On the following day of Sunday, June 11, 1944, news of what would be forever known as the Oradour m******e came to light. Six hundred and forty two men, women and children were killed in a matter of hours. The Oradour Catholic Church, with an official capacity of three hundred fifty, had been packed with two hundred forty five women and two hundred seven children.
One woman, a 47-year-old grandmother, Marguerite Rouffanche, was hit five times by the shots fired through the door, yet managed to crawl behind the altar where she found a ladder used for candle lighting. She climbed to a broken window three meters from the ground and hurtled to safety, hiding in a garden behind the presbytery where she remained hidden until the next day. She was brought to Limoges by the maquis and gave a full
