• House of Remembrance – Maillé massacre
On August 25, 1944 German soldiers committed a massacre among the population of the French village of Maillé. Today several memorials and a House of Remembrance commemorate the crime and its victims.
Image: Maillé, 1944, The destroyed village school, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 1944, The destroyed village school, Maison du Souvenir

Image: Maillé, 2014, Memorial on the road outside the village, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 2014, Memorial on the road outside the village, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, about 40 kilometres south-west of Tours, was a municipality with approximately 500 inhabitants at the time of the Second World War. Its geographical location was significant from a military point of view: the municipality was located on an important road and on the railway link between the port of Bordeaux and Paris. In June 1944 the Allies landed in Normandy. Towards the end of August 1944, it became clear that the end of the German occupation was imminent. Armed French resistance groups were active in the region and repeatedly attacked German soldiers and transport routes. On August 24th, on the outskirts of Maillé, there was a skirmish between French resistance fighters and soldiers of the Wehrmacht, in which the Germans presumably suffered losses. The next morning, on August 25, 1944 about 50 German soldiers attacked the village. They murdered a total of 124 children, women and men and systematically set fire to the houses. They left the village around noon. In the afternoon, German artillery fired about 80 shells at Maillé causing further destruction. Of 60 residential buildings only 8 remained standing. The same day Paris was liberated by the Allies. Soon afterwards, the Wehrmacht troops withdrew from the Maillé region.
Image: Maillé, 1944, The destroyed village school, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 1944, The destroyed village school, Maison du Souvenir

Image: Maillé, 2014, Memorial on the road outside the village, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 2014, Memorial on the road outside the village, Maison du Souvenir
Among the 124 victims of the massacre were 35 men, 41 women and 48 children under the age of 14. The victims were shot, stabbed with a bayonet or killed in the flames. 52 of the 60 residential houses were destroyed.
Image: Maillé, 1944, Destroyed houses, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 1944, Destroyed houses, Maison du Souvenir

Image: Maillé, 2005, Memorial with the names of the victims at the cemetery, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 2005, Memorial with the names of the victims at the cemetery, Maison du Souvenir
For decades the Maillé massacre was largely forgotten in France. On the one hand, the event was overshadowed by the liberation of Paris on the same day while on the other hand much more attention had been paid to the destruction of the village of Oradour-sur Glane, which was committed by Wehrmacht and SS units on June 10, 1944. In contrast to Oradour, which was transformed into a place of remembrance as a whole, Maillé was quickly rebuilt after the war.
For a long time, there were only a few memorials: A commemorative plaque at the town hall and a monument on the country road towards Daphé east of the village. In 1984 a large memorial stone with the names of the victims was inaugurated in the cemetery. In 1994 there was for the first time an exhibition on the events of August 25, 1944. In 2006 the House of Remembrance was opened, dedicated to the memory of the massacre and its victims.
It is still unclear exactly which German units were responsible for the massacre and who gave the order. From a legal point of view, the crime remains unpunished: The German judiciary closed the investigation at the beginning of 2017 due to lack of evidence.
Image: Maillé, 2014, The House of Remembrance, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 2014, The House of Remembrance, Maison du Souvenir

Image: Maillé, 2014, Exhibition in the House of Remembrance, Maison du Souvenir
Maillé, 2014, Exhibition in the House of Remembrance, Maison du Souvenir
Name
Maison du Souvenir de Maillé
Address
1 rue de la Paix
37800 Maillé
Phone
+33 (0)247 652 489
Fax
+33 (0)227 652 189
Web
http://www.maisondusouvenir.fr/
E-Mail
maison-du-souvenir@maille.fr
Open
Wednesday to Saturday: 10.30 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm
Sunday and Monday: 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm and by appointment
Possibilities
Permanent exhibition, archive, temporary exhibitions, conferences, colloquia, audio guides