The tragedy of the Guerry's wells designates the massacre of 36 Jews during the summer 1944 in

Savigny-en-Septaine Savigny-en-Septaine is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming area comprising a village and a few hamlets situated about southeast of Bourges, at the junction of the D976 with the D4 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located at . Noms_des_victimes_du_massacre_des_puits_de_Guerry

History

On July 21, 1944, men from the French

milice The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy regime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) t ...

led by Joseph Lécussan, and the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

arrested 70 Jewish refugees. Most of them were from Alsace-Lorraine, but had managed to hide in

Saint-Amand-Montrond Saint-Amand-Montrond () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France and the historical province of Bourbonnais. Saint-Amand-Montrond literally translates to Saint Amand round hill, despite not being on a round ...

and its surroundings since autumn of 1939. They lived there for five years in relative safety. On a farm, 36 persons where thrown in three different wells along with some stones in order to crush them alive. The victims were men and women aged from 16 to 85. Only one man, Charles Krameisen, managed to survive and to crawl back alive from the well. After the Liberation, his testimony allowed the site of the massacre and the bodies of the victims to be found, on October 18, 1944. The event can be seen as an example among hundreds which bear witness to the atrocity of the Jewish genocide undertaken by the Nazis in France with the help of French militias. One of those responsible for the massacre was

Pierre Paoli Pierre-Marie Paoli, also known as Lamote, (1921–1946) was a French agent in the Gestapo. The Gestapo (Secret State Police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. Biography Pierre-Marie Paoli was born on 31 D ...

, a French agent of the SD of

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

, acting under the orders of Friedrich Merdsche; he was condemned to death and executed in 1946.

Commemoration

In 1992, a monument to commemorate the atrocity was made by Georges Jeanclos, who himself had hidden for one year in a forest to escape the Gestapo. His uncle Pierre Jeankelowitsch (number 18) and aunt Fanny Jeankelowitsch (number 29 on the list) were amongst the victims of the tragedy of Guerry. In 2013, tributes to the victims were held with a commemoration.

References

{{Reflist Massacres in France World War II massacres France in World War II 1944 in France August 1944 events Crimes against humanity The Holocaust 1944 murders in France Mass murder in 1944 Nazi war crimes in France Vichy France