The story
Fifteen kilometres north of Bergerac in the Dordogne region of France, lies the village of Saint-Julian. On Wednesday, August 9, a unit of German troops surrounded the village to round up all male residents.
On Sunday, September 10, a group of Marquis decided to take their own revenge for the shootings at Saint-Julian.
They entered the Barracks in Bergerac under a false pretext and removed 17 prisoners from their cells.
Taken to Saint-Julian, some were ordered to dig a deep grave before all 19 P.O.W.s were shot.
In the year 2003, after 59 years, the unmarked mass grave was found and the bodies of the 17 German P.O.W.s were reburied in the German Military Cemetery at Berneuil, near Bordeaux. None of the perpetrators of these crimes were ever brought to trial.
Photo: Maquis in Bergerac
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.