Maillé () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the central French department of

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079. The resultant

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

was the second-largest in France of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, after that at

Oradour-sur-Glane Oradour-sur-Glane (; oc, Orador de Glana) was a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, New Aquitaine, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune. History The original village was destroyed on 10 June 194 ...

. On the same day that Paris was surrendered to the Allies, an estimated 80

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

soldiers of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division entered the village of 600 people in the morning, and killed 124 residents, including 46 children under the age of 14, and 42 women. Many of the victims were shot; the remainder bludgeoned, bayoneted, or burned. The village was then shelled until it was in ruins. Survivors later found a handwritten message on several corpses: "This is punishment for terrorists and their assistants." The reasons for the massacre are still unknown, although on the previous day a group of

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

fighters had killed several German officers travelling in a car, and in a separate incident ambushed a Waffen-SS column to the north; the district was also at the time safeguarding a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

pilot who had crash-landed in the area. Only one person has ever been held accountable, when in 1952 former German army lieutenant Gustav Schlueter was tried in absentia by a French court and found guilty. He remained living in Germany until his death in 1965. Although France has a 30-year limit on war crimes prosecutions, Germany does not. After the massacre featured in a German newspaper article in 2004, Dortmund-based prosecutor Ulrich Maas, who specialises in hunting down war criminals, started an investigation. After a television documentary on the massacre, Maas visited the village in July 2008 to collect more information, and laid a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

at the memorial.

Population

References

External links

Website of MailléThe forgotten French village massacre - BBC News article
Communes of Indre-et-Loire {{IndreLoire-geo-stub

Population

See also

References

External links