Oignies and Courrières massacre: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Oignies — Hôtel de Ville.jpg|thumb|Modern-day view of the town hall in [[Oignies]]]] |
[[File:Oignies — Hôtel de Ville.jpg|thumb|Modern-day view of the town hall in [[Oignies]]]] |
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The '''Oignies and Courrières massacre''' was a [[mass killing]] of 124<ref name=LeManer479>{{cite journal |last1=Le Maner |first1=Yves |title=L'invasion de 1940 dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais |journal=Revue du Nord |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rnord_0035-2624_1994_num_76_306_4921|date=1994 |volume=76 |issue=306 |page=479 |doi=10.3406/rnord.1994.4921}}</ref> |
The '''Oignies and Courrières massacre''' was a [[mass killing]] of French civilians perpetrated by German forces in the mining village of [[Oignies]] and nearby town of [[Courrières]], both in [[Nord-Pas de Calais]], on 28 May 1940 amid the [[Battle of France]]. Depending on sources, the number of killings is reckoned at 114{{sfn|Lieb|2007|p=518}} or 124.<ref name=LeManer479>{{cite journal |last1=Le Maner |first1=Yves |title=L'invasion de 1940 dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais |journal=Revue du Nord |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rnord_0035-2624_1994_num_76_306_4921|date=1994 |volume=76 |issue=306 |page=479 |doi=10.3406/rnord.1994.4921}}</ref>The unit responsible for the atrocity was the [[487th Infantry Regiment]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=Ben |title=Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich |date=2016 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300219524 |page=77}}</ref> of the [[267th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|267th Infantry Division]].<ref name=Leleu831/> Altogether, it is thought a total of 500 French civilians were murdered by German forces in Nord-Pas de Calais in May 1940.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Le Maner |first1=Yves |title=L'invasion de 1940 dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais |journal=Revue du Nord |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rnord_0035-2624_1994_num_76_306_4921|date=1994 |volume=76 |issue=306 |page=479 |doi=10.3406/rnord.1994.4921}}</ref> |
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==Massacres== |
==Massacres== |
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Entering Oignies on 28 May, the historian Fabrice Virgili writes that "as soon as the German soldiers surrounded the area, executions, pillaging, and destruction followed. Eighty inhabitants, including ten women, were killed, shot for the most part, and the village was practically destroyed." A number of women were raped.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Virgili |first1=Fabrice |title=Les viols commis par l'armée allemande en France (1940-1944) |journal=Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire |date=2016 |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=103–120 |doi=10.3917/ving.130.0103}}</ref> Altogether, 400 buildings were burnt at Oignies.<ref name=Leleu831>{{cite journal |last1=Leleu |first1=Jean-Luc |title=La division SS-Totenkopf face à la population civile du Nord de la France en mai 1940 |journal=Revue du Nord |date=2001 |volume=342 |issue=4 |pages=831 |doi=10.3917/rdn.342.0821}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Oignies, le mythe perdu du lieutenant Keith Davenport |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2002/10/19/a-oignies-le-mythe-perdu-du-lieutenant-keith-davenport_4254906_1819218.html |access-date=31 July 2021 |publisher=Le Monde |date=19 October 2002 |language=fr}}</ref> |
Entering Oignies on 28 May, the historian Fabrice Virgili writes that "as soon as the German soldiers surrounded the area, executions, pillaging, and destruction followed. Eighty inhabitants, including ten women, were killed, shot for the most part, and the village was practically destroyed." A number of women were raped.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Virgili |first1=Fabrice |title=Les viols commis par l'armée allemande en France (1940-1944) |journal=Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire |date=2016 |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=103–120 |doi=10.3917/ving.130.0103}}</ref> Altogether, 400 buildings were burnt at Oignies.<ref name=Leleu831>{{cite journal |last1=Leleu |first1=Jean-Luc |title=La division SS-Totenkopf face à la population civile du Nord de la France en mai 1940 |journal=Revue du Nord |date=2001 |volume=342 |issue=4 |pages=831 |doi=10.3917/rdn.342.0821}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Oignies, le mythe perdu du lieutenant Keith Davenport |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2002/10/19/a-oignies-le-mythe-perdu-du-lieutenant-keith-davenport_4254906_1819218.html |access-date=31 July 2021 |publisher=Le Monde |date=19 October 2002 |language=fr}}</ref> |
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Early on 28 May, |
