Oradour-sur-Glane June 10th 1944

Adolf Diekmann had always been well below average. Not so much from a physical perspective, he was a tall man with a light complexion, some would even go as far as to call him handsome. It was fair to say that he fitted the Aryan standards of beauty quite well. Rather it was his character that dragged him down to a level where you couldn't even call him a dog. Short sighted, cruel, envious and desperate for approval. That's how outsiders would describe the man. It could also be said that he was totally devoid of empathy.

Those unsavory characteristics were the main reasons that enabled him to reach the rank of Sturmbannführer before the age of 30. Well that and the fact that it was rather easy to get promoted in times of war, especially so for those who were willing to do whatever it takes, relishing in the suffering of others.

"Rats" is the first thing that came to his mind when looking at the group of gaunt villagers gathered before him.

He found it hard to believe that those people had managed to capture a German officer. "Well, probably not those people" he thought. Not that it mattered. Someone had to pay. Anyone really.

"I'll be short. Where is Sturmbannführer Helmut Kämpfe?" his voice boomed out, startling the villagers.

"I know you vermin were involved in his capture, if no one comes forward we will have to make you talk" he told them matter-of-factly.

The confused villagers kept glancing at each other nervously. They instinctively knew this wouldn't end well for them if they failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the invaders.

Adolf decided to let the tension rise, he was really enjoying the feeling of power he wielded over those people, he knew their fear and despair was now growing by the minute.

Just as he had secretly hoped no one came forward, a perfect situation for a sadistic pervert like him.

He didn't actually care about Helmut, a hopeless idiot that only managed to worm his way in the SS through his connections with the party, his disappearance was only a pretext for the delightful pleasures that were going to unfold.

"Lock the women and children up in the church and gather the men in the barns over there" he ordered.

"We wouldn't want to scare the women and children by letting them assist to the interrogations" he said in a fake reassuring tone.

The soldiers under his command proceeded right away. “Efficient” he thought, as all things should be.

The villagers didn't struggle much, they were conditioned to listen to German orders after four years of occupation. It's not as if they had enough energy to resist in the first place, being malnourished as they were.

Adolf decided to take a look around the village while his men carried out his orders, a perfect time to enjoy a cigarette break before getting things started.

The village wasn’t much to look at, small houses made of natural stone built around one of those typical churches you could see all over the country. A lush forest surrounded the village. A depressing sight for a man who was used to live in a more urban environment.

“Bloody hole…” Adolf muttered.

" Herr Sturmbannführer, we've done just as you asked. Both groups have been secured in their designated locations. Can we go ahead with the interrogations or are you going to conduct them personally, Sir?" the young soldier asked politely.

Adolf Diekmann glanced at his underling, a young Rottenführer who had joined his battalion only a few days ago, with a devilish smile blooming at the corner of his lips.

"Rottenführer Erwin, I don't think you are aware of how we're doing things around here..."

"Let's change that, shall we?"

"Order the soldiers to shoot the men, once they're crippled or dead you will burn them all, make sure no one escapes, we wouldn't want word to get out about the little party we're organizing today, afterwards we'll have our fun with the women and children. Have you ever literally fucked the French Rottenführer?"

Hearing this the soldiers within earshot started to grin, eagerly jesting with each other, their anticipation apparent. They were barely able to contain their lust.

Gunshots rang out, followed by the cries of the wounded being dragged away.

Rottenführer Erwin felt the blood drain from his face. Having transferred from the Wehrmacht recently, he actually did so out of idealism, in his eyes the SS were the elite of the German forces, bloodshed and hard decisions were to be expected, but he always naively thought his side was the honorable one.

"Something's wrong Rottenführer?" Diekmann asked, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Nothing, Sir" Erwin replied cursing himself internally for his cowardice.

"Does anyone have a lighter, mine just died" asked the Schütze tasked with setting the barns afire. The other soldiers sighed before handing him a working lighter.

"Get on with it man, it's been a while since I had the chance to empty my balls, you're holding us up here" one of the soldiers said grumpily.

It only took a moment before the nervous fidgeting Schütze managed to set the barn on fire, flames surging into existence, he would soon find out that his inexperience had led him to be be a bit too enthusiastic when pouring the fuel. Due to the wind the flames gained in intensity rather quickly. The surviving captives were quick to notice the flames, yells and screams started to well up inside the buildings, rising up to tremendous levels, almost covering the roar of the flames, after that came the relentless thudding sounds of people bashing against the walls, desperate to get out.

