My visit to Oradour-sur-Glane…

My visit to Oradour-sur-Glane…

I’d wanted to visit Oradour-sur-Glane on my last visit to France, but for some reason didn’t make it. This visit, I decided to make a point of going…

The total destruction of the peaceful village of Oradour-sur-Glane occurred on June 10, 1944 when 642 innocent men, women and children were brutally murdered for no reason at all, and the whole town was destroyed by Waffen-SS soldiers in Hitler’s elite army. The destroyed village would never be rebuilt, but would remain a memorial to the cruelty.

It’s said to be quite an experience visiting the memorial village. It was.

As my video begins, it’s not too dissimilar to my traditional video style. However, once I arrive and feel the pure sadness which hovers over the devastated village, I only make a very brief appearance again in the video. Visiting the village quite literally made me feel like crying.

I will leave you with a handful of photos and the video I made of Oradour-sur-Glane memorial village…

 

The view of the Church. This is where the women and children were murdered.

Inside the Church.

The remains of the village Renault garage.

The village remains untouched since the massacre.

The buildings and vehicles were burnt.

The inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Glane had just finished a leisurely lunch when “the Krauts” arrived around 2 p.m. according to Madame Lang, one of the survivors, who lived near the church.

Bicycles, sewing machines and many other trade tools remain untouched.

This must never be forgotten. This only happened 73 years ago.

You can read the full story here.

Here’s the video I made…

And now we’re off to Grande Dune du Pilat – the highest sand dune in Europe… A cheerful blog coming up next…!!

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2 Comments on “My visit to Oradour-sur-Glane…

  1. Oh Richard it looks and feels such a sad place. Like so many events like these, we can only wonder why. Enjoy the next stage of your trip.