Oradour is a sad and sombre place, with very little about it which could be considered to be uplifting in any way. Unless you subscribe to the idea that it is in remembering the atrocities of the past, that we steer a different course in the future.
If this is true, then the massacres in Bosnia , Libya and Syria
Here are more of the images I took on the day. I have also included a link to Diane’s blog My Life in the Charente . Diane reminded me that she posted about Oradour last year, and you can read her post and view the excellent photographs she took here. Diane has managed to capture the scale of the place.
George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Throughout the world, the kind of ideals and politics that led to the second world war and the atrocities that accompanied it, are on the rise.
‘Lest we forget’ is a quote we see on cenotaphs throughout the world. This is also is a warning against ignoring the past.
I have many more, but feel that I have included enough. The sad and dangerous time comes when we are no longer shocked by what we see………
To finish, the new Hôtel de Ville in the new Oradour which was built alongside the old village…….
To finish, the new Hôtel de Ville in the new Oradour which was built alongside the old village…….
Despite the atrocity of it all, the site looks remarkably well-kept and clean.
ReplyDeleteI only learned about Oradour recently from a colleague who visited the village last year. Since then I've been wanting to visit it, but I haven't had the opportunity yet.
My mother, who was 16 in 1944, remembers hearing about what happened there after Belgium had been liberated by the Allies in September 1944.
We wrote about it too, and about St Pierre de Maille, even closer to home, just over the border in Vienne. It is a remarkable place and well worth visiting and remembering.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaynor for the link. I find it a very depressing place, but one that should not be forgotten. Your photos are excellent. Diane
ReplyDeleteFascinating and morbid at the same time. I suppose that if the intention was to remind us and to step back if we're ever tempted again, then it does exactly what it's supposed to do. Very interesting, thanks Gaynor.
ReplyDeleteMartine,
ReplyDeleteThe site is very well kept and on the couple of occasions we have visited there have been teams of workmen 'preserving' the ruins. Also doing the improtant job of making sure the ruins are 'safe'.
Oradour is worth a visit. The ruins are free to visit and for the museum there is a charge of about 7 euros. I guess this money goes towards the upkeep of the ruins.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited St Pierre de Maille, but will look up your post and organise a visit in the summer.
Diane,
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Yes we must remember.......
Craig,
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what I was thinking when I wrote the first post. That morning on the radio I had been listening to eyewitness reports of shootings and a village razed to the ground in Syria.