Oradour-sur-Glane

Oradour-sur-Glane (French pronunciation: ​[ɔʁaduʁ syʁ ɡlan]; Occitan: Orador de Glana) was a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, New Aquitaine, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune.

Oradour-sur-Glane Orador de Glana (Occitan)
Commune
Oradour-sur-Glane Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location of Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane Show map of France Oradour-sur-Glane Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 45°55′58″N 1°01′57″E / 45.9328°N 1.03250°E / 45.9328; 1.03250Coordinates: 45°55′58″N 1°01′57″E / 45.9328°N 1.03250°E / 45.9328; 1.03250
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Haute-Vienne
Arrondissement	Rochechouart
Canton	Saint-Junien
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Philippe Lacroix^[1]
Area ^1	38.16 km^2 (14.73 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)^[2]	2,477
• Density	65/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	87110 /87520
Elevation	227–312 m (745–1,024 ft) (avg. 285 m or 935 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Main article: Oradour-sur-Glane massacre

The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, when 643 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a company of troops belonging to the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, a Waffen-SS unit of the military forces of Nazi Germany in World War II. A new village was built after the war on a nearby site, but on the orders of president Charles de Gaulle, the original has been maintained as a permanent memorial. The Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour museum is located beside the historic site.

Personalities linked to the commune

• Robert Hébras, born on 29 June 1925 in Oradour-sur-Glane; one of the six survivors of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944.
• Jean-Claude Peyronnet, (1940–), French politician, creator of the Centre of the Memory of Oradour-sur-Glane.
• Sébastien Puygrenier began his football career at US Oradour-sur-Glane where his father and his uncles played.
• Didier Barbelivien, French singer-songwriter, pays tribute to Oradour in his song "Les amants d'Oradour".

Geography

The municipality borders with Javerdat, Cieux, Peyrilhac, Veyrac, Saint-Victurnien and Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,303 —     1800 1,191 −1.28% 1806 1,222 +0.43% 1821 1,585 +1.75% 1831 1,722 +0.83% 1836 1,740 +0.21% 1841 1,824 +0.95% 1846 1,989 +1.75% 1851 1,919 −0.71% 1856 1,952 +0.34% 1861 1,848 −1.09% 1866 1,874 +0.28% 1872 1,830 −0.40% 1876 1,903 +0.98% 1881 1,946 +0.45% 1886 1,940 −0.06% 1891 2,045 +1.06% 1896 2,030 −0.15%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,966 −0.64% 1906 1,972 +0.06% 1911 2,019 +0.47% 1921 1,789 −1.20% 1926 1,718 −0.81% 1931 1,601 −1.40% 1936 1,574 −0.34% 1946 1,145 −3.13% 1954 1,450 +3.00% 1962 1,540 +0.76% 1968 1,671 +1.37% 1975 1,759 +0.74% 1982 1,941 +1.42% 1990 1,998 +0.36% 1999 2,025 +0.15% 2007 2,205 +1.07% 2012 2,375 +1.50% 2017 2,473 +0.81%
Source: EHESS^[3] and INSEE^[4]

Gallery

•  

  Map showing modern and former village

•  

  Ruined village

•  

See also

• Lidice, Czech village destroyed by Nazi forces in 1942

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
3. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Oradour-sur-Glane, EHESS. (in French)
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

Bibliography

• Farmer, Sarah. Martyred Village: Commemorating the 1944 Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane. University of California Press, 2000.
• Fouché, Jean-Jacques. Massacre At Oradour: France, 1944; Coming To Grips With Terror, Northern Illinois University Press, 2004.
• Penaud, Guy. La "Das Reich" 2e SS Panzer Division (Parcours de la division en France, 560 pp), Éditions de La Lauze/Périgueux. ISBN 2-912032-76-8

 

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