The entrance to the memorial in Oradour-sur-Glane
Photo: PASCAL LACHENAUD / AFPThe desecration of a memorial for an SS massacre sparked outrage in France. President Emmanuel Macron promised on Saturday that "everything would be done" to catch the perpetrators. At the morning opening on Friday, graffiti were discovered at the entrance of the memorial in Oradour-sur-Glane.
Unknown people had crossed out the word "martyrs" in the words "Dorf der Märtyrer - Gedenkstätte" with white paint and instead wrote "liars", supplemented by the name of a Holocaust denier. Mayor Philippe Lacroix was "shocked". The memorial management filed a criminal complaint.
In the village church of Oradour-sur-Glane the Waffen SS unit "Das Reich" penned the women and children of the village on June 10, 1944 and set fire to the church. People burned alive. Most of the local men were shot with machine guns. A total of 642 people died in the massacre.
The destroyed village near Limoges in central France is now a national memorial that around 300,000 people visit every year. A new settlement has arisen not far.
Icon: The mirrorpgo / dpa