Why did the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre happen?

The Nazi justification of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre was claimed to be the need to repress the rise in resistance activities in the region by the Maquis (the organised resistance) as well as retaliation for the capture of a German Officer, Sturmbannführer Kämpfe, the day before. Some claim the latter was only a pretext as he had actually been captured miles away from Oradour.

Who carried out the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre?

The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre was carried out by 200 soldiers belonging to the German Waffen SS Das Reich Panzer division which included some foreign soldiers among which some "malgré-nous", French young men who had been drafted by force from the occupied Alsace and Lorraine regions.

How many people died in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre?

The list of victims took a long time to be established but in January 1947, it was finally recorded that 643 people died during the massacre. Most bodies were not identified, with only 52 being granted a nominative death certificate.

Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre

Definition

The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in southwest France was the murder on 10 June 1944 of 643 civilian men, women, and children by the Waffen SS during the Second World War (1939-45). The massacre and the razing to the ground of the village was carried out in retaliation for activities of the French Resistance. Today, the site is a memorial to the atrocity.

More about: Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre

Timeline

10 Jun 1944
The Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre where 643 civilians are murdered by Nazi occupiers during WWII.
12 Jan 1953 - 11 Feb 1953
Trial of the 21 people accused of War Crimes in the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre.

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