Emmanuel Macron and the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are expected in Oradour-sur-Glane (Haute-Vienne), Monday June 10, to honor the memory of the victims of Nazism. An important stage of the memorial tour organized by the Elysée for the 80th anniversary of the Liberation. On June 10, 1944, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane was the scene of the massacre of several hundred French civilians. Follow the France Télévisions special broadcast live, broadcast on France 2, franceinfo channel 27 and france.tv from 9:40 a.m.
The largest massacre of civilians in World War II. On June 10, 1944, the 2nd SS Division Das Reich killed 643 men, women and children. Only six people escaped one of the worst massacres of civilians perpetrated by the Nazis in Western Europe. The SS machine-gunned around 200 men, then 450 women and children in the church, before burning everything. The ruins of this martyred village became state property and were classified as a historic monument in 1946.
A major place of memory. This is the fourth time that Emmanuel Macron has visited the town. He came there in 2022 to present the medal of Commander of the National Order of Merit to Robert Hébras, the last survivor of this killing, who died the following year.
Memory in danger. The stigmata of this disastrous June 10, 1944 are engraved in the stones of the destroyed houses. After the war, the decision was made to preserve the places in their state of destruction, but this testimony is less and less resistant to time. These remains are today in danger. The maintenance costs are heavy and the descendants of the victims are fighting to ensure that this place of memory does not disappear.