Photographic Postcard of Church at Oradour-sur-Glane

Authors

Object ID

2014.1.191

Object Name

Postcard, Picture

Files

Description

Front: A photograph of demolished church interior with infant carriages. Back: Titled 'Carte Postale; Editee par l'Association Nationale des Familles des Martyrs d'Oradour-Sur-Glane [Published by the National Association of Families of Martyrs of Oradour-sur-Glane].'

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Oradour-sur-Glane was a small farming village of around 350 inhabitants, located approximately 15 miles from Limoges. During World War II, it was located in the German-occupied zone of France. On June 10, 1944, troops of the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich massacred 642 people, almost the entire population of the village at that time, including a number of Jewish refugees. More than 450 women and children were locked in this church by the Nazis, while the men were locked in barns and sheds. The Nazis detonated an incendiary device in the church; anyone attempting to escape was machine-gunned. The men were shot in the legs; no longer able to move, their bodies were covered with gasoline and the barns were set ablaze. The village of Oradour was partially razed that night. After the war, Oradour-sur-Glane rivaled Lidice as an iconic symbol of German crimes against civilians in occupied Europe. The ruins of the original village remain as a memorial to the dead.

Dimensions

3 1/2 x 5 1/2"

Keywords

Commemorative, Church, Oradour-Sur-Glane

Subcollection

Concentration

Recommended Citation

"Photographic Postcard of Church at Oradour-sur-Glane" (2015). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2014.1.191.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/44