1944 MASSACRE OF ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE RETOLD c1987 BY AN AMERICAN SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED FORCES MEMBER ASSIGNED TO INVESTIGATE ONE OF GERMANY'S MOST HEINOUS WAR CRIMES
On offer is a chilling, fascinating original manuscript relic of World War II Nazi Germany atrocities written by an eyewitness to the aftermath retrospectively authored some 30 years later. On June 10, 1944, days after the Allied landing at Normandy, a unit of the German 2nd SS Panzer division massacred 642 French villagers at Oradour-sur-Glane making for one of the most heinous and infamous war crimes of the era - burning a school filled with children only begins to describe one horrendous act of slaughter in a time of many. [We note that the event has been recently in the news again with charges being laid against a Nazi living in France.] Ector O. Munn [age 53 at the time] was assigned to the Special Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), was dispatched to investigate the war crime three months later. The investigation and trial offer a fascinating perspective of the complexities of War time legal issues, including the ethics of murder during War and the significant historic loyalties and allegiances by many perpetrators given that Alsatian conscripts were part of the SS unit and took part in the massacre. Alsatian cooperation with the Nazis was a major element of the trial. Munn's personal account, c1987 offers his observations and conclusions written, and in one particular section of observations, in an almost child like quality adding to the horror of dark background. All together there are 27 pages of typewritten narrative with holographic corrections plus adding further depth are maps and eight pages of photographs with captions and most with Munn's additional handwritten comments. Munn also writes of more personal observations of the warm reaction to his US uniform by the local, recently-liberated French population, his "formidable" local driver, his stay at the Chateau of Valencay which was used to hide some of the treasures of the Louvre, and a tour of the Caves at Lascaux to view the Neolithic art that had been discovered just a few years previously. The cover states in original ink an inscription to a family member, and signed as "Ector" and goes on: "Dearest Loretta - Just to prove there was still some life in the old man I wrote the enclosed story of a grim incident in WWII. Maybe Drum [?] and CAMIII might be interested. Will you save it for him? We are counting on you this spring. Devotedly, Ector". General wear and soiling, with 1/2 inch closed tear to right edge of front cover, and top half of front cover separated from comb binding. All pages are copies of an original typed manuscript with handwritten comments and edits were to the original manuscript. Casual research finds online genealogical reference stating Ector was born on April 11, 1891. Ector died on May 17, 1993 at 102 years old. This at the writing he would have been about 96 years old and it would appear his handwritten notes are certainly in an aged hand. Overall G+.; Manuscript; 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, ECTOR O. MUNN, ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, WWII, WORLD WAR II, WW2, WORLD WAR 2, THE HOLOCAUST, NAZI GENOCIDE, WAR AGAINST GERMANY, WAR IN EUROPE, MURDER, GERMAN ATROCITIES, NAZI, HITLER, WAR CRIMES, SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, SHAEF, ORADOR DE GLANA, HAUTE-VIENNE DEPARTMENT, DIEKMANN, MALGRÉ-NOUS, MASSACRES, MASSACRE D'ORADOUR, FRANCE, FRENCH RESISTANCE, GENOCIDE, FRENCH MARTYRS, GAUL, VICHY, WAR CRIMES, ILLEGAL WAR ACTIONS, LAW, WARTIME JURISPRUDENCE, LAWYERS IN WAR, AMERICANA, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, AUTOGRAPHED, AUTHORS, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNAL, LOG, PRIMARY SOURCE, FIRST HAND ACCOUNT, SOCIAL HISTORY, PERSONAL STORIES, LIVING HISTORY, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANOSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL,
