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Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre
On 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company. A new village was built nearby after the war. President Charles de Gaulle ordered that the ruins of the old village be maintained as a permanent memorial and museum. Background In February 1944, the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was stationed in the Southern French town of Valence-d'Agen, « Rubrique Valence d'Agen », ''Archives du Tarn-et-Garonne'', 11 June 2011. north of Toulouse, waiting to be resupplied with new equipment and fresh troops. Following the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944, the division was ordered north to help stop the Allied advance. One of its units was the 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment ("Der Führer"). Its staff included regimental commander SS-'' Standartenführer'' Sylvester Stadler, SS-''Sturmba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Normandy Landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day (military term), D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building (as in some monasteries). In most older churches, a sacristy is near a side altar, or more usually behind or on a side of the main altar. In newer churches the sacristy is often in another location, such as near the entrances to the church. Some churches have more than one sacristy, each of which will have a specific function. Often additional sacristies are used for maintaining the church and its items, such as candles and other materials. Description The sacristy is also where the priest and attendants vest and prepare before the service. They will return there at the end of the service to remove their vestments and put away any of the vessels used during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French National Identity Card
The French national identity card (french: carte nationale d’identité or ''CNI'') is an official identity document consisting of an electronic ID-1 card bearing a photograph, name and address. While the identity card is non-compulsory, all persons must possess some form of valid government-issued identity documentation. Identity cards, valid for a period of 10 years, are issued by the local ''préfecture'', ''sous-préfecture'', '' mairie'' (in France) or in French consulates (abroad) free of charge. A fingerprint of the holder is taken, which is stored in paper files and which can only be accessed by a judge in closely defined circumstances. A central database duplicates the information on the card, but strict laws limit access to the information and prevent it being linked to other databases or records. The cards may be used to verify identity and nationality and may also be used as a travel document within Europe (except Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and United Kingdom) as well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre
On 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company. A new village was built nearby after the war. President Charles de Gaulle ordered that the ruins of the old village be maintained as a permanent memorial and museum. Background In February 1944, the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' was stationed in the Southern French town of Valence-d'Agen, « Rubrique Valence d'Agen », ''Archives du Tarn-et-Garonne'', 11 June 2011. north of Toulouse, waiting to be resupplied with new equipment and fresh troops. Following the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944, the division was ordered north to help stop the Allied advance. One of its units was the 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment ("Der Führer"). Its staff included regimental commander SS-'' Standartenführer'' Sylvester Stadler, SS-''Sturmba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maquis Du Limousin
The Maquis du Limousin was one of the largest Maquis groups of French resistance fighters fighting for the liberation of France. The region of Limousin was an active area of resistance beginning in 1940. Edmond Michelet distributed tracts calling for continued fighting in all of Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes on 17 June 1940. It is considered to be the first act of resistance of World War II in France. But the Limousin was south of the line of demarcation and the resistance was mainly a passive one against Vichy France. The Maquis du Limousin, the first in France, was formed in 1942. Its first act of sabotage was the dynamiting of a power plant near Ussel, Corrèze, Ussel in June 1942. Marshal Philippe Pétain's visit to Corrèze in July was seen as a provocation by the population and strengthened popular support for the maquis. The maquis increased fast, reinforced by many young men trying to escape the German troops who invaded in November 1942 and instituted the Service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmut Kämpfe
Helmut Kämpfe (31 July 1909 – 10 June 1944) was a highly decorated Waffen SS ''Sturmbannführer'' who was abducted and executed by the French Resistance. In retribution, the Germans carried out the Oradour massacre in occupied France on 10 June 1944. In total 643 men, women and children were killed in Oradour-sur-Glane by troops from the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich''. The SS commander who ordered the massacre said the death of Kämpfe was the reason for the killings. Kämpfe, was a commander in 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich''." He was a highly decorated soldier, having received both the Close Combat Clasp in Gold and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Biography Kämpfe was born in Thüringen, Germany in 1909. He trained to be a typographer like his father but after Hitler took power in 1933 he became a Leutnant in the Heer before transferring to the Waffen-SS in 1939. On the Eastern Front in Russia, he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 4th SS-Panzergrenadier D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oradour-sur-Vayres
Oradour-sur-Vayres (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in west-central France. History Oradour-sur-Glane massacre The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre occurred based on erroneous intelligence indicating that villagers were holding a German SS officer, who was being held in Oradour-sur-Vayres. Gallery File:The back or side of the town hall in Oradour-sur-Vayres.jpg, Back of town hall See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department References External links Oradour-sur-Vayres Official Website Communes of Haute-Vienne {{HauteVienne-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its territory occupied under harsh terms of the armistice, it adopted a policy of collaboration with Nazi Germany, which occupied the northern and western portions before occupying the remainder of Metropolitan France in November 1942. Though Paris was ostensibly its capital, the collaborationist Vichy government established itself in the resort town of Vichy in the unoccupied "Free Zone" (), where it remained responsible for the civil administration of France as well as its colonies. The Third French Republic had begun the war in September 1939 on the side of the Allies. On 10 May 1940, it was invaded by Nazi Germany. The German Army rapidly broke through the Allied lines by bypassing the highly fortified Maginot Line and invading thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carry out duties that a country's military or police forces are unable or unwilling to handle. Other organizations may be considered paramilitaries by structure alone, despite being unarmed or lacking a combat role. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definition, not a military, it is usually equivalent to a light infantry force in terms of strength, firepower, and organizational structure. Paramilitaries use "military" equipment (such as long guns and armored personnel carriers; usually military surplus resources), skills (such as battlefield medicine and bomb disposal), and tactics (such as urban warfare and close-quarters combat) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 regime (with German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War II. The Milice's formal head was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, although its Chief of operations and ''de facto'' leader was Secretary General Joseph Darnand. It participated in summary executions and assassinations, helping to round up Jews and ''résistants'' in France for deportation. It was the successor to Darnand's '' Service d'ordre légionnaire'' (SOL) militia. The Milice was the Vichy regime's most extreme manifestation of fascism. Ultimately, Darnand envisaged the Milice as a fascist single party political movement for the French state. The Milice frequently used torture to extract information or confessions from those whom they interrogated. The French Resistance considered the Milice more dangero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Weidinger
Otto Weidinger (27 May 1914 – 10 January 1990) was a member of the Waffen-SS in Nazi Germany and a regimental commander in the SS Division Das Reich during World War II. In this capacity, he was involved in the Oradour massacre in France in June 1944. He was the author of a revisionist account of the division's history, produced under the auspices of HIAG, a Waffen-SS lobby group in post-war West Germany. World War II Born in 1914, Otto Weidinger enlisted in the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT) (precursor to the Waffen-SS) in April 1934. His first assignment was as a camp guard at the Dachau concentration camp. With the SS Division Das Reich, he participated in the invasion of Poland and in the Battle of the Netherlands. During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, he served on the divisional staff. In 1943, Weidinger was posted to the SS Regiment "Germania" and took part in the Battle of Kursk. In April 1944, Weidinger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
