Oignies and Courrières massacre
The Oignies and Courrières massacre was a mass killing of 114 French civilians perpetrated by the German in the small mining towns of Oignies and Courrières, both in Nord-Pas de Calais, on 28 May 1940. It was supposedly provoked by fears of attacks by francs-tireurs and occurred amid the Battle of France in 1940.[1] 400 houses were burned in Oignies.[2] In total, it is thought that 500 French civilians were murdered by German forces in Nord-Pas de Calas in May 1940.[3]
The victims in Oignies are commemorated by a mausoleum and a major road was renamed rue des 80 fusiliés.[4]
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[]
- ^ Shepherd, Ben (2016). Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 77. ISBN 9780300219524.
- ^ "A Oignies, le mythe perdu du lieutenant Keith Davenport" (in French). Le Monde. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
Categories:
- Mass murder in 1940
- History of Hauts-de-France
- German occupation of France during World War II
- War crimes of the Wehrmacht
- World War II massacres
- Massacres committed by Nazi Germany
- May 1940 events
- 1940 in France
- Battle of France