Oradour Sur Glane, France

Oradour Sur Glane a ruined village in full preservation that was the scene of the most brutal Nazi massacre of civilians on French soil. Six hundred and 42 civilians, including 247 children were killed or burned alive in an unexplained act of barbarity on the 10th of June 1944. Although a new village was constructed nearby, the French president Charles de Gaulle decided to keep the original as a permanent memorial and museum.

Oradour Sur Glane

Oradour Sur Glane

The church locked the children and women in its cells. The village was also looted. Six barns and sheds were used as hiding places for the men, which were equipped with machine guns. A survivor claims that the SS men began shooting at their legs, according to his account. The Nazis set fire to the barns and covered victims with fuel when they couldn't move. Six men were able to escape. One of the six men was seen later walking down a street and was shot dead. All in all, 190 Frenchmen were killed. The survivors were allowed to bury their loved ones a few days later. In just a matter of hours, 642 Oradour-Sur-Glane residents had been murdered. Adolf Diekmann claimed that the atrocity was in revenge for the partisan activity in Tulle nearby and the kidnapping of Helmut Kampfe.

General Charles de Gaulle, after the war, declared that the village would not be rebuilt and would instead remain as a monument to the cruelty of Nazi occupation. Oradour-Sur-Glane, a new village located northwest of the massacre site (population 2,188 in 2006), was constructed after the war. As a reminder of the dead, the ruins of the original village are still standing.

Oradour Sur Glane Massacre

The Centre de la memoire d'Oradour was established by Jacques Chirac, French president, in 1999 near the Village Martyr ("martyred town"). It contains items from the burnt-out buildings, including watches that were stopped when their owners were killed, glass that was melted by the heat, and personal items.

First Photo credit TruckerPat

Oradour

Photo credit Alain Devisme

Oradour France

Photo credit Alain Devisme

Oradour Massacre

Photo credit Alain Devisme

Oradour Sur Glane Massacre

Photo credit Sheriff Of Nothing

Oradour Sur Glane France

Photo credit Verity Cridland

All the children and women were taken by soldiers to the church. They locked them up and put an incendiary device in their place. The incendiary device was set on fire and the children and women tried to escape through the windows and doors of the church. However, they were shot at with machine guns.

Photo credit Michael