Up early didn't bother with breakfast (another €7.50) and set off for Oradour-sur Glane. The village is a permanent memorial to those who perished and also tells the story of Nazi occupation in France, the Vichey Government, collaborators and the resistance.
What happened is that the area around Bordeaux became a re-grouping area for German troops as the Allies landed on D-Day and the Germans had to defend and plan their way back to Berlin. There were lots of Waffen SS troops in the area (18000+) so it also became a target for the militia in the resistance movement.
After various skirmishes in towns in the area and some SS commanders had been captured an order was given to be hard on the local population to make an example of what will happen if you do not cooperate with the Germans.
They sent about 200 SS troops to Oradour-sur Glane and encircled the whole village. They then gradually moved inwards herding all the people into the village square. There they separated the men from the women and children, they were using the excuse that they were going to search the whole village for weapons. The villagers knew there were no weapons and therefore were not too unduly alarmed. They put all the women and children (about 400 people) into the church, and split the men (200+) into about five groups and took them into separate points in the village. At a coordinated time all the men were shot and their bodies stacked in a pyre and burnt. They then went to the church and set it alight with wood and phosphorus; as it was burning they shot at low level to kill the children, so the women could see that their children were dead!!
Only one woman survived, on that day 10th June 1944 they murdered 624 people.
They came back the days after to remove the bodies and to hide their crime!!
The old village that was completely burnt down by the Germans is left as it was as a monument to the people who died. A new village (the current Oradour-sur Glane) has been built alongside the old one.
There is a memorial information centre where the story is told with story boards and videos of the village before and after the massacre. You then can go and walk about in the old village. A very moving experience!!
After Oradour-sur Glane got the address from Savi for Cheryl and Gordon's property, so went back towards Perigeaux to see how they have been getting along with the restoration of their houses!
They have land and three properties:
1) A huge barn/shed.
2) A small house that Gordon has renovated to the extent he has the walls almost completed and the roof half done.
3) A large house where it looks like they have just tidied up all the land around it so far!
Set tomtom for Arromanche which is 650km ( a couple of days ride away)
More later
TOR
After various skirmishes in towns in the area and some SS commanders had been captured an order was given to be hard on the local population to make an example of what will happen if you do not cooperate with the Germans.
They sent about 200 SS troops to Oradour-sur Glane and encircled the whole village. They then gradually moved inwards herding all the people into the village square. There they separated the men from the women and children, they were using the excuse that they were going to search the whole village for weapons. The villagers knew there were no weapons and therefore were not too unduly alarmed. They put all the women and children (about 400 people) into the church, and split the men (200+) into about five groups and took them into separate points in the village. At a coordinated time all the men were shot and their bodies stacked in a pyre and burnt. They then went to the church and set it alight with wood and phosphorus; as it was burning they shot at low level to kill the children, so the women could see that their children were dead!!
Only one woman survived, on that day 10th June 1944 they murdered 624 people.
They came back the days after to remove the bodies and to hide their crime!!
The old village that was completely burnt down by the Germans is left as it was as a monument to the people who died. A new village (the current Oradour-sur Glane) has been built alongside the old one.
There is a memorial information centre where the story is told with story boards and videos of the village before and after the massacre. You then can go and walk about in the old village. A very moving experience!!
After Oradour-sur Glane got the address from Savi for Cheryl and Gordon's property, so went back towards Perigeaux to see how they have been getting along with the restoration of their houses!
They have land and three properties:
1) A huge barn/shed.
2) A small house that Gordon has renovated to the extent he has the walls almost completed and the roof half done.
3) A large house where it looks like they have just tidied up all the land around it so far!
Set tomtom for Arromanche which is 650km ( a couple of days ride away)
More later
TOR
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