
Silent Village
The Life and Death of Oradour-sur-Glane
Robert Pike(Author)
The History Press Ltd
2nd Edition
Published on 25. April 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
978-1-80399-591-5 (ISBN)
Description
'Based on eye-witness accounts, Robert Pike's moving book vividly depicts the lives of the villagers who were caught up in the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane and brings their experiences to our attention for the first time.' - Hanna Diamond, author of Fleeing Hitler
On 10 June 1944, four days after Allied forces landed in Normandy, the picturesque village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the rural heart of France was destroyed by an armoured SS Panzer division. Six hundred and forty-three men, women and children were murdered in the nation's worst wartime atrocity.
Today, Oradour is remembered as a 'martyred village' and its ruins are preserved, but the stories of its inhabitants lie buried under the rubble of the intervening decades.
Silent Village gathers the powerful testimonies of survivors in the first account of Oradour as it was both before the tragedy and in its aftermath. A lost way of life is vividly recollected in this unique insight into the traditions, loves and rivalries of a typical village in occupied France.
Why this peaceful community was chosen for extermination has remained a mystery. Putting aside contemporary hearsay, Nazi rhetoric and revisionist theories, in this updated third edition Robert Pike returns to the archival evidence to narrate the tragedy as it truly happened - and give voice to the anguish of those left behind.
On 10 June 1944, four days after Allied forces landed in Normandy, the picturesque village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the rural heart of France was destroyed by an armoured SS Panzer division. Six hundred and forty-three men, women and children were murdered in the nation's worst wartime atrocity.
Today, Oradour is remembered as a 'martyred village' and its ruins are preserved, but the stories of its inhabitants lie buried under the rubble of the intervening decades.
Silent Village gathers the powerful testimonies of survivors in the first account of Oradour as it was both before the tragedy and in its aftermath. A lost way of life is vividly recollected in this unique insight into the traditions, loves and rivalries of a typical village in occupied France.
Why this peaceful community was chosen for extermination has remained a mystery. Putting aside contemporary hearsay, Nazi rhetoric and revisionist theories, in this updated third edition Robert Pike returns to the archival evidence to narrate the tragedy as it truly happened - and give voice to the anguish of those left behind.
Reviews / Votes
'Based on eye-witness accounts, Robert Pike's moving book vividly depicts the lives of the villagers who were caught up in the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane and brings their experiences to our attention for the first time.' -- Professor Hanna Diamond, author of <i>Fleeing Hitler</i> 'Robert Pike has produced a highly readable and fascinating account of French life under the Occupation, illuminating through the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane one of the darkest moments in France's dark years.' -- Dr Chris Millington, author of <i>France in the Second World War</i> 'A triumph of detailed research, historical insight and empathy ... a brilliant reconstruction of lives and relationships before the horror struck.' -- Rod KedwardMore details
Edition
2nd New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
45 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
502 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80399-591-5 (9781803995915)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2021
2nd Edition
The History Press Ltd
€13.99
Available for download
Person
ROBERT PIKE is a graduate of the University of Exeter in History and French. His fascination with the German occupation of France and the Vichy period led to him tracking down former Resistance members and trawling official archives and secondary histories in order to understand the Resistance from the ground up. His quest to tell the stories of the few that acted, and the many others whose actions still remain shrouded in mystery, begins with Defying Vichy.