If you’ve already heard of Oradour-sur-Glane, your heart drops when you hear its name. After a single, horrific day in 1944, no-one has lived there and the town stands frozen in time.
There are certain places you visit that never leave you. Located 25 km northwest of Limoges and 400 km south of Paris, Oradour-sur-Glane has stood empty for 80 years, yet its silence speaks volumes and it is one of Europe’s most haunting memorials to the horrors of war.
In 1944, as the first villages in Normandy were being liberated, those further south were awaiting their turn, impatient for the end of the fighting that had already ruled their lives for five years. Around 330 people lived in the heart of the village, added to which were many children who had been sent here from other regions, along with refugees from Spain and Italy, all waiting out the war in what should have been a safe haven.
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