My Trip to Oradour - Part 1

Yesterday I took advantage of the Toussaint (All Saint's Day) holiday and went out for a little sightseeing. I had taken a class at K on WWII in France and done a research project on a little village called Oradour-sur-Glane. Since Oradour is not far from here I settled on that is my destination. I took the morning train to Limoges and, with the help of the tourist's office, found my way across the centre ville to the bus station. I used the 1/2 hr bus ride to remember what I had learned. Oradour was a sleepy village (pop. around 1000 including the outskirts). On June 10, 1944 a group of Nazi SS marched into town and rounded up the citizens. The women and children were taken to the church and the men were divided into groups and taken to 6 barns. At 4 pm a shot rang out. As if on cue the soldiers began firing upon the citizens and then set fire to the town. 642 people including 205 children were killed that day. There were only 6 survivors of the attack. In 1953 most of the troops who launched the attack were brought to trial, found guilty and then released under a general amnesty granted by the French government. The commander of the unit is currently serving a life sentence in Germany. The town was left untouched so as to serve as a reminder. At the entrance of the village stands a sign, Souviens-Toi. Remember. and its an experience that's hard to forget. Each of the crumbling houses is labeled with the name and occupation of the former resident. The barns and church have plaques explaining what happened there. There's a memorial in the town center with the names and pictures of those who perished. It was a humbling experience. Rusted out cars sit where their owns last left them. Looking in what used to be windows you can see sewing machines, pots and pans and other objects that were not looted or burned up. Its truly a ghost town that reminds us just what people are capable of doing. There is a museum, the Centre de la Mémoire, that serves at entrance to the village. It attempts to place the events of Oradour in the context of the war. Its definately worth a visit. To this day no one knows for sure what led to the attack although there are many suppositions. Even the soldiers who carried it out didn't know why the order was.