Oradour-sur-Glane
- Thread starter Grahamh
- Start date
We called in some years ago en route back from Mazamet. We didn’t have the van with us so can’t advise on camping sites.
It’s one of those places which if visited will give you a lasting memory of the awful events that took place. We’ve been to Auschwitz and Mittelbau Dora too and Oradour-sur-Glane rests alongside them as places to be retained in the hope it shouldn’t happen again.
I’m trying to also think of the memorial site to the Resistance which is around the Vichy area. That too is well worth a detour.
It’s one of those places which if visited will give you a lasting memory of the awful events that took place. We’ve been to Auschwitz and Mittelbau Dora too and Oradour-sur-Glane rests alongside them as places to be retained in the hope it shouldn’t happen again.
I’m trying to also think of the memorial site to the Resistance which is around the Vichy area. That too is well worth a detour.
Well worth a visit and the local scenery is breath-taking. Easy access to the likes of Cognac too. My favourite area of France down that way.
We are not taking the van this time. Will prob stay in an air bnb. Did the same last year with a short trip to Belgium. When the children were small we used to drive down to Les Sablons each year and our daughter has expressed a wish for ' a trip down memory lane' We always used to drive down the west side as we preferred the scenery and roads. We would stop at a hotel each way for one night - they had to have a pool so the children could let off steam whilst I and swmbo had a poolside drink before dinner. This was before the days of our caravans. So wife and I will drive, take a 'mobilhome' for a week and daughter will fly down midweek. Some French friends we made years ago still have a chaletthere. Ordour-sur Glanes is not far off the route and is somewhere I have often meant to visit.
Thing is, will I still have to wear the dreaded trunks in the pool??
Thing is, will I still have to wear the dreaded trunks in the pool??
Comical ! we are going back to France next year and I've just been thinking the same thing the other week about the trunks , the first year we went to a site we got told we had to go and buy these speedo shorts then the trip after that no one said a thing about normal swim shorts ?!? 
Surely a thread on Oradour-sur-Glane isn’t really the place to discuss swimwear. Or am I missing something?
We visited two years ago, glad we did but a very sobering experience, allow plenty of time, it's not to be rushed but somewhere to stand and contemplate, especially coming from a country which hasn't experienced occupation since 1066.
S
S
OC, any little thing (speedos) helps, the thing is the big Swim shorts remove so much water from the swim pools, so a bit of help, avoids someone getting disappointed by not being allowed into a swimming pool. :woohoo:
EH52ARH said:
I’m well aware of French rules for swimwear and of hydrodynamics, but it’s not at all relevant to a thread on Oradour-sur-Glane which isn’t a touring caravan site with a pool. Or am I being a bit old fashioned in my views?
otherclive said:
I must agree, the remains of Oradour Sur Glane should be treated with respect. A very moving place.
Check out the world at war series on youtube for some more OsG background. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLBZGq9WQx4
And if you do go, also visit teh little museum up on the hill inside the village enclosure. We nearly didn't and it was also very enlightening. Good café in the village square outside.
And if you do go, also visit teh little museum up on the hill inside the village enclosure. We nearly didn't and it was also very enlightening. Good café in the village square outside.
We stayed at Camping Ribieres at Confolens. Lovely site on the banks of the river. was a Municapal when we stayed but now in private hands and had some investment up dating amenities
Oradour-sur-glane left a lump in our throats..
Oradour-sur-glane left a lump in our throats..
I noticed that the link to the atrocities did not work, perhaps this one will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TwrwJJ3G6w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TwrwJJ3G6w
Oradour is a vey sobering place. For the tourist its very easy to say to oneself that its an awful atrocity. But take the time to stop, think and really consider what happened. These were ordinary lives and the events totally unexpected. The ghosts here are tangible. I found Oradour disturbed me as much as Dachau or Mauthausen. Dachau of course is highly sanitised. Mauhausen was very grim.
Im not belittling what happened at either of the latter, the scale of the atrocities there are hard to comprehend. Its just that with Oradour you get a sense of the victims ordinary lives.
Im not belittling what happened at either of the latter, the scale of the atrocities there are hard to comprehend. Its just that with Oradour you get a sense of the victims ordinary lives.
We drove over from Royan when we went. There is a site at cognac le foret about 15 km away.
http://www.camping-des-alouettes.com/fr/
It is a lovely site some of the pitches are massive, our car and caravan are almost 12 metres we stayed hooked up as it was only an overnight stop. There was still about 5or 6 metres to spare. We ordered a baguette for the following morning and it was delivered to the Caravan in the morning. When we are in the area again we will definitely stay here.
Les
http://www.camping-des-alouettes.com/fr/
It is a lovely site some of the pitches are massive, our car and caravan are almost 12 metres we stayed hooked up as it was only an overnight stop. There was still about 5or 6 metres to spare. We ordered a baguette for the following morning and it was delivered to the Caravan in the morning. When we are in the area again we will definitely stay here.
Les
Grahamh said:
Well worth a visit but very disturbing. My wife was in tears when she saw the kids school things-inkwells, pens, glasses etc in the museum in the graveyard.
Unbelievable what man can do to fellow human beings.
There is an 'Aire du Service' just outside the village within walking distance of the old town and they let caravans on when we were there too-not a luxury site but ok for couple of nights to see the town etc.
Mike
Not having previously heard of the events that took place in Oradour-sur-Glane, I watched the video to learn more.
One thought that struck me was why?, massacres of civilians is nothing new but to happen in a small rural town made me wonder why such a terrible actions were initiated.
My first google brought up this http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Oradour-sur-Glane/Story/SSversion01.html , no idea how factual it is, but I am now encouraged to investigate a little further.
If anyone can recommend reliable source material on the subject then please let me know.
One thought that struck me was why?, massacres of civilians is nothing new but to happen in a small rural town made me wonder why such a terrible actions were initiated.
My first google brought up this http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Oradour-sur-Glane/Story/SSversion01.html , no idea how factual it is, but I am now encouraged to investigate a little further.
If anyone can recommend reliable source material on the subject then please let me know.
Hi Anseo,
I went there with my wife three years ago and have always believed the reason this tragic event took place, was because the German SS went to the wrong village after apparently receiving a tip-off that members of the French Resistance were based there.
I have a small booklet describing the events that took place and also the trials that took place after. The are numerous books available and most of the facts were provided by the three survivors.
Regards,
I went there with my wife three years ago and have always believed the reason this tragic event took place, was because the German SS went to the wrong village after apparently receiving a tip-off that members of the French Resistance were based there.
I have a small booklet describing the events that took place and also the trials that took place after. The are numerous books available and most of the facts were provided by the three survivors.
Regards,
Anseo said:
Finding reliable source information in times of fast moving war must be particularly difficult. People like Max Hastings and Anthony Beevor will spend months even years researching their subjects.
Copied below is a link which seeks to describe it from a German perspective,(which you have already) and within that reading at the top is a link to what is reported to be the official record. You might find it interesting noting the position of Alsace soldiers in the German division and subsequent French legislation regarding the prosecution of French citizens for war crimes.
Whatever the documented records may say it is a place that leaves a lasting memory with all who visit.
https://www.scrapbookpages.com/Oradour-sur-Glane/Story/SSversion01.html
Just watching " Warhorse" at the ROYAL Albert Hall, on BBC 4. Absolutely fantastic. .RIP all. Lets hope it will never happen again.
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