Oradour-sur-Glane

Leaving the hotel this morning, we headed for Oradour-sur-Glane, the martyred village, where, on 10 June 1944, German troops massacred 642 residents (the entire population, apart from 7 survivors) and burnt the village to the ground. The ruins of the village have been left untouched since, including cars and household items which are still in the same place they were on that day.

We were taken aback by just how big the village was, we were expecting a small amount of buildings, but as we wandered around, we realised how much bigger it was.

Gareth here, I just wanted to say I found the experience quite moving, which is probably a bit of an understatement. When you see a grouping of what are clearly bullet holes in a house wall, that are adult chest height and then a couple of feet to the right are another grouping of bullet holes but this time are at a child's chest height, lets just say it is an image that will stay with me for a long time as the obvious thoughts go through your mind. This may or may not have happened as after some reading it sounds like children were rounded up and taken to the church.

It is hard to understand how anyone could bring themselves to commit this atrocity, but as we all know, it is easy to whip up the hatred in ordinary people, to a point where they will blindly follow any order given by their so called leaders and hierarchy.Read more