The soldiers gathered around the barns started to mock the poor men trapped in the inferno. Mimicking their pleas and cries of terror.

An acrid smell of roasted flesh and burnt hair started to drift across the village.

A stark contrast with the situation in the church. The women that were trapped inside were all very silent, despite witnessing the cruel fate of their husbands and fathers, they weren't actually terrified. The situation in the village was too alien for them, they were well aware of what was happening but at the same time it was as if the events didn't register yet, one could say they were utterly numb from shock. The only noises inside the church came from sobbing children clinging to their mothers, not understanding the evil of what had become their new reality.

Marguerite Rouffanche was a stern woman, at the ripe age of 51 she had already experienced the hardships of the first World War, having lost her husband and her own two children. Her fate had been the same as that of many young woman in occupied territory. She was 23 when her village had been raided. Soon after the liberation she had left her village, trying to forget the suffering she had endured or rather trying to forget what had been taken from her, in a way she was more eager to forget the happy moments from her former life, doing otherwise would have been unbearably painful. At that time she was without family, alone in the world. Her first few years as a widow had been hard on her, a delicate balancing exercise where she had to be especially cautious of the "good intentions" of men willing to offer what could hardly be described as "assistance". After years of erring she had finally met a soft and caring man who was willing to settle with her, a man who would end up changing her life for the better. Being subjected to the whims and cruelty of ill-intentioned men she wanted nothing to do with him at first, softness had become weakness in her eyes, something she could not tolerate after her previous harsh life experiences. A few months of assiduous courtship led her to the understanding that the man wasn't weak at all, it was true that he cared too much about others and that he lacked the typical aggressiveness she had learned to expect, but so what... he was a steady rock holding fast against the tides of the zeitgeist, protecting everyone indiscriminately while laughing at everything life threw at him. She eventually fell in love again. With him she learned to forgive herself, he even managed to reignite her hope in a better future. Their life together had been bliss, but he was burning now... Everything she held dear was once again disappearing in the uncaring flames of war.

Marguerite knew the fate that awaited the women gathered inside the church, she had experienced it before, the pain, the panting and the shame that soon would be theirs. She knew as soon as the soldiers put the barns on fire.

"We have to escape" she told the women huddled together.

"It won't be long before they'll come for us..."

"Are you insane" came the reply. "We won't be able to get away, they'll simply shoot us!"

"Do you have any idea about what's going to happen once they turn their attention to us?"

"We're going to be raped, over and over again, we will have no choice but to submit to those filthy German swines!" Marguerite shouted.

The women needed a moment to take this in.

"It's better to be raped than to be dead..." one of them murmured.

Raged welled up inside Marguerite, she got truly mad at those women for being so stupid.

"And what do you think will happen afterwards you dumb cunt!" she shouted. "They'll do you in front of your kids and kill us all afterwards, do you really think they'll just let you go for being a submissive bitch?!" "You're dead meat as soon as they'll get tired of you."

A wave of shock went through the women. A few of them were audibly gasping, they would never have expected that Marguerite, who was the perfect image of rigor and dignity, would be able to say such vulgar things.

"Our only hope is to run, we'll scatter in all directions while the soldiers are still distracted by the fire, a few are bound to be caught but it's the only way to let some of us escape..."

The women considered her words for a few minutes. Seeing the doubt in their eyes Marguerite already knew, those women would never take the risk, they wouldn’t lift a finger to save themselves, most of those women were too young, too unaware of the ways of the world. They'd rather take their chance as a pet for the German soldiers.

"Well it can't be helped" she thought. She was truly sad for the villagers, people she had learned to love and respect over the years, but she would not throw her own life away. She would take her chance and make it out of the village, or at least she'd die trying.

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While Marguerite was gathering her resolve she suddenly noticed an unfamiliar woman looking straight at her. "Her eyes are not bad" Marguerite thought, they still seemed to burn with the desire to fight, to survive. The woman was really tall and had a toned physique, young and somewhat pretty, she had light brown hair, green eyes and a tanned complexion, an exceedingly rare sight around these parts. She was the kind of girl who would have to suffer the most at the hands of the Germans. Marguerite knew the girl wasn't from the village. "It's probably one of those displaced people who regularly pass through in search of a better place, a place to rebuild their life" Marguerite guessed. Tough luck... The woman was 21 at most and held on to her child. "Probably another war widow and so young, what a shame really".