Early on 28 May, 38{{sfn|Lieb|2007|p=518}} or 46<ref name=Maitron1>{{cite web |last1=Stévenot |first1=Frédéric |title=Courrières (Pas-de-Calais), mai 1940 |url=https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article207824 |website= |publisher=[[Le Maitron]] |access-date=19 April 2024 |language=fr |date=20 February 2021}}</ref> civilian hostages were also summarily executed by German forces in Courrières. 22 of these were inhabitants of the town, while the remainder were refugees caught up in [[the Exodus (1940)|the Exodus]]. |
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==Commemoration== |
==Commemoration== |
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[[File:Oignies, France - War Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright|Modern-day view of the mausoleum at Oignies]] |
[[File:Oignies, France - War Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright|Modern-day view of the mausoleum at Oignies]] |
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The atrocities at Oignies and Courrières were not the only massacres of French and Belgian civilians committed in the course of the campaign in May and June 1940. Across Nord-Pas de Calais, the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf|SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]] perpetrated a number of massacres of 92 people at [[Aubigny-en-Artois]] and 45 at [[Vandelicourt]] both on 22 May, and a further 48 at [[Beuvry]] on 24 May.{{sfn|p=518}} Across the Belgian frontier at [[Vinkt]], Wehrmacht troops of the 225th Infantry Division murdered 86 civilians on 27 May.{{sfn|p=518}} |
The atrocities at Oignies and Courrières were not the only massacres of French and Belgian civilians committed in the course of the campaign in May and June 1940. Across Nord-Pas de Calais, the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf|SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]] perpetrated a number of massacres of 92 people at [[Aubigny-en-Artois]] and 45 at [[Vandelicourt]] both on 22 May, and a further 48 at [[Beuvry]] on 24 May.{{sfn|Lieb|2007|p=518}} Across the Belgian frontier at [[Vinkt]], Wehrmacht troops of the 225th Infantry Division murdered 86 civilians on 27 May.{{sfn|Lieb|2007|p=518}} |
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The victims in Oignies are commemorated by a mausoleum inaugurated in 1947 by the French President [[Vincent Auriol]] who also declared it a "martyr town" (''ville martyre'').<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stévenot |first1=Frédéric |title=Oignies et Courrières (Pas-de-Calais), 28 mai 1940 |url=https://fusilles-40-44.maitron.fr/spip.php?article207818 |website=Les Fusillés 1940 - 1944 |publisher=[[Le Maitron]] |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> A major road was renamed ''rue des 80 fusiliés''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oignies: les gardiens de la mémoire du massacre du 28 mai 1940 |url=https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/757625/article/2020-05-27/oignies-les-gardiens-de-la-memoire-du-massacre-du-28-mai-1940 |access-date=31 July 2021 |publisher=La Voix du Nord |date=27 May 2020 |language=fr}}</ref> |
The victims in Oignies are commemorated by a mausoleum inaugurated in 1947 by the French President [[Vincent Auriol]] who also declared it a "martyr town" (''ville martyre'').<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stévenot |first1=Frédéric |title=Oignies et Courrières (Pas-de-Calais), 28 mai 1940 |url=https://fusilles-40-44.maitron.fr/spip.php?article207818 |website=Les Fusillés 1940 - 1944 |publisher=[[Le Maitron]] |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> A major road was renamed ''rue des 80 fusiliés''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oignies: les gardiens de la mémoire du massacre du 28 mai 1940 |url=https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/757625/article/2020-05-27/oignies-les-gardiens-de-la-memoire-du-massacre-du-28-mai-1940 |access-date=31 July 2021 |publisher=La Voix du Nord |date=27 May 2020 |language=fr}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
{{Reflist|30em}} |
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===Bibliography=== |
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*{{cite book |last1=Lieb |first1=Peter |title=Konventioneller Krieg oder NS-Weltanschauungskrieg? Kriegführung und Partisanenbekämpfung in Frankreich 1943/44 |date=2007 |publisher=R. Oldenbourg |location=Munich |isbn=978-3-486-57992-5}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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Revision as of 12:19, 20 April 2024
The Oignies and Courrières massacre was a mass killing of French civilians perpetrated by German forces in the mining village of Oignies and nearby town of Courrières, both in Nord-Pas de Calais, on 28 May 1940 amid the Battle of France. Depending on sources, the number of killings is reckoned at 114[1] or 124.[2]The unit responsible for the atrocity was the 487th Infantry Regiment[3] of the 267th Infantry Division.[4] Altogether, it is thought a total of 500 French civilians were murdered by German forces in Nord-Pas de Calais in May 1940.[5]
Massacres
Oignies and Courrières were located in the Nord-Pas de Calais coal mining basin east of the city of Lens. The two towns were separated by the Deûle canal with Oignies on its western side and Courrières a short distance on the east. At the time, Courrières was best known in France as the site of a massive 1906 mining disaster.
