Oradour-sur-Glane Church doors
The photo above shows the main entrance
to the old church. The photo below shows a closeup of the door.
The original door was consumed by the fire in the church and
this is a replacement made out of rough unfinished wood. There
is no lock on this door and tourists can enter at any time during
visiting hours.
The photo below shows the back side of
the church with a door to the outside located between the two
windows on the right. The first window, which is a plain rectangle,
is a window in one of the side altars on the right side of the
church, as you face the main altar. The arched window is in another
side altar on the right side of the church.
A staff member told me that the women
and children tried to escape through this door, but the door
opened inward and they could not get out because of so many people
pressing against the door. The original door has been replaced
by a rough wooden door that is falling apart.
The photo below shows the two side altars
on the right side of the church as you face the altar. On the
left side of the photo is the side altar where the arched window
and the door are located. On the right side is another side altar
where the baptismal font sits just to the right of the rectangular
window.
The photo below shows the door to the
outside, which is located in one of the side altars on the right
side of the church. Philip Beck, who wrote a book called "Oradour
Village of the Dead," gives the following information about
this door: "In the right transept a huge pile of charred
human remains was found in front of a little door which was locked.
Yet it appeared that this door had been open at first and two
women and eight children had got out that way. Their bodies were
found in the cellar of the presbytery."
The photo above shows a closeup of the
door. There were three exit doors in the church, including this
door and the front door, shown at the top of this page. The third
door was the door into the sacistry. Most accounts of the tragedy
say that the women were locked inside the church. There were
two priests and one seminary student who were killed in the massacre.
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