Oradour-sur-Glane
Planning to visit this sad place in June on way down to the Dordogne. Anyone have site recommendations nearby for a couple of nights?
Comments
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This site is about 40 miles from Oradour sur Glane. Or
this site in LImoges is about 15 miles away. Its not a place that is easy to forget once you have been and a sad reflection that, given what is happening currently in some parts
of the world, nothing has been learnt in the intervening years
David
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Camping des Alouettes at Cognac Le Foret is nine miles from Oradour. It's three star, and privately owned, but if you are willing to go for something simpler then there are municipal sites even closer than that.
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Don't go there, you will come away feeling very sad, not a great start to a holiday
Admiral
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I agree you will be very sad, but it's still a 'must see' in my opinion - particularly as David says, we seem to have learned very little in all the intervening years.
Friends of ours like the municipal site at Nantiat, set by a lakeside, and about 12 km from Oradour.
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Don't go there, you will come away feeling very sad, not a great start to a holiday
Admiral
I agree. We were once in the Vosges mountains in Alsace, very close to the only Nazi concentration camp in France - at Natzweiler- Struthof where 22,000 were put to death, but we didn't want to go there either.
You can read about it in Wikipedia.
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We stayed at the Municipal at Brice sur vienna very near St Junien, I'm sure its the closest to Oradour sur glane. We were the only one there for 1 night then another arrived stayed 1 night then left. There are hardstanding pitches with water and EHU at
each pitch, over looking a lovely lake, walks around the parkland and into the village. Drive in park up and at some point the lady warden will come and pay you a visit 6.20€ per night with ehu
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Don't go there, you will come away feeling very sad, not a great start to a holiday
Admiral
I agree. We were once in the Vosges mountains in Alsace, very close to the only Nazi concentration camp in France - at Natzweiler- Struthof where 22,000 were put to death, but we didn't want to go there either.
You can read about it in Wikipedia.
Not easy to go to any of theses places, for 6 years we lived in the village Bergen - Belsen, driving every day past the sidings that brought in the unfortunate ones that ended up at Belsen camp, you can't help but be moved and upset, IMO Oradour is a must
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I agree that you will come away sad, perhaps most of all for the fact that as a species we have learned nothing in the last seventy years, but I think it should almost be most compulsory to go.
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When you are there, don't miss buying the small guidebook written by a lad who was a teenager when the massacre happened. He escaped by hiding for 24 hours in a rabbit hutch. It gives real insight into what happened. This massacre was carried out by a detachment of the SS who travelled north and also when they passed through Caylus in the Aveyron they massacred all the men there too. People here in the Aveyron are still reluctant to welcome Germans to the region. Memories are long. Everyone remembers Oradour because de Gaulle had it designated as a national monument but there are many other places that suffered too.
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If you want some background see HERE and HERE
I understood that they attacked the village on instructions because it was known that there were Resistance fighters in the village but could not identify them so they burned the whole village. According to the booklet I mentioned above, it transpired after the war that the village doctors who lived in the large detached house on the north side of the village were Resistance.0 -
All over France you will see memorial crosses, at crossroads, commemorating the deaths of those who were shot for being resistance fighters. Sometimes the memorials on these pull no punches - Shot by the b.....d Nazis, Put to death by barbarians, etc.,
etc.Another quite moving, but very small memorial, is near Olargues in the Herault, where in a lovely setting by the river there is a memorial to those villagers who were deported - I find it too harrowing to describe what's said and what's actually there, but
if you're passing do look it out as you enter the village from the west.0 -
My wife and I know what to expect at Oradour and am sure we will leave with heavy hearts and moist eyes. We cannot ignore these places or not visit them because of the sadness - just like the Vercors where the outnumbered Maquis suffered similar atrocities
fighting 20,000 Germans. The bravery of the Resistance and the fate of the villagers of Oradour tells us that we should regard ourselves so lucky for everything we now enjoy in life. Even such insignificant things like having a car and caravan to tour France.Incidentally, I have spotted Camping de la Glane as a useful to site to visit Oradour. It is within walking distance of St Junian. Anyone stayed there?
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I have stayed on the same site as TammyGirl and would echo everything she said about the site at St Junian. It is a lovely site and just right for raising the spirits after visiting Oradour.
I agree that if possible everyone should visit Oradour it will have an effect on you. On one hand it demonstrates mans capacity to exhert terrible inhumanities on his fellow man, but also somehow our cpacity to overcome evil.
I do not seek to explain such inhumanity for which there is no excuse but it might be connected with the fact that it occurred only 4 days after the allies landed in Normandy so I suspect that the SS unit involved were not in the best frame of mind.
One post above mentions that no one was ever prosecuted for the inhumanity. That may well be because they themselves did not survive long thereafter.
I read a fairly detailed account of the atrocity, written by a serious but independant investigator, who explained that he had discovered strong evidence to suggest that the German high command were notified of the matter very soon thereafter and for a variety of reasons were themselves deeply concerned. - Probably because they realised that thir game might soon be up. So rather than risking upsetting even more senior Nazis, it was arranged for all senior NCO's and above, to be transferred to the eastern front line. None survived even for an unusually short period!
No confirmation of that but it is alleged to be an accurate account.
TF
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Poshman,
just to be clear, I was recommending a site which is in St Junian itself and not the one you mentioned. I found the St Junian one in the Caravan Club book on French sites. it might have been a municipal but It gave the impression of being a more private one. It was I the grounds of a large house and featured a number of pitches around a small lake.
TF
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We also plan to visit Oradour prior to going to the Dordogne. Likely to be in June as well. On a fact finding browse of search engines I noticed they have a memorial service in June. The French do these memorials with great dignity and respect but it might
be worth checking if visitors are still able to visit whilst it is going on....problem is I cannot remember if it was 12th or 16th....sorry. Might bump into you in the area0 -
Just noticed this thread, hence the large gap between the last post and this one.
I noticed they have a memorial service in June. The French do these memorials with great dignity and respect but it might be worth checking if visitors are still able to visit whilst it is going on....problem is I cannot remember if it was 12th or 16th....sorry.
Might bump into you in the areaThe date is actually 10th June and visitors are welcome. The event starts at about 12:00 with a church service, followed by a march round the ruins. For more info, see: http://www.oradour.info/images/catalog1.htm#The_70th_anniversary_commemoration_at_Oradour
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