Oradour sur Glane
France 10 june 1944.
The distruction and massacre by the German SS.
When i was on a vacation in France in the area between the citys Limoges and Angouleme i searched for historical places related to the second world war.
In even the smalest village you will find statues which refer to the first or second word war.
What i found in Oradour sur Glane had a great impact on me and it helps me to try to understand the cruelty of the warcrimes and terror by the German SS during World War 2.
What happened there on that tragic day
on the 10 th of june 1944 ?
Oradour sur Glane was just a small village near to the city Limoges from where the people came to enjoy the countryside and spent some time with fishing in the river Glane or walking in nature.
It seems that the war was far away and the German army had no permanent troops or guards in the village.
Untill today we are not sure about the reason why the German SS came to this village but some say that it was a retalliation for some action from the resistance in the area near to Oradour sur Glane.
What we know for sure is the fact that the men, women and children from Oradour sur Glane had no part in this actions and were innocent.
Two German halftrack vehicles type Sd. Kfz. 251,
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| Halftrack type Sd. Kfz. 251. |
came into the village to bring in the troops from the SS panzer Div. Das Reich.
And with them other trucks and vehicles loaded with German SS troops.
They stopped at different stategic places to seal off the area and block the roads.
After that all citizens are ordered to go to the central market place.
To turn up the speed soldiers pushed the people and screamed schnell !!, schnell !! (quick,quick).
When all the men, women and children were on the marketplace the SS started to sepperate the women and children from the men.
The women and children are chased to the church.
And with them other trucks and vehicles loaded with German SS troops.
They stopped at different stategic places to seal off the area and block the roads.
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| A re-enactment picture to show you the typical SS camouflage uniforms and other equipment. |
After that all citizens are ordered to go to the central market place.
To turn up the speed soldiers pushed the people and screamed schnell !!, schnell !! (quick,quick).
When all the men, women and children were on the marketplace the SS started to sepperate the women and children from the men.
The women and children are chased to the church.
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The church before the massacre. |
The men are chased to 7 different buildings in the village.
About 16:00 hours the SS started to shoot down the men and after that they burned the bodies, but not everybody had died immediate after the shooting...
Meanwhile the women and children in the church heard the shooting and wondered if somebody would survive this massacre...
Then the Germans came in with explosives, placed it in the middle of the church and left. Almost direct a terrible explosion filled the church and surviving women and children tried to escape.
But the Germans started shooting through the windows and doors.
Only one women was able to escape from the church, behind the altar she found a window and jumped three meters down. She was able to hide behind the church and survived.
642 men,women and children died
only a few survived.
When you walk around through the streets with the burned ruins after visiting the underground memorial you get a deep and impressive view of what happened here. Its like you can smell the remains of burned wood and you can feel the destructive power of terror. If these walls could talk...
Every year about 300.000 people visit this ruins in remembrance of he vistims.
In 1945 after the liberation General de Gaulle decided that everything must stay in place as it was to make the place a national monument and accusation against warcrimes and terror.
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General de Gaulle. General de Gaulle visiting Oradour sur Glane in 1945, and made the place a national monument of remembrance. The link at the end of this article shows you a clip from the visit of General de Gaulle in 1945 : |
Sad to say, I had never heard of this massacre until today (1-30-2012.) Dank je wel. I will never understand why people can be so cruel.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I also don't understand how anyone could live with the memories of having been part of it. But we're very fortunate that we don't understand.
ReplyDelete