Maillé Massacre Memorial Centre

This memorial centre and museum commemorates the 1944 massacre in this village by German soldiers.

On the morning of 25 August 1944, the village was surrounded by German SS troops. A group of SS entered the village and killed all the people and animals they encountered and set their houses on fire. The village was completely destroyed and a total of 124 of the 500 villagers died that day. 44 of them were children.

The reason for the massacre is not entirely clear but may have been related to the murder of 2 German officers by the resistance. After the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre, this was the deadliest massacre of French civilians during the German occupation.

For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.

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Source

• Text: Traces of War
• Photos: Koos Winkelman