In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
ever hear of Oradour-Sur-Glane, France?
Txs
Member Posts: 17,809 ✭✭✭
An entire town basically wiped off the map and it's population of 642 massacred by the SS due to guerilla action.
Less than a week after D-Day a German SS unit entered the village of Oradour-Sur-Glane after receiving information an SS officer who had been captured by the Resistance was being held there. They were under orders to search for the officer and if necessary seize 30 townspeople hostage to secure his release.
They kicked things off by herding all the town's men into a barn and all the women/children into church, then set machineguns around each location as they searched the village. When they were unable to find the officer their commander, Major Adolf Diekmann, ordered them to open fire on the barn, which resulted in the geaths of 190 men. They then set fire to the church, killing 247 women and 205 children. The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest under a year old.
The village was then razed.
Six men and one woman managed to escape and told this story and after war's end German military records showed these survivor's account was accurate. In addition it was learned that Diekmann had actually been ordered court martialed for his actions. This matter ended up being dropped after he was killed in action a few weeks after the massacre.
Following the war the entire village of Oradour-Sur-Glane was declared a memorial and remains as it was June 10 1944.
The barn
The church
Less than a week after D-Day a German SS unit entered the village of Oradour-Sur-Glane after receiving information an SS officer who had been captured by the Resistance was being held there. They were under orders to search for the officer and if necessary seize 30 townspeople hostage to secure his release.
They kicked things off by herding all the town's men into a barn and all the women/children into church, then set machineguns around each location as they searched the village. When they were unable to find the officer their commander, Major Adolf Diekmann, ordered them to open fire on the barn, which resulted in the geaths of 190 men. They then set fire to the church, killing 247 women and 205 children. The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest under a year old.
The village was then razed.
Six men and one woman managed to escape and told this story and after war's end German military records showed these survivor's account was accurate. In addition it was learned that Diekmann had actually been ordered court martialed for his actions. This matter ended up being dropped after he was killed in action a few weeks after the massacre.
Following the war the entire village of Oradour-Sur-Glane was declared a memorial and remains as it was June 10 1944.
The barn
The church
Comments
She was born during WW2 and immigrated to the US in the 60s.
She can tell stories of towns wiped out like this that have never made the news. Lots of stories of atrocities that are unknown outside the local area.
That old woman can rant about nazis and communists like you would not believe.
Did anyone ever find the original missing SS officer who was the motivation for the massacre? Just curious about closing out the story.
Turned out the Resistance had already killed him - as could be expected - by the time this occurred.