The bloody tragedy of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane (France)

June 1944 became fatal for this village. The village, destroyed by the Nazis, is recognized as the symbol of one of the most terrible crimes committed on French soil. The city-martyr, as it was called after 50 years, is completely destroyed, and the ruins left as a memory of those horrible events for descendants are declared a memorial center.

Historical reference

Oradur-sur-Glan is a ghost settlement, affected by an absurd accident. The centuries-old history of the village, whose name is translated from Latin as "chapel", was interrupted after the massacre of all its inhabitants. June 10, 1944 in the town included fascist punishers of the elite military unit of the SS.

The Nazi-thirsted General Heinz Lammerding, who kept 500 kg of looted gold in a special vehicle, was officially commanded by the Nazis, who was officially considered a safe for secret documents. Major Otto Dikman, responsible for ingots, together with his boss, thought for a long time about how to deliver immeasurable treasures to Germany.

The death of the military and the loss of gold

They were afraid of bombing, which could destroy a valuable cargo, and their own comrades. In addition, friends were tormented by the thought that in their homeland few people can be trusted with valuable bullion. Learning about the new order to move to Normandy to meet allies, the Nazis decide to hide a huge fortune. The heavy special vehicle was moving along a separate route, but its armored personnel carrier was guarding it with the soldiers.

Nobody expected a meeting with the fighters of the French Resistance, but it all happened. Six soldiers attacked the Germans, completely destroying their machines, as a result of the massacre there was only one German soldier who discovered a huge fortune in the special vehicle instead of archival documents. Without thinking for a long time, he buried the gold bars in the ground.

An absurd misunderstanding

The general, learning about the death of the Nazis and the loss of wealth, which would provide him with a comfortable old age, was beside himself with rage. He was informed that the center of the French Resistance was the village of Oradur-sur-Glan. It is there that he immediately sends punitive troops, not noticing that he has confused the names. The fact is that nearby was the town of Oradur-sur-Vaires, in which the partisan camp was actually located.

Interrupted calmness

The cozy village Oradur-sur-Glan (France), located in a picturesque place, has always been considered the quietest corner of the country. Surprisingly, the fighting that took place nearby had no effect on the way of life of local residents who were not part of the guerrilla group. People calmly conducted agriculture, prayed and rested, as if there was no war at all. Sweet idyll turned into a bloody tragedy, which is remembered and still.

On the orders of Lammerding, residents of the village of Oradur-sur-Glan, who were not expecting reprisal, were taken to the main square at 4 am. Soldiers of the elite SS regiment looted houses and destroyed livestock. All houses, except one in which interrogations and tortures were held, were blown up. The general brutalized, demanding to tell where his gold was hidden. People who did not understand the local residents were accused of aiding the French Resistance, and after that, according to the testimony of the few who survived, a real hell began.

Terrible tragedy

It is known that at the time of the massacre, in the village of Oradur-sur-Glan there were 642 local residents and 6 teenagers from a neighboring village who came to visit. All the Nazi barbarians were driven to the shed, after those machine-gun bursts, those who survived were doused with gasoline and set on fire. Six men survived after a horrific tragedy, they managed to get out of the conflagration of flame.

Women and small children were gathered in an abandoned church, and after a while the wooden structure was covered with fire. Those who tried to jump out the windows were shot at point-blank range. It is known about one survivor, on which bodies fell from above, taking all machine-gun turns. A woman who died in 1988, spent most of her life in a hospital for mentally ill people.

Historical Memorial

Those who survived decided not to restore the destroyed village of Oradur-sur-Glan (shown below), but to rebuild a new residence near the ruins.

The destroyed village, which keeps the very look in which the Nazis left it, and now looks terrifying: scattered things with stains of blood of the dead, burned skeletons of old cars, survivors of their children's toys have become a mute reminder of the terrible misfortune that happened in a small village. Those who visited such memorials, dedicated to the tragedies of the past war, never forget her disfigured face.

The ghost town of Oradur-sur-Glan (France), whose photo of the ruins is truly horrifying to everyone who came to pay tribute to the victims of World War II, will forever remain a symbol of Nazi barbarism.