Wormhoudt massacre
Wormhoudt massacre | |
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Part of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler division |
The Wormhoudt massacre (or Wormhout massacre) was the
Fighting
As part of the
British troops at Wormhoudt were overrun by advancing German forces. Having exhausted their ammunition supplies, the soldiers surrendered to the SS troops assuming that they would be taken prisoner according to the
Massacre
After their surrender, a large group of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 4th Battalion Cheshire Regiment, and gunners of the 210 Battery, 53rd (The Worcestershire Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery as well as French soldiers in charge of a military depot were taken to a barn in La Plaine au Bois near Wormhout and Esquelbecq on 28 May 1940. The Allied troops had become increasingly alarmed at the brutal conduct of the SS soldiers en route to the barn, which included the shooting of a number of wounded stragglers. On arrival at the barn the most senior British officer in the group, Captain James Lynn-Allen, protested, but was immediately rebuked by an SS soldier.[1]
When there were nearly 100 men inside the small barn, soldiers from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, threw
Several British prisoners were able to escape, while a few others, like Fahey, were left for dead.
Legacy
The Waffen-SS division, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was under the overall command of
In 1947, a number of survivors of the massacre returned to the scene accompanied by officials from the War Crimes Interrogation Unit, following investigations undertaken by the office of the
In 1988, after a campaign by
The incident was re-enacted in the
The 2004 German film Downfall was criticized by author Giles MacDonogh upon release for its sympathetic portrayal of Mohnke, whom many hold directly or indirectly responsible for the massacre.[11]
See also
Citations
- ^ Cunliffe 1956, pp. 55, 59–60.
- ISBN 978-1526706980. Archivedfrom the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "The Battle and Massacre of Wormhout - 28th May 1940" Archived 2015-03-17 at the Wayback Machine with photos, WW2Talk, 5 March 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ Weale 2010, pp. 254, 255.
- ^ a b c Weale 2010, p. 255.
- ^ Olga Craig, "Wormhoudt: 'Every day I thank God we did our duty'", The Daily Telegraph, 23 May 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ "Last survivor of Second World War massacre dies" Archived 20 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ITV News, 11 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ Jim Black, "Brian Fahey: Composer, big band arranger and director" Archived 27 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 2 August 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Fischer 2008, p. 26.
- ^ "Charlie Daley". The Daily Telegraph. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Eberle & Uhl 2005, p. 370.
References
- Cunliffe, Marcus (1956). History of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1919–1955. London: William Clowes & Sons.
- ISBN 978-1-58648-366-1.
- Fischer, Thomas (2008). Soldiers of the Leibstandarte. ISBN 978-0921991915.
- ISBN 978-1408703045.
- Wormhoudt Massacre Written Q&A in Hansard 13 February 1989
- Wormhoudt Massacre Written Q&A in Hansard 13 December 1990
- Wormhoudt, May 1940
- Wormhoudt Massacre Site
- Wormhoudt survivor
- Massacre on The Road to Dunkirk, Leslie Aitken. ISBN 0-583-12938-2
- "The forgotten massacre – Esquelbecq/Wormhout/Ledringhem – 28 mai 1940" by Guy Rommelaere – 2002 Warwick Printing Company Ltd