Macron and Steinmeier honor the victims of the SS atrocity in Oradour-sur-Glane.
Later, Steinmeier and Macron planned to deliver brief speeches. With Macron, everyone was anticipating his address because he unexpectedly disbanded the National Assembly and called for fresh elections after his party performed poorly in the Sunday European elections.
On June 10, 1944, the SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" massacred most of the villagers in a western French community known as Oradour-sur-Glane. They almost completely ruined the town. Almost 350 women and children were locked inside the village church by SS goons and murdered there with poison gas, hand grenades, and machine guns. The ruins of the village remain preserved as a memorial, but they're quickly degenerating.
For the first time ever, a president has visited Oradour-sur-Glane on the day marking the massacre's anniversary. Last time, in 2013, Federal President Joachim Gauck traveled to the town as part of an official visit, making him the first senior German official to do so.
Macron also paid his respects to the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre victims earlier in the day at Tulle. There, SS soldiers hung 99 civilians publicly on streetlights and balconies on June 9, 1944.
Oradour is set to sign a friendly treaty with Hersbruck, a town in Franconia, on Monday, since it once had a Flossenbürg concentration camp branch. For a long time, Oradour's relations with Germany had been strained because not a single perpetrator was ever prosecuted. The last of the few remaining survivors, Robert Hébras, passed away in February 2023 at the age of 97.
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Steinmeier expressed his gratitude for Macron's visit, emphasizing its significance in addressing the historical wound between France and Germany. The shift to the right in some European countries raised concerns about the commemoration of such atrocities. Macron's party's poor performance in the European elections led to the call for fresh elections, sparking political unrest. Meantime, Steinmeier emphasized the importance of remembering the SS massacres, particularly in Oradour-sur-Glane, where over 350 women and children lost their lives. Macron paid tribute to the victims in Tulle as well, where 99 civilians were publicly executed. Macron's visit to Oradour-sur-Glane was a symbol of France's and Germany's shared responsibility towards historical atrocities and a testament to the healing power of reconciliation.
