Oradour sur Glane

The reason we stayed in Limoges was that we wanted to visit Oradour sur Glane which is about a half hour away. It is a very sad story.

On June 10, 1944, four days after the Allied invasion of Normandy, approximately 150 Waffen-SS soldiers surrounded and entered the town of Oradour sur Glane. They brutally murdered 642 innocent inhabitants, including women and children, and burnt the town to the ground.

When they entered the town, they ordered the people to assemble in the town square,  and since the people were innocent of any wrong-doing they complied. The SS then separated the women and children from the men and locked them inside the church. They took the men away to 6 different locations, where they shot at them then trapped them in the buildings while they set them on fire. They came back to the women and children and shot them all, then set the church on fire to make sure no one escaped alive.

The Germans claimed that they were retaliating against the french underground, although there were no known members in that town. It was considered an act of terrorism. The ruins of the martyred village have been preserved as a memorial.

Street

Main Street

Car

In front of the church

Sewing Machine

Memorial Plaque 

Here lived:

Felix Aliotti                          Age 29

Clea Aliotti                          Age 23

Christiane Aliotti                  Age 4

Marie Christine Aliotti         Age 2

Michele Aliotti                    Age 2 months

Pram