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Posted on Aug 17, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like

Oradour sur Glane

Armchair General

The Village.

Once visitors have passed through the Centre, they are taken up a series of steps leading to the entrance to the village. Large signs ask people to maintain a respectful silence through the streets. Once in the village, it’s eerily quiet.

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Helpful signs have been placed to locate important buildings. This first photo shows the home of the Dentist.

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As you can see, tramlines remain in place, as do the electricity pylons and, amazingly, the power cables themselves. The second picture here shows a building that retains its original metal advertisement signs. A reminder that this was a living, breathing community.

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Here’s the Forge owned by the Beaulieu family. Bodies were found here after the massacre. The second picture is a part of the Fairground, one of the main areas where executions took place once the SS had sealed off the village.

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This sad sight is the remains of a car owned by the village physician, Doctor Desorteaux. It’s been left where he last parked it on his rounds.

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The remains of an old iron bedstead sit next to a destroyed fireplace, and to the right, the Pharmacy.

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Another view down one of the main streets, and next to it, an old water pump that will never be used again.

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1 Comment

  1. I heard a rumour that the real reason for the massacre was that there was a great deal of gold bullion that had to be removed very quickly and the massacre was an excuse or cover up for those wishing to hide the fact that they were there to take the gold, and that a day before a crack team of special forces people arrived to oversee the shipment wondering if you could shed any light on this, it was something i learned at school years ago back in the seventies
    best regards
    Sean Schofield