Oradour sur Glane, France

On June 10th, 1944, the SS massacred 642 people in this French village. The ruins remain untouched as a memorial — empty windows, crumbling walls, and rusted machinery stand as silent witnesses to what happened.

France decided to leave the village exactly as it was found. Burnt-out cars sit in garages. The church where women and children were killed stands roofless. Every building is labeled with what it was: bakery, doctor’s office, school.

Walking through the village is overwhelming. The silence is absolute. Grass grows through cobblestones, ivy creeps up walls, but nothing is cleared away. It’s a memorial you walk through rather than look at.