David Sices

James B. Atkinson

Jean-Jacques Fouché

Near the end of World War II, four days after Allied armies landed at Normandy, a unit of Waffen SS troops en route to that front surrounded the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane and, without warning, systematically massacred its citizens. The Nazi soldiers herded women and children into the village church, machine-gunned them, and set the church on fire while some were still alive. The men were taken to barns in groups, where they were shot. Afterward, the Nazis plundered the village and burned it to the ground. Altogether, more than 640 men, women, and children died in Oradour that day. Jean-Jacques Fouché explores the massacre from several points of view--religious or ethnic differences, the background and training of the Nazi soldiers, and German suspicions that villagers sheltered Jewish and Spanish anti-fascist refugees. Probing the most shocking massacre in World War II France, he shows how memory affects our understanding of the past.

Coming to Grips with Terror

Massacre at Oradour, France, 1944

Les familles des 642 victimes du massacre du 10 juin 1944 attendaient de l'Etat que justice soit rendue à leurs morts. Après plusieurs lois votées et l'incompétence de différentes juridictions pénales prononcée, le procès de 21 exécutants allemands et français s'ouvre enfin, le 12 janvier 1953 devant le tribunal militaire de Bordeaux. L'auteur met ici en évidence les différentes pièces du dossier.

Jean-Jacques Fouché

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