Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane
Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division Das Reich
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The massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10, 1944, is recognized yearly throughout France with the same profundity as the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Twin Towers in the United States. The Oradour Massacre is taught in school in France and the anniversary is commemorated every year. Today, Oradour is a destination for people interested in one of the most horrific events in French history. Each year, the devastated village attracts over 300,000 visitors worldwide.
On June 8, 1944, 15,000 men and 209 tanks and self-propelled guns of the Das Reich 2 Panzer Division rolled out of Montauban in southern France and began an ordered 450-mile march that ended at Normandy more than two weeks later. While in Montauban, a battalion from Das Reich surrounded Oradour-sur-Glane, massacred 642 men, women, and children, and razed the village to the ground. Das Reich became one of the most dreadful legends in the history of France and World War II.
This is the story of the Oradour massacre and its real cause: how two SS officers--a general and a major--"acquired" one million dollars' worth of gold ingots while encamped at nearby Montauban, and how that led to the massacre in 1944.
About this Author
Vincent dePaul Lupiano is a specialist in corporate communications and speechwriting. For ten years, he was a speechwriter at IBM for senior executives and a script writer/film producer director for IBM corporate films. He was also a senior editor for an IBM management publication.
Vince spent four years in the United States Air Force. During that time, he was an aircraft accident investigator and learned much about airplanes and how the military functions. While stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, he flew several missions between Clark and Vietnam helping to move loads of ammunition. He was writer/producer/announcer at Clark's Armed Forces Radio and TV station. In this capacity, he flew three combat missions over Vietnam in F4 Phantom and F105 fighter jets, carrying a tape recorder and writing and narrating stories of his experiences for hometown radio stations.
He lives in Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Reviews
"In this harrowing account of one of WWII's most notorious atrocities--the June 1944 slaughter of nearly 750 civilians in southwestern France--historian Lupiano (Operation Ginny) excavates chilling details about how the tragedy played out... Lupiano shines a harsh light on three Nazi officers who, he claims, plotted the Oradour massacre so as to abscond with the town's gold bars. With this agonizingly taut reconstruction, Lupiano builds an almost minute-by-minute indictment of mass murder. It's a granular and gut-wrenching chronicle of a war crime."
"Lupiano's account of this infamous killing is shocking, harrowing, and impactful. He adeptly chronicles the men and motives behind the heinous act, bringing insight and clarity to the debate over what happened on this tragic day."
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