spospe Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 gwyn - 2011-03-27 8:39 PM There is a clear sign at the gate to get into the village requesting no photographs, smoking or picnics this was in 2010 but most people choose to 'not see the sign' gwyn Photographs in the ruins are perfectly OK, it is in the Centre de la Mémoire that they are banned (for copyright reasons). see: http://www.oradour.info/images/centrdog.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwyn Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Wrong, as I stated we have the photo to prove there should be no photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 gwyn - 2011-04-24 11:36 AM Wrong, as I stated we have the photo to prove there should be no photos When we visited in 2009 we asked at reception if ok to take pictures. They said it was ok, we took a few as did lots of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Anyone interested enough to visit Oradour should also visit one or two Concentration camps, most of which are in Germany of course. The first one which everyone thinks of is Auschwitz (in Poland) but personally i'd recommend Dachau or Sachsenhausen for a first visit. You need a heart of cast iron to get around either of those in one go.....or no heart at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 We live a little south of Oradour-sur-glane and visited a few years ago, I too was struck my the feeling of reverence shown by most of the visitors, as an earlier post says tho' there is a sense of unreality about the place or maybe it was my sense of disbelief that anyone could kill a whole village, orders or not. The only note that jarred was a large North American woman who insisted in shouting for her daughter, I wonder if she would have behaved the same in Arlington :-S . As far as bringing anyone to book for the events, I'm afraid that post war reconstruction of France got in the way of that, a large proportion of the SS that carried out the operation were Alsatians.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 You can in fact buy a dvd about the atrocities which has english sub titles, we found this very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 gwyn - 2011-04-24 11:36 AM Wrong, as I stated we have the photo to prove there should be no photos Can we see this photo please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi I think the old sign at the gate read silence and respect. no photos were for inside the main building. May the all Rest.In.Peace. Regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 onecal vw - 2011-04-27 2:49 PM Hi I think the old sign at the gate read silence and respect. no photos were for inside the main building. May the all Rest.In.Peace. Regards, Brendan Prior to the Centre de la Mémoire opening in May 1999 there were two signs at the two entrances and they read, "Souviens Toi - Remember" and "Silence". See: http://www.oradour.info/images/or698062.htm Today the same signs are on display, plus various others in places such as the new (post 1999) main entrance and at the cemetery saying that the ruins are in the care of the French State and asking for visitors to observe proper respect. As per my link: http://www.oradour.info/images/centrdog.htm there is no prohibition on photography in the ruins, only within the Centre de la Mémoire itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I was there last week and whilst there I read a book in the library. The great majority of the troops were French, they were conscripted into the SS and trained in the region. The massacre was planned and conceived by the local SS commanders, with authority from the highest levels of the SS. It was infact a "standard operating procedure" for bringing terror to a local population. They carried them out all over Occupied Europe from Russia to France. The local commander was never actually disciplined by the SS, although the general commanding the area said he did order it. The War Crimes Tribunal later decided he only said this to save his own skin. Co-incidentally, he was never convicted of anything major and led a very successful busness career in germany after the war. Some of the people killed were Spanish refugees from the civil war, some were French people on "holiday" in Oradour and surprisingly some were even Germans, having been evacuated because of the Allied bombing raids! 23 troops were actually tried. Several were found not guilty because they were only part of the "Ring of Steel" around the village and never killed anyone. Most of the other Frenchmen were sentenced to several years in prison but never served any because of the amnesty on war crimes in France in 1954. Some actually served in the Foreign Legion for France in Indo China and some were even decorated for bravery in action. As a result the village returned the rememberance plaque from general De Gaulle, their medals of honour and never invited a single offical government official to any rememberance service until 1974! Only 6 people tried were Germans and were senior NCO's All were found guilty and one was condemned to death but never was, the rest received short prison sentences because the Allies, inparticular the US, didn't want to upset the West germans because of the "Cold War". So political expediency took precedence over justice. The vast majority of the French SS troops faced the US 101st & 82nd Airbourne 4 days later further North and they weren't in the mood to take prisoners, so perhaps it could be said they were the only ones to face true justice for their actions. What did come out from reading the stuff in the museum was just what a bunch of cowards and bullies the vast majority of memebers of SS regiments were. All that guff about them being top rated troops was propaganda. They did see action but when they were being pressed they either withdrew, surrendered or got killed. They were expert killers and were in their element when killing defenceless civilians and unarmed prisoners. The aire is very easy to find, spacious and a safe and tranquil place to stay. It's free to park and the services are 2 Euros for 100 litres of water. It's about 10 minutes easy stroll from there to the museum and old village. There are lots of shops, cafes and bars as you walk along, so it's not a chore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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