Oradour-sur-Glane, a fully preserved, ruined village that was the site of the worst Nazi massacre of civilians carried out on French soil. Six hundred and 42 people, including 247 children, were shot or burnt alive on 10 June 1944 in an unexplained act of barbarity. A new village was built nearby after the war, but French president Charles de Gaulle ordered the original maintained as a permanent memorial and museum. The women and children were locked in the church. and the village was looted. The men were led to six barns and sheds, where machine guns were already in place. According to a survivor's account, the SS men then began shooting, aiming for their legs. When victims were unable to move, the Nazis covered them with fuel and set the barns on fire. Only six men managed to escape. One of them was later seen walking down a road and was shot dead. In all, 190 Frenchmen died. Several days later, the survivors were allowed to bury the dead. 642 inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Gla...
