Oradour-sur-Glane
On June 6th, 1944, the western allies landed on Normandy beaches in northern France. The Germans knew that an invasion was imminent but didn’t really know where. But once the invasion had begun, the Germans began sending reinforcements stationed in France towards Normandy. Among these were SS Pansardivision Das Reich, who since January 1944 was recuperating in southern France where they had been sent after two years of fighting in Russia. The commander was SS-Obergruppenführer (Generalmajor), Heinz Bernhard Lammerding. On the eastern front, the division had distinguished itself in battle against both the Red Army and partisans, but had also commited war crimes against civilians and destroyed entire villages.
On the way up north Das Reich passed the surroundings of Oradour-sur-Glane, a picturesque village in the countryside with about 700 inhabitants who until then had been spared from the ravages of war. In parallel with the move north, Das Reich was tasked with fighting the French resistance movement (Maquis). In connection with the landing, Maquis had carried out a number of actions to disrupt German troop movements en route to Normandy. Mainly through sabotage, but also through direct confrontations with German units. Maquis had captured SS-Sturmbannführer, Helmuth Kämpfe, on June 9th outside Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat. Kämpfe was the highest in rank captured by Maquis. Kämpfe was murdered the next day, something that the Germans could not let pass unpunished.
Around 2 pm on June 10th, a company from Das Reich regiment, Der Führer, arrived in Oradour. The commander of the regiment was SS-Sturmbannführer, Adolf Diekmann, who first ordered that all access routes to and from Oradour be blocked. He then ordered all residents to gather in the central market square. Initially, the residents volunteered but soon became aware that this was not a regular check of ID documents. In the square, men were separated from women and children. About 200 men were taken to six pre-selected sites in the village where they were locked up. The SS then opened fire, threw in hand grenades and set the buildings on fire. Those who tried to escape were shot.
About 240 women and 200 children were locked up in the village church and brutally murdered. SS had also placed explosives in the church and the explosions caused the roof to collapse. SS also searched the houses for people in hiding, some were found and shot, while others managed to avoid detection or escaped. Before the SS left Oradour, the entire village was set on fire. The whole massacre was over in a few of hours. A total of 642 people were murdered, 205 children, 247 women and 190 men. About 20 people survived the massacre, including a woman who miraculously managed to escape through one of the church windows.
It has never been established what caused the massacre. One explanation may be that the Germans suspected that there was a link between Maquis and Oradour and that it was an act of revenge for the kidnapping and murder of Helmuth Kämpfe. But post-war witness accounts mention nothing of such a connection. It may also have been a misunderstanding that Diekmann or his superiors confused Oradour with another village. But it may also have been something as unfortunate as a random choice along Das Reich en route north. What is clear is that Oradour was not the only village where Das Reich committed war crimes along the way. The majority of the regiment that participated in the massacre was later killed in battle and Diekmann himself fell in battle in Normandy a few weeks later. He is buried in the German war cemetery of La Cambe in Normandy.
Current status: Demolished with museum (2007).
Get there: Car.
Follow up in books: Fouche, Jean-Jaques: Massacre At Oradour, France, 1944 (2005).
The Museum is called Centre de la Memoire and opened in 1999. The focus is, of course, on the massacre in Oradour and the visitor gets to follow Das Reich and the residents until the fateful day. But what is interesting is that through the museum you get into what was once Oradour-sur-Glane. After the war, French President Charles de Gaulle decided that the ruins of the village would be preserved for posterity as proof of the Nazi crimes. In 1999, former president Jacques Chirac, inaugurated the museum and declared the village a martyr’s village (Village martyr).
All the ruins are more or less left as they were that fateful day. Houses in poor condition have been supported by beams to be preserved for posterity. Among the ruins are personal items such as bicycles, sewing machines, pots, wrecks and agricultural machines that have remained in the garage since that day. The tram tracks and electric posts are also preserved and in the cafes the ruined chairs and tables remain. In the bakery are the remains of the baking oven. The ruins may not be entered with the exception of the destroyed church. It was there that the women and children were burned alive.
One can still see the marks of the shooting in the church walls when the SS opened fire straight into the church against people who tried to escape the flames. At the altar are the remains of a small toy stroller that once probably belonged to a little girl. The roof of the church is gone because the SS tried to blow up the whole building. In the church there is also a memorial to the people who lived in Oradour and died in the First World War. The Church painting collapsed during the massacre but was recovered and now hangs there with two bullet holes as a reminder. Just outside the village is the cemetery where several of those who died during the massacre are buried.
Village martyr is extremely interesting to wander around because it gives a good overview of what the village once looked like. All the objects I just mentioned give a personal touch of the village. There are lots of personal belongings at the exhibitions in, for example, Auschwitz, but there the personal belongings tend to disappear among the hundreds of other objects located in the same stand. We all have a cafe, post office, bakery, church, school, house, car that we can relate to. Therefore, Oradour becomes more tangible and personal and makes it easy for the visitor to identify with the victims in a way that cannot be done in Auschwitz. Oradour is one of the most interesting sites I have visited.