The execution of a German soldier at Villers-Cotterêts in the Aisne department in Picardy. Late 1914.
A photo showing French soldiers preparing to execute a German POW. I am not sure on what charges. The artist who added colour (and researched the photo) said it may have been due to being a spy or conducting sabotage of some sort. Even speculating it may have been a French deserter in a German uniform.
Whether or not this photo is staged, and regardless of the reasons behind it, I am struck by the defiant pose of the German soldier. He is standing with a straight back and without a blindfold, facing his executioners. Brutal incidents occurred on all fronts, and it’s possible that a photographer captured this photo before the order to fire was given. This soldier, who, despite being unidentified, was immortalised in this photo.
Colour by Toussaint Bonavita.
Photo source: Galicia.