Grave of Marguerite Rouffanche
The photo above shows the Cemetery at
Oradour-sur-Glane with the grave of Madame Marguerite Rouffanche
in the foreground on the left. In the background on the right
is the ancient Lantern for the Dead and behind it the Ossuary
for the ashes of the unidentified massacre victims. In contrast
to the other graves in the cemetery which are richly decorated
with porcelain objects and photos, the gray marble grave of Madame
Rouffanche is simple and unadorned.
Madame Rouffanche was the only survivor
of the massacre of the women and children in the Oradour-sur-Glane
church. She escaped by jumping from a window of the church that
was 9 feet from the ground. Although shot 5 times by the soldiers
who were guarding the church, she managed to crawl around the
Presbytery to the garden behind the church, where she hid among
the rows of peas until she was found at 5 p.m. the next day.
Madame Rouffanche was 47 years old at
the time of the massacre. In 1953 she moved into a house near
the town hall in the new city of Oradour-sur-Glane. She continued
to mourn the loss of her whole family until she died at the age
of 90.
A photo of the church with the window
that she jumped out of is shown below. It is the middle window
that is flanked by two narrow windows.
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