by SS-Strummann Jan Jesionek. A subsequent Canadian investigation of the incident not only confirmed Jesionek's story in most of its details but revealed that a total of 20 Canadian soldiers had been murdered and buried at the Abbey Ardenne following their capture and interrogation. Eighteen of the murders occurred on June 7th and 8th; the final two on June 17th.

On the morning of 8 June, 1944, Jesionek was sent back to the Abbey Ardenne for a replacement vehicle:

"Reaching his destination Jesionek found the motorcycle out of order, and for the time being could do nothing. A short while later he looked on as seven Canadian prisoners, guarded by two soldiers of the 25th Regiment, were escorted by them onto the Abby grounds and hustled into a stable off an adjoining courtyard. One of the guards asked the 17-year-old Jesionek if he knew where they might find the regimental commander. Only minutes before the prisoners were brought in, low-flying aircraft had attacked the abbey, prompting Kurt Meyer to order that all staff vehicles and motorcycles be concealed at once within the protective walls of the chapel. Thinking that Meyer was probably at the chapel, Jesionek suggested the guard fellow him there.

The two men walked over to the chapel, where Meyer was standing. The guard approached his commander and reported the arrival of the captured Canadians. Visibly angered, Meyer replied, "Why do you bring prisoners to the rear? They only eat up our rations." Meyer spoke briefly with a nearby officer, but in a low tone of voice that could not be heard by Jesionek, and then, so that all present could hear, said, "In future no more prisoners are to be taken!"

Following the discussion with Meyer, the officer left with the guard and walked towards the stable where the prisoners were. Jesionek, meanwhile, had retrieved a towel and some soap from one of the vehicles and followed to the courtyard, where he hoped to wash at a water pump close to a concrete pool and an archway leading into a garden. Directed away from the pump, he went instead to wash at the pool.

From there he could see the officer to whom Meyer had just spoken interrogating the prisoners one at a time in English:

One of the prisoners had tears in his eyes, and the officer laughed at him in a sneering manner. The officer seemed to be enjoying himself and frequently burst out laughing as he spoke to the prisoners. He took their papers from them and returned to the chapel.

The guard who had spoken to Meyer took up a position at the (archway) leading to the garden or park. Each of the seven prisoners was then called by name and in turn had to walk from the stable entrance to where the guard was at the (archway). They were then directed up some steps and into the garden. Here each made a left turn, and as he did so an Unterscharfuher, who had previously gone into the garden and was awaiting the prisoners, shot him in the back of the head.

As each of the prisoners came out of the stable, he shook hands with the others before walking into the garden. They all seemed to know what was about to happen, and the sound of the shots and occasionally a scream could be clearly heard.

When the shooting was over, Jesionek walked to the pump by the archway, where he saw the SS-Unterscharfuher reload his pistol as he emerged from the garden. Jesionek went into the garden and observed the dead bodies of the seven Canadian soldiers."