Archaeologists unearth evidence of mass execution of German prisoners who were forced to dig their own graves before being shot dead by the French resistance after D-Day

Archaeologists have found evidence that the French Resistance forced German prisoners to dig their own graves before shooting them days after D-Day.

French and German archaeologists excavated a hillside site near the small central French town of Meymac for eight days after harrowing testimony from the last surviving witness to the massacre.

While the scientists found bullet casings and coins at the remote site, the excavations failed to unearth any human remains.

“The bodies are definitely out there somewhere. We are not going to stop now,” said Xavier Kompa, head of the French office for veterans’ affairs in the Corrèze department. BBC.

He added that scientists would continue their research and “when new elements allow us to locate the remains, another attempt will be made to excavate them.”

“It’s extremely difficult to find the exact spot because the terrain has changed so much,” Kompa said.

‘In 1944 this was heathland. The pine trees were planted by the Americans after the war. And the configuration of the paths has also changed.’

The search for the site began after the revelations of Edmond Réveil, a 98-year-old former resistance member who was making a clean sweep after nearly 80 years.

He previously admitted in a taped statement that a detachment of 30 men had been ordered to kill German prisoners as they escorted them through the countryside.

Resistance fighters in the area staged an uprising in Tule, the capital of the Corrèze region, capturing 50 to 60 German prisoners.

But the Germans responded with a public hanging of 99 hostages.

The SS also killed 643 people in the nearby village of Oradour-sur-Glane, which has remained an empty monument ever since.

Edmond, whose wartime code name was “Papillon,” butterfly in English, said the commander of the detachment of the local branch of the FTP (Francs-tireurs et partisans) resistance group “cried like a child when he was given the order.” to execute the prisoners.

‘But there was discipline in the resistance. He asked for volunteers to carry out the assignment. Every fighter had someone to kill. But there were some of us – and I was one of them – who said we wouldn’t participate,” said Edmond.

‘They knew what was coming…’ They pulled out their wallets and looked at (pictures of) their families. There was no yelling. They were soldiers.

“They were shot in the chest from a distance of four to five meters.

“It was a terribly hot day. We let them dig their own grave. They were killed and we poured quicklime over them. I remember it smelled like blood. We never spoke of it again.

‘None of the resistance groups wanted anything to do with (the prisoners). We didn’t know what to do with them.

‘If a prisoner wanted to urinate, he had to be guarded by the two of us. We had nothing planned for food. We were under the command of an Allied command center in Saint-Fréjoux, and they were the ones who gave the order to kill them.’

One prisoner, a French woman who had worked with the Gestapo, was also killed by the detachment, who drew lots to see which of them would shoot her after none volunteered.

Edmond kept the secret, even from his family, for 75 years before unexpectedly admitting to witnessing the incident at a local National Veterans’ Association meeting.

Meymac mayor Philippe Brugere said at the time that it seemed like a burden was lifted from Edmond after he spoke out.

“He’s a wonderfully kind old man. He was against violence and he never shot in the resistance.

“All he wants now is for the dead soldiers to be remembered and their families told where they lie. And perhaps a small memorial will be placed on the spot.’

It is not the first time that excavations have been carried out in the area.

Local historians said that eleven German bodies were exhumed nearby in 1967.

But the excavations were suddenly stopped and no record was kept of exactly where the bodies had been found.

Historians said the likely reason for this was that former resistance members, who were alive and influential in French politics, did not want the then recent past to rear its ugly head and embroil them in scandal.

But Phillipe said those concerns are now long gone.

“The custodians of the Resistance’s memory feared it would tarnish their name. But today nobody wants to judge. People understand that in war all deeds become possible.

“You can be on the side of the righteous and still carry out what is morally wrong.”