Oradour Sur Glane 2019 Otpol Village Martyr 1980x1320There are places you can’t miss. Places that cannot be forgotten. Places that, because of the weight of their history, must be visited. Such is the case of Oradour-sur-Glane. This village in the Limousin saw its population massacred by a unit of the SS Das Reich division on June 10, 1944.
Oradour Sur Glane 2019 Otpol Village Martyr (2) 2On June 10, 1944, Oradour-sur-Glane sadly went down in history.
With no reason to expect such violence in this rural village, the Nazis took the lives of 643 people. After taking possession of the village, the German division separated the women and children from the men. The men were divided into barns, while the women and children were herded into the village church. A long wait, full of uncertainty, begins before experiencing the horror. The Nazis spare no one. Following the execution by firing squad, the village was looted and burned. Only 6 people managed to escape from the village. They are now all dead.
Shortly after the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane, General De Gaulle decided that the ruins of the martyred village would be preserved. Oradour-sur-Glane came to symbolize the atrocities committed by the Nazis in France. During his visit in March 1945, General De Gaulle recalled that “a place like this remains something common to all, something where everyone recognizes the common misfortune, the common will and the common hope”.
Over the years, the need for a space to explain the context in which the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre took place became apparent. In 1998, the Centre de la Mémoire was inaugurated.
