This is the story of a terrible day on
June 10, 1944, when a Nazi SS Division (Das Reich) surrounded the village of
Oradour-sur-Glane in France then ordered everyone to
assemble on the green (the Fairgrounds).
Once
there, they were told by the Nazi commandant they were suspected of hiding
explosives and as a result there would be a search and a check of identity
papers.
The
Nazis then separated the women and children from the men and herded them into the church, for their own safety. The men were split up and put into various buildings. Then, in the church a gas bomb was set off but that failed to kill all, so the women and children were shot at. The church was then set on fire burning any of the women
and children who were still alive. The men were shot in the legs and the buildings set on fire. Afterwards, the entire village was set to fire. A total of 642
townspeople including those who had been rounded up south of the village -- 245 women, 207 children, and 190 men were massacred.
Three
days after the massacre, a Catholic Bishop found the charred bodies of fifteen
children in a heap behind the burned out altar inside the church.
The
village of Oradour-sur-Glane was never rebuilt, forever standing as a silent
monument to Nazi atrocities.
The above cannot adequately describe what happened that day,
so please click on the link below for the best detailed account by both
sides; by the only woman who survived; by others who had an
after-the-fact interest especially the Story by Robert Mackness.
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Brian, I and our new friends, Ray and Judy, spent a June day at the visitors center learning of the history leading up to that day, the atrocities of that day and then quietly wandered the village, gradually absorbing the enormity of the tragic day when an entire village, of families going about everyday activities, was decimated. It is an extremely emotional, well preserved piece of history which haunted us all for days. Ray and I photographed the ruins of the village, which are included in the slideshow.
The Story:
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Oradour-sur-Glane/Story/index.htmlOur Photos:
http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a4d344e44557a4e54513d0d0a&blogview=true
