Oradour-sur-Glane (; oc, Orador de Glana) was 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

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

department,

New Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune.

History

The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, four days after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, when 643 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a company of troops belonging to the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'', a

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 ...

unit of the military forces of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 opposin ...

. A new village was built after the war on a nearby site, but on the orders of president

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, the original has been maintained as a permanent memorial. The Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour museum is located beside the historic site.

Personalities linked to the commune

Robert Hébras Robert Hébras (29 June 1925 – 11 February 2023) was one of only six people to survive the massacre of Oradour by Nazi Germany's Waffen-SS Das Reich Panzer Division on 10 June 1944. He was born in Oradour-sur-Glane. Hébras died on 11 Febru ...

, born on 29 June 1925 in Oradour-sur-Glane; one of the six survivors of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944. * Jean-Claude Peyronnet, (1940–), French politician, creator of the Centre of the Memory of Oradour-sur-Glane. *

Sébastien Puygrenier Sébastien Nicolas Puygrenier (born 28 January 1982) is a French retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career France Born in Limoges, Puygrenier began his career at Stade Rennais, Puygrenier made his Ligue 1 debu ...

began his football career at US Oradour-sur-Glane where his father and his uncles played. *

Didier Barbelivien Didier René Henri Barbelivien (born 10 March 1954 in Paris) is a French author, lyricist, songwriter and singer. Beginning in the 1970s, he wrote a number of successful songs for artists such as: Dalida, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Sardou, Daniel ...

, French singer-songwriter, pays tribute to Oradour in his song "Les amants d'Oradour".

Geography

The municipality borders with Javerdat,

Cieux Cieux (; oc, Síus) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Inhabitants are known as ''Ciellois''. See also * Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of the 195 ...

Peyrilhac Peyrilhac (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Peyrilhacois''. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of the 1 ...

Veyrac Veyrac (; oc, Vairac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Veyracois''. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of t ...

Saint-Victurnien Saint-Victurnien (; oc, Sent Vertunian) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Its inhabitants are called ''Saint-Victurniauds''. The village is the only one between Saint-Junien an ...

and

Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne (, literally ''Saint-Brice on Vienne''; oc, Sent Brecís) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Saint-Briçois''. See also *Commu ...

Demographics

Gallery

File:Oradour-sur-Glane map-fr.svg, Map showing modern and former village File:Car in Oradour-sur-Glane4.jpg, Ruined village File:Village martyr d'Oradour-sur-Glane 10.jpg,

References

Bibliography

*Farmer, Sarah. ''Martyred Village: Commemorating the 1944 Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane.'' University of California Press, 2000. *Fouché, Jean-Jacques. ''Massacre At Oradour: France, 1944; Coming To Grips With Terror'', Northern Illinois University Press, 2004. *Penaud, Guy. ''La "Das Reich" 2e SS Panzer Division'' (Parcours de la division en France, 560 pp), Éditions de La Lauze/Périgueux. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oradour-sur-Glane Communes of Haute-Vienne Oradour-sur-Glane massacre Razed cities