German forces reached Courrières on 24 May and attempted to cross the Deûle to reach Oignies. There was only one surviving bridge between the two towns known as the Pont de la Batterie. As they attempted to cross, German forces came under unexpectedly heavy attack from French colonial forces which successfully beat back several attempted crossings until the morning of 28 May. The German company commander Hauptmann Horst Kolrep decided that the failure was due to local civilians at Courrières passing information to the French and possible attacks by alleged francs-tireurs.
Overnight on 27-28 May, Kolrep's troops systematically burnt the civilian buildings at Courrières. According to post-war estimates, 951 buildings were totally destroyed and 220 partially destroyed out of a pre-war total of 1,605.[6] The local church was also among the buildings destroyed.
Entering Oignies on 28 May, the historian Fabrice Virgili writes that "as soon as the German soldiers surrounded the area, executions, pillaging, and destruction followed. Eighty inhabitants, including ten women, were killed, shot for the most part, and the village was practically destroyed." A number of women were raped.[7] Altogether, 400 buildings were burnt at Oignies.[4][8]
Early on 28 May, 38[1] or 46[6] civilian hostages were also summarily executed by German forces in Courrières. 22 of these were inhabitants of the town, while the remainder were refugees caught up in the Exodus.
Commemoration
The atrocities at Oignies and Courrières were not the only massacres of French and Belgian civilians committed in the course of the campaign in May and June 1940. Across Nord-Pas de Calais, the SS Panzer Division Totenkopf perpetrated a number of massacres of 92 people at Aubigny-en-Artois and 45 at Vandelicourt both on 22 May, and a further 48 at Beuvry on 24 May.[1] Across the Belgian frontier at Vinkt, Wehrmacht troops of the 225th Infantry Division murdered 86 civilians on 27 May.[1]
The victims in Oignies are commemorated by a mausoleum inaugurated in 1947 by the French President Vincent Auriol who also declared it a "martyr town" (ville martyre).[9] A major road was renamed rue des 80 fusiliés.[10]
At Courrières, a memorial was inaugrated in 1964.[6] The town was also awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms in 1948.[6]
See also
- Vinkt massacre - massacre of Belgian civilians (26-28 May 1940)
- Le Paradis massacre - massacre of British prisoners of war (27 May 1940)
- Wormhoudt massacre - massacre of British and French prisoners of war (28 May 1940)
References
- ^ a b c d Lieb 2007, p. 518.
- ^ Le Maner, Yves (1994). "L'invasion de 1940 dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais". Revue du Nord. 76 (306): 479. doi:10.3406/rnord.1994.4921.
- ^ Shepherd, Ben (2016). Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 77. ISBN 9780300219524.
- ^ a b Leleu, Jean-Luc (2001). "La division SS-Totenkopf face à la population civile du Nord de la France en mai 1940". Revue du Nord. 342 (4): 831. doi:10.3917/rdn.342.0821.
- ^ Le Maner, Yves (1994). "L'invasion de 1940 dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais". Revue du Nord. 76 (306): 479. doi:10.3406/rnord.1994.4921.
- ^ a b c d Stévenot, Frédéric (20 February 2021). "Courrières (Pas-de-Calais), mai 1940" (in French). Le Maitron. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Virgili, Fabrice (2016). "Les viols commis par l'armée allemande en France (1940-1944)". Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire. 130 (2): 103–120. doi:10.3917/ving.130.0103.
- ^ "A Oignies, le mythe perdu du lieutenant Keith Davenport" (in French). Le Monde. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Stévenot, Frédéric. "Oignies et Courrières (Pas-de-Calais), 28 mai 1940". Les Fusillés 1940 - 1944. Le Maitron. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Oignies: les gardiens de la mémoire du massacre du 28 mai 1940" (in French). La Voix du Nord. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
Bibliography
- Lieb, Peter (2007). Konventioneller Krieg oder NS-Weltanschauungskrieg? Kriegführung und Partisanenbekämpfung in Frankreich 1943/44. Munich: R. Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3-486-57992-5.
Further reading
- Leleu, Jean-Luc (2014). "Une guerre « correcte » ? Crimes et massacres allemands à l'Ouest au printemps 1940". La guerre de 1940 : Se battre, subir, se souvenir (in French). Villeneuve-d'Ascq: Presses universitaires du Septentrion. pp. 129–142. ISBN 978-2-7574-1429-3.
- Fossier, Jean-Marie (1977). Zone interdite : Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Paris: Éditions Sociales. ISBN 9782402417006.