08. 06. 2024 – 14. 07. 2024
This exhibition marks the 80th anniversary of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre. On 10 June 1944, 643 inhabitants of this Limousin village were simultaneously executed by the Waffen SS and its buildings burnt down. The ruins have been preserved as a memorial to this humanitarian disaster.
Today’s terrible events are a grim reminder of man’s capacity for the worst horrors. Unfortunately, Oradour is just one of the uncountable such atrocities committed throughout the history of the world.
John Claridge visited Oradour-sur-Glane in 2014. Our exhibition presents the powerful and moving photographs he brought back.
It was a cold, early morning with a gusty wind that sent shivers down my spine. The heavy rain and threatening, dark clouds did not help. As I took my first steps into Oradour-sur-Glane, it was deserted and filled with a sense of foreboding. Every street, building, automobile and house seemed to belong to a terrible sadness. I had a feeling of entering, not just another time, but another dimension, with no escape. — John Claridge