Remembering Oradour

During World War II, Oradour-Sur-Glane lay in the German-occupied zone of France. On June 10, 1944, troops of the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division massacred nearly the entire village of 642 people.. It ws not clear if this was a reprisal for activity by the French resistance or simply barabrity for the sake of barbarity. Immediately following the massacre General De Gaulle had decreed that the village be left as a ruined village with all traces of what had happened there preserved in perpetuity. It remains a memorial and the 80 th anniversary of the massacre was marked this year (2024). Dave and Linda from CAIF witnessed the memorial this year and write about their experiences here.

We decided to reconnoître Oradour-Sur-Glane on Sunday 9 June. We found a small town that was already getting ready for what was to be a very special occasion, not only for the town and the region but for the whole of France, in terms of its collective memory of resistance to Nazism. 

There were not so many people about, just a few tourist visitors and a smattering of locals but, when we returned at 8:00 the following morning – Monday 10 June – we found the local gendarmerie already putting in place the ‘cordon sanitaire’. This was required to maintain order and security, and, as the morning unfolded, the full weight of the French Secret Service who were there to protect the two Presidents – Macron of France and Steinmeier of Germany – who would be attending this very important commemoration. This was to be the 80^th Anniversary of the massacre on June 10, 1944 by part of the Waffen SS Das Reich division of more than 200 men with machine guns and some 450 women and children in the church, before burning the village. In total, this barbaric act resulted in 643 victims. 

As we waited outside the Town Hall there assembled many military veterans, bedecked in their battle honours, the town’s people and many relatives of the victims of the massacre, the ‘martyrs’ as they are known.

The parade set off northwards at 9:00 but, as we had no idea where they were heading and not wanting to tax Linda’s mobility too early in the day we did not follow. It transpired later that they had gone to lay wreaths at the war memorial.

Seeing that some parade followers were coming back and moving on down the hill towards the “Monument Aux Morts”, the memorial to the 643 martyrs, we made our way there and, in so doing, were fortunately able to catch up with some of the administrators of the whole event who furnished us with the very necessary wrist bands – of various colours – which would enable us to access the important venues of the day. Following the ceremony of wreath laying at this spot we fortunately also came into contact with Océane Guillon – our main contact for everything that we were going to be part of for these two days. Océane is the Project Leader for International Partnerships at Dunkerque City Council who are the principal lead in the Cities of Memory Network.

At this time we were also introduced to another representative from Dunkerque – Bruno Cooren – who proved to be an invaluable help in assisting us – Linda in particular – to negotiate our way from this memorial up to the North Entrance to the ruined village and along a very, long and difficult track to seats among the foreign delegations at the Esplanade which had been set up for all of the commemorative events.

I have to say at this point that Linda’s efforts in making the trek from the Town Hall to the Esplanade were nothing short of heroic but, as she has said, she could not pass up this opportunity to take part in such a memorable event – a once-in-a-lifetime and unforgettable experience.

After much effort we reached our seats and there then followed a series of presentations – wreath laying by various organisations from all over France and, notably a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” by a choir of local school children.

Over a period of about 150 minutes we sat in an almost unbearable sun beating down – without any head protection, though with plenty of water bottles provided – while the two Presidents, whose helicopters we had seen flying in overhead, made there way slowly through the ruins of the village, which we were able to see on big video screens erected at the sides of the Esplanade.

While this slow presidential procession through the village was taking place the names of each of the 643 martyrs were read out by schoolchildren.

Notably, Macron and Steinmeier displayed a great empathy towards each other which was further enhanced by their encounter with Agathe Hébras, the grand-daughter of Robert Hébras, the last survivor of the massacre who died in March 2023, and Karin Eideloth, the grand-daughter of Adolph Heinrich, one of the members of Das Reich who had taken part in the killings in June 1944.

This act of reconciliation was reflected in particular in Steinmeier’s address from the podium in which he spoke about the need to “feel the authority of suffering, the victims and profound sorrow. Here, big words become small – they must stand up to the speechlessness that goes along with great suffering”.

He went on to say that “It is courageous people who allowed us, as Germans, to be here today. And they are courageous to have initiated a special reconciliation. Reconciliation took place between actual people in day-to-day encounters: It is a reconciliation that never forgets. But it does not only look back to the past. It lives in a new present and also hopes for a better future. For us, Germans and the French, the hope for a better future became a reality: the reality of Franco-German friendship”. With this statement he emphasised the importance of a united and peaceful Europe: “Let us never forget the damage nationalism and hatred caused in Europe. Let us never forget the miracle of reconciliation that the European Union has achieved! Let us protect our united Europe!”

After the two addresses the Presidents laid their own wreaths and then inspected the guard of honour which was being provided by the decorated veterans.

When the ceremonies were complete we made the difficult walk back to a reception which was held in a building close to the Town Hall. The two Presidents were also in attendance but it was impossible to get very close to Macron as he was surrounded by heavy security, although he was clearly taking the opportunity – the day after he had declared a very controversial dissolution of the French Parliament and a general election – to interact with some fortunate few who were allowed to speak with him. This reception went on until about 15:30 after which Linda waited at a nearby café with some of the other symposium delegates while I went off to witness three further acts of commemoration carried out by Oradour’s mayor, Phillippe Lacroix, in particular at the local school where there was some singing by young children and their teachers and commemorative reading by a local poet.  

At 19:30 the foreign delegates were ushered into the Mayor’s Parlour where a series of presentations were made by Philippe Lacroix and Benoît Sadry, the President of the National Association of Families of Martyrs. On behalf of CAIF Linda was presented with two gifts of Limoges Porcelain – one for Coventry’s Lord Mayor and one for herself as Secretary of CAIF. Linda inscribed two books with dedications from CAIF. The day ended with a dinner hosted by the Mayor of Oradour-Sur-Glane and proceedings ended at 21:30 – the end of a very long and unforgettable commemoration ceremony. 

This report has been written by Dave Hirons from CAIF.

You can find articles, web sites and short movies about the village using a simple web search. This is a short film clip made near the time of the massacre by Movietone News. It is linked here following usual practice regarding open material within YouTube.

You might also want to check out a visit to Lidice, an earlier blog about a village near Prague which we are twinned with.