Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in 1944

As I am interested from the World War II, my goal was this summer to visit Oradour-sur-Glane where the German Nazis destroyed the whole village and the village was never rebuilt, they built new village next to it instead. Today this place is a memorial Martyr Town.

 On 10 June 1944 the German Nazi Waffen-SS company ordered all inhabitants and people who just happen to be near the town to go to the square of the village and let the identity papers examined. Women and children were locked in the church and men were outside. The SS began shooting men, aiming their legs to make them unable to move, covered them with fuel and set them in fire. Only six men managed to escape and one of them was later seen walking down a road a was shot dead. All in all 190 Frenchmen died.

Next the SS men approached the church where 247 women and 205 children were locked in. They set the church on fire, women and children try to escape from the windows, only to be met with machine-gun fire. There was only one survivor, a 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche. She escaped trough one window followed by a young woman and a child, they all got shot, but Rouffanche managed to crawled to bushes and was found and rescued the next morning.

I knew the story about this village and wanted to visit. Unfortunaly phographing was not allowed and I do not understand why. You can take photos in Normandie basicly everywhere and places like Auschwitz, but Oradour-sur-Glane has chosen otherwise. Some years back photographing was allowed and you could walk freely in the town. I did few shots anyway (rebel on me) and I got few photos from my friend taken 20 years ago, Merci Gilles!!!

All buldings are left as they were, this was originally an order from the French President Charles de Gaulle, he wanted that it must stay as a permanent memorial.

Today you see ruins and most things which are still staying are things from metal. Old beds, Singer sewing machines, cars, bicycles etc.

Photo inside of the church where the massacre was done.

This was the church bell, melted from the heat.

Pram with bullet holes and next to it children´s toy car. 

On total 642 died in this massacre and there is a cemetary where all the victims are buried.

There is a free nice looking camper spot in Oradour-sur-Glane itself, but was so hot so I decided to find a shady campsite and visit the site early morning. The camper spot you can find here N 45°56'08" E 01°01'29" .