Oradour sur Glane is what the English call "in the back of beyond"; or Americans, "in a backwater". The region saw practically no German activity during the whole of the occupation of France in World War 2 and there was no Resistance activity either, as there were no Germans to "resist". The only time the citizens of Oradour sur Glane saw a German was when one stopped of for a meal in the cafe or restaurant. So it was with curiosity the locals greeted a company of SS Soldiers who arrived in the village on a hot, quiet, Saturday afternoon in June 1944. The Allies were already ashore in the north, but here in the south west of France nothing had changed for years and showed no signs of doing so, until now. Some of the villagers got a little worried and ran off and hid themselves away but, in the main, most just stood and watched. Within a couple of hours, 642 men, women and children would lie dead amongst the ashes of a once peaceful village. The few that did survive had no idea why their village had been singled out for such savage "retribution", in fact many people still do not know to this day. Since I placed this page online I, like most others, believed it was in retaliation for Resistance activity and the kidnapping and murder of a German Major. Only the previous day, 99 men had been publicly hanged in Tulles in retaliation for Resistance activity. The Germans made no secret of it - indeed, they broadcast it to deter further Resistance Fighters from attacking the Germans. But, in the case of Oradour, they tried from the start to hush it up. After the massacre, they ordered the Gestapo to stop anybody from getting anywhere near to the village. So, why the secrecy? The tragedy which struck Oradour
Warning ... some of these pictures are pretty graphic and upsetting ... don't look if you're squeamish Entrance to the new ORADOUR. pictures from history photos on webshots
Pictures of the SS Officers involved ..... Oradour-sur-Glane - photos of Adolf Diekmann, Sylvester Stadler, Helmut Kämpfe and Otto Weidinger
I went there a few years ago on my motorbike. I went to Tulle too where the SS were before Oradour. Oradour is quite a place. I'll try and post some pictures at some point. Cheers Andy
Thanks for the offer of photos Andy ..... I'd like to see them ! were you able to glean any "local" history at all while you were there ? Annie
