Maillé, Indre-et-Loire
Encyclopedia
Maillé is a commune
in the Indre-et-Loire
department in central France
.
soldiers killed 124 people and razed the village. The resultant massacre was the second largest in France of World War II
after that at Oradour-sur-Glane
.
On the same day as Paris was surrendered to the Allies, an estimated 80 Waffen-SS
soldiers of 17th SS Replacement Battalion (17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Götz von Berlichingen“) entered the village of 600 people in the morning, and killed 124 residents, including 46 children under the age of 14 and 42 women. Many of the victims were shot, the remainder bludgeoned, bayoneted and burned - the village was then shelled until it was in ruins. Survivors later found a handwritten message on several corpses: "This is punishment for terrorists and their assistants."
The reasons for the massacre are still unknown, although on the previous day a group of French resistance
fighters had killed several German officers travelling in a car, and in a separate incident ambushed a Waffen SS column to the north; the district was also at the time safeguarding a United States Army Air Forces
pilot who had crash-landed in the area.
Only one person has ever been held accountable, when in 1952, a former German army lieutenant, Gustav Schlueter was tried in absentia by a French court and found guilty. He remained living in Germany until his death in 1965.
Although France has a 30-year limit on war crimes prosecutions, Germany does not and after the massacre featured in a German newspaper article in 2004, Dortmund
-based prosecutor Ulrich Maas who specialises in hunting down war criminals started an investigation. After the massacre featured in a television documentary, Maas visited the village in July 2008 to collect more information, and laid a wreath
at the memorial.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department in central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
On 25 August 1944, Nazi GermanNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
soldiers killed 124 people and razed the village. The resultant massacre was the second largest in France of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
after that at Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company...
.
On the same day as Paris was surrendered to the Allies, an estimated 80 Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
soldiers of 17th SS Replacement Battalion (17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Götz von Berlichingen“) entered the village of 600 people in the morning, and killed 124 residents, including 46 children under the age of 14 and 42 women. Many of the victims were shot, the remainder bludgeoned, bayoneted and burned - the village was then shelled until it was in ruins. Survivors later found a handwritten message on several corpses: "This is punishment for terrorists and their assistants."
The reasons for the massacre are still unknown, although on the previous day a group of French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
fighters had killed several German officers travelling in a car, and in a separate incident ambushed a Waffen SS column to the north; the district was also at the time safeguarding a United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
pilot who had crash-landed in the area.
Only one person has ever been held accountable, when in 1952, a former German army lieutenant, Gustav Schlueter was tried in absentia by a French court and found guilty. He remained living in Germany until his death in 1965.
Although France has a 30-year limit on war crimes prosecutions, Germany does not and after the massacre featured in a German newspaper article in 2004, Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
-based prosecutor Ulrich Maas who specialises in hunting down war criminals started an investigation. After the massacre featured in a television documentary, Maas visited the village in July 2008 to collect more information, and laid a wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...
at the memorial.
See also
- Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department
- Oradour-sur-GlaneOradour-sur-GlaneOradour-sur-Glane is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company...
- French ResistanceFrench ResistanceThe French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
- The MaquisMaquis (World War II)The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
- Waffen-SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...