In the words of Laurence Olivier in the World at War series, “Down this road on a summer day in 1944, the soldiers came. They stayed only a few hours. When they had gone, a community which had lived for a thousand years was dead”. This is the story of Oradour-sur-Glane. A THREAD 
76 years ago today the inhabitants of the picturesque village of Oradour-sur-Glane in France were going about the daily business. Talk that Saturday was of the allied invasion of Normandy four days before, and how long it would be before their nightmare of occupation would end.
Oradour that day was busier than usual. The only restaurant was fully booked, an arrival of tobacco at the local shop had brought many into town, and both local schools with a total of 191 children were in full attendance, everyone was in high spirits.
All that changed at 2.15pm when a convoy of vehicles was seen winding its way along the road from Limoges towards the village. Was it just passing through? The question was answered moments later when the it stopped on Rue Emile Desourteaux in the heart of the village.
The calm was shattered by shouts as troops of the notorious 2nd SS ‘Das Reich’ Division emerged from their vehicles and immediately began moving door to door, forcing all inhabitants; men, women and children, to assemble on the market square for an ‘identity check’.
The inhabitants of Oradour were surprised to hear many of those soldiers speak fluent French, quite a few were Alsatians, from the disputed territory between France and Germany. A few residents hid fearing the worst, most complied and made their way to the market square.
By 2.45pm most villagers, all the schoolchildren with their teachers, and many from the surrounding area had assembled in the square. At the same time, the town Doctor having finished his rounds, arrived in his car. Told to leave it where it was, he too joined the others.
Minutes later, the SS troops began separating those present; men into one group, women and children into another. A soldier announced "There are secret arms hidden here by terrorists. We will make a search and you will be held in barns until we have finished".
The men were led away first, in several groups, being taken to a nearby barn, Mr Denis’ wine storehouse, Mr Beaulieu’s shed and Mr Desorteaux’s garage. The largest group, several hundred women and children, pushing prams and with babies in arms, were taken to the church.
About 3.30pm that the shooting started. With men packed into small buildings, the SS unleashed a hail of gunfire from the entrance doorways. After the firing, which seemed to go on forever, soldiers walked amongst the fallen, killing anyone who showed signs of life.
The same happened in the church. The women and children listened in terror as their men were killed and moments later watched as fires were lit in the centre of the church. They were machine gunned from the doorways which killed all but one of the hundreds of occupants.
The only escapee from that church, 47 year old Madame Rouffanche, survived by jumping from a shattered window and hiding for 24 hours in a field of crops despite being badly wounded. She lost her husband, son and two daughters that day.
Immediately following the massacre of the population of Oradour, German troops went door to door again, in search of those who had hidden. The elderly were killed in their beds, children shot in their hiding places and each building systematically set ablaze.
Tragically, once the firing started, a number of parents, desperate to save their children, came rushing from the surrounding villages to the schools in an attempt to save them, only to be killed on arrival.
Even those who had been far away from town that day were not to escape. As the massacre was unfolding, the local tram returned to the village, full with unsuspecting inhabitants returning home from Limoges. They met the same fate.
By 10pm most of the SS had departed, leaving only the smoking ruins of a village that 24 hours before had been full of life. All told, more than 640 men, women and children were murdered that afternoon; less than twenty witnessed the massacre and lived to tell the tale.
Of the perpetrators, Adolf Diekmann, the man who ordered the massacre, and many of his men were killed within weeks fighting in Normandy. 65 men were eventually charged in 1953 for their part in the crimes with 20 being convicted. By 1958 all had been released from prison.
Today the ruins of Oradour-sur-Glane stand as a silent memorial to the tragedy that once unfolded there. One of the most powerful and evocative places you can imagine, If ever you find yourself in that beautiful stretch or rural France, please consider making a visit.
The greatest tragedy highlighted by what happened at Oradour is that it does not stand alone. Actions like this in Western Europe were mercifully rare, but for every name we know, there were hundreds more across central and eastern Europe whose names we do not. Lest We Forget.
