2 . Oradour-sur-Glane , France | © Maggie Jones
- children , women , and men - were killed . The village was then looted and set ablaze . The soldiers who committed this massacre had been operating for weeks along the western edge of the Massif Central , conducting numerous actions against the resistance . It was in this context that they carried out the largest massacre of civilians in France during the Second World War , in terms of the number of victims . Among the 643 victims , the majority were long-term residents of the commune , whose families had lived there for generations . Others were newer residents , refugees who had arrived since the war ’ s outbreak . Among them were a significant number of Mosellans , as well as children entrusted to families in what seemed a safer location than a major city . Others included Spanish Republicans who had fled Franco ’ s Spain , Jewish individuals ( both French and from Central and Eastern Europe ), and people who happened to be in Oradour on the afternoon of 10 June 1944 , such as passing cyclists .
The materiality of these massacres is embodied in the ruins , which remain a prominent and distinctive feature , although their visibility varies today . The site of Oradour , where ruins extend over 10 hectares , is unique in this regard , especially as it also preserves artefacts recovered from the debris . In contrast , while the ruins at Belchite are similarly extensive , they have not been subjected to any coherent conservation
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Observing Memories Issue 8