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

History

The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, when 643 of its inhabitants, including 247 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. There were only six survivors of the massacre.

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 (29 June 1925 – 11 February 2023) was one of the six survivors of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944.
• Jean-Claude Peyronnet (born 1940), French politician and creator of the Centre of the Memory of Oradour-sur-Glane.
• Sébastien Puygrenier (born 1982) began his football career at US Oradour-sur-Glane where his father and his uncles had played.
• Didier Barbelivien (born 1954), French singer-songwriter, paid 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 and INSEE

Gallery

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  Map showing modern and former village
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See also

• Lidice, Czech village destroyed by Nazi forces in 1942