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Oradour-sur-Glane (French pronunciation: [ɔʁaduʁ syʁ ɡlan]; Occitan: Orador de Glana) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, 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, when 643 of its inhabitants, including 247 children, were massacred by a company of troops belonging to the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, a Waffen-SS unit of the military forces of Nazi Germany in World War II. There were only six survivors of the massacre. SS Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann, the commanding officer of the Der Führer regiment of the Das Reich division had wanted to destroy another French town Oradour-sur-Vayres, whose people were said to be providing food and shelter to the maquis, but had taken a wrong turn on the road, which led him and his men to Oradour-sur-Glane, whose people had never supported the maquis.[3]

A new village was built after the war on a nearby site, but on the orders of president Charles de Gaulle, 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 (29 June 1925 – 11 February 2023) was one of the six survivors of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944.
  • Jean-Claude Peyronnet (born 1940), French politician and creator of the Centre of the Memory of Oradour-sur-Glane.
  • Sébastien Puygrenier (born 1982) began his football career at US Oradour-sur-Glane where his father and his uncles had played.
  • Didier Barbelivien (born 1954), French singer-songwriter, paid tribute to Oradour in his song "Les amants d'Oradour".

Geography

The municipality borders with Javerdat, Cieux, Peyrilhac, Veyrac, Saint-Victurnien and Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
17931,303—    
18001,191−1.28%
18061,222+0.43%
18211,585+1.75%
18311,722+0.83%
18361,740+0.21%
18411,824+0.95%
18461,989+1.75%
18511,919−0.71%
18561,952+0.34%
18611,848−1.09%
18661,874+0.28%
18721,830−0.40%
18761,903+0.98%
18811,946+0.45%
18861,940−0.06%
18912,045+1.06%
18962,030−0.15%
YearPop.±% p.a.
19011,966−0.64%
19061,972+0.06%
19112,019+0.47%
19211,789−1.20%
19261,718−0.81%
19311,601−1.40%
19361,574−0.34%
19461,145−3.13%
19541,450+3.00%
19621,540+0.76%
19681,671+1.37%
19751,759+0.74%
19821,941+1.42%
19901,998+0.36%
19992,025+0.15%
20072,205+1.07%
20122,375+1.50%
20172,473+0.81%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE[5]
  • Map showing modern and former village
    Map showing modern and former village

See also

  • Lidice, Czech village destroyed by Nazi forces in 1942

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Ousby, Ian (2000) [1999]. Occupation: The Ordeal of France, 1940–1944. New York: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-0-7126-6513-1.
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Oradour-sur-Glane, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

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. ISBN 2-912032-76-8
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