Marguerite noticed she had stopped paying attention to the events happening outside, redirecting her thoughts she heard German soldiers angrily swearing, they were gesticulating wildly, pointing their fingers towards the roof of the church. In their midst stood an officer who was clearly enraged. The soldiers wore expressions of children whose candy had just been taken away. Are they coming for us? “Did something unexpected happen” Marguerite wondered.

"Fucking incompetent bastards" Adolf Diekmann yelled out. The fire they started got too big and was out of control. The wind had blown smoldering embers towards the church roof, it was already too late well before someone took notice. Adolf was simply fuming at the idea of all his preys that were going to have an easy way out. The things he wanted to do to those women, the horrible filth they would have to endure. All gone. "We should have raped those women and children in front of their husbands and fathers, it would have been way more fun" Diekmann furiously thought. The only reason he had decided to proceed otherwise was because deep down he was nothing more than an opportunistic coward, afraid of the fury of men who would have to watch the desecration of their loved ones. Cornered animals driven to the extreme are dangerous, it was a risk he was not willing to take.

All hell broke loose in the church, the relative quiet from before was gone as soon as the women realized that the church was on fire. They all started to scramble over each other banging at the door. Marguerite knew it was time to act. Suddenly turning in the opposite direction she ran towards the back of the church. If her memories were correct there should be a small window in the sacristy. Just enough to let someone through. Focused as she was she didn't notice the person following her to the back.

"I have to go fast if I want to make it" Marguerite thought.

A shuffling sound coming from behind attracted her attention. The young woman from before was standing there, still holding her child in her arms.

"Please let us come with you" the young woman said. "Marie heard what you said before, Marie want to survive... for her child, she cannot die here. Marie will do whatever it takes".

Marguerite grinned noting the girl's peculiar way of speech. Well it's not as if it matters, at least I won't have to ask her for her name.

"As you probably know Marie is not from here, Marie wanted to flee with her daughter to England before everything went to shit" the girl said letting out a sigh.

"Happy to meet you Marie, and what about the little lady in your arms?"

"Her name is Elise, she's only one, her father died eight months ago, she's everything Marie has left now" the girl said, her emotions clearly visible.

"Well, we will have to do everything we can to let the little lady survive then!" Marguerite tried to reassure her.

Let's go over our escape plan, if you can even call it a plan, it's a pretty basic actually. “We're going to climb through this window and run for the woods, hopefully we won't be noticed but I wouldn’t count too much on that. Once we're running don't stop and don't look behind. The odds are against us but it's not as if we have any alternatives” Marguerite rapidly fired off.

The girl nodded.

"Well, there is no point in delaying anymore, let’s go” Marguerite said before climbing through the window.

As soon as their feet touched the ground both women started to run for their life. It only took a few seconds before one of the soldiers caught on to their desperate attempt to get away from the massacre. He whistled to get the attention of some of his comrades before engaging in pursuit. Soon unnerving wolf howls echoed behind the fleeing women.

Rottenfürher Erwin was a mess, as soon as the fire started he had retreated as far as he could to isolate himself from the villager's cries. A vicious struggle was taking place inside of him, he had always considered himself to be a good man, but how could he reconcile this thought with his current inaction in the face of evil. He was only eighteen when the war started. Back then he was eager to fight for his country. His four years in the Wehrmacht went by without major incidents, his officer was a kind man who was more of a school teacher than a soldier, he had been somewhat happy there basking in the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers. Back then he was certain he had made the right choice in life. He ended up applying for a position within the SS but dearly regretted his decision now after seeing the war crimes unfolding before his very eyes.

He was too weak, he should have said something when the Sturmbannführer announced his orders, anything would have been better than the complicit cowardly silence he was guilty of.

His attention got caught by a group of five or six soldiers chasing after two smaller shadows. The figures were rushing towards the forest. Sadly the soldiers had already almost caught up with them. One of the shadows stopped at the forest border before turning around screaming something unintelligible. The other figure realized this and seemed to hesitate for a few moments before rushing further ahead in the forest. The first figure, a woman probably, tried to stop the soldiers giving chase but got knocked off her feet right away, she fell in the thickets and stopped moving. After a quick glance the soldiers seemed to discard her before entering the forest. Without really knowing what his exact intentions were Erwin got up on his feet and started walking in the direction of the pursuit.

