Oignies and Courrières massacre

The Oignies and Courrières massacre was a mass killing of 124[1] 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. The unit responsible for the atrocity was the 487th Infantry Regiment[2] of the 267th Infantry Division.[3] Altogether, it is thought a total of 500 French civilians were murdered by German forces in Nord-Pas de Calas in May 1940.[4]

Modern-day view of the town hall in Oignies

Elements of the British Expeditionary Force and French colonial forces had resisted the German advance at Oignies with some success but were overcome during the night of 27 to 28 May 1940. 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.[5] Altogether, 400 buildings were burnt at Oignies.[3][6]

At nearby Courrières, 46 civilian hostages were summarily executed by German forces. 22 of these were inhabitants of the town, while the remainder were refugees caught up in the Exodus. A large number of buildings were also destroyed including the Church.

The victims in Oignies are commemorated by a mausoleum and a major road was renamed rue des 80 fusiliés.[7]

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. Shepherd, Ben (2016). Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 77. ISBN 9780300219524.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Virgili, Fabrice (2016). "Les viols commis par l'armée allemande en France (1940-1944)". Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire. 130 (2): 103. doi:10.3917/ving.130.0103.
  6. "A Oignies, le mythe perdu du lieutenant Keith Davenport" (in French). Le Monde. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. "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.

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