Marguerite knew they were not going to make it. They were almost at the forest border now, but the soldiers were too close on their heels. Terror gripped her heart, she remembered what she had suffered at the hands of the Germans, the only thing she could think of was to get herself to safety. At the same instant she felt something else stir deep inside her. She went back in time, something she hadn't done since the death of her family. The memories were simply too painful to bear. The fleeting faces of her first husband and her children passing before her eyes, it had been so long since she saw those faces, her children... Suddenly her vision changed to the girl and her precious daughter she was holding close...

She remember what she had suffered at the hands of the Germans, but this time it wasn't terror she felt. It was rage. "No not again..." she roared, turning around. They would have to pass over her dead body to harm those children.

Marie hesitated, she didn't want to abandon the other woman, she hardly knew her but it felt wrong to leave her behind.

"Run for your daughter's sake you idiot!" Marguerite shouted.

Marie steeled her resolve and ran into the forest leaving Marguerite behind.

The soldiers mindlessly ran behind the women, a singular thought in their mind, one of them seemed to be a fine piece of ass and they were going to thoroughly mess her up. They were almost upon the stupid bitches when the old hag suddenly turned around.

"She's trying to stop us" one of the soldiers laughed.

Without really slowing down one of his comrades knocked Marguerite out with a simple buttstroke of his rifle. The soldiers stopped for a few seconds before deciding to keep pursuing the younger girl, the hag was not that young anymore so she could go fuck herself, they couldn’t even be bothered to finish her off. Marguerite, her face swollen and pulsating from the hit she received, desperately clung to the pants of the soldier that had been the closest to her. A swift kick to the face turned everything black. Still the few seconds they lost here granted the girl some precious moments to escape. The soldiers entered the forest and picked up the pace.

Marie was running as fast as she could, the undergrowth painfully lashing at her legs, slowing her down. Her breathing was ragged from running with the burden of the child in her arms. Not once did she consider stopping, she was dead set on creating the biggest distance possible between them and the source of danger. Deeper inside the forest she started to feel a glitter of hope . It would be harder for the soldiers to find them in here, she thought. The only thing she had to do was to get away, she would probably be able to ask for refuge in a nearby village. After all it was not very likely that the German battalion would bother chasing so long after a lone girl. The idea of her being able to live a peaceful life with her daughter, after the war, started to bloom in her head. Marie hadn't seen the soldiers for a few minutes now so she thought they were probably safe. After some time she finally started to slow down thinking they finally got away.

A sudden intense pain made her stumble, she tried to stay upright but her forward momentum made her fall, face first in the mud, her crying child ejected from her arms.

"Marie has been shot" she thought after grabbing her wound and seeing her bloodied hands.

Marie tried to turn around to locate the origin of the gunshot, she briefly saw a gun stock pass right in front of her face, she felt her skull crack just before she lost consciousness.

Some small sounds started to reach her awareness, accompanied by sudden flashes of light dancing in front of her eyes. A child crying not far away, laughter close by. Physical sensations started to emerge, first the pain, then the rolling motion of a ship being rocked back and forth, caught in the waves of a storm. A feeling of weight pushing her down. A hot and sticky sensation between her legs. Noises of grunting and panting.

"Come on mate when are you going to finish, you've been at it for fifteen minutes already, everyone else had his turn and I haven't been able to fuck this bitch yet."

"Use her mouth if you want it that badly, she's still out so go ahead" a voice replied.

Marie felt something pushing against her lips, soon something was entering her mouth, a disgusting smell assaulting her emerging consciousness.

"Damn, that feels good, I'm going to fill her face..."

Marie felt her throat being stretched out and started to choke. She suddenly understood what was happening and instinctively bit down as hard as she could.

One of the soldiers howled in pain and started trashing on the ground, his hands clutching his wounded crotch.

"Fuck that slut bit me" the soldier shouted, unable to contain his anger.

His mate having just finished proceeded to pull his pants back up, he quickly looked down upon the girl lying on the ground before kicking her as hard as he could. The other soldiers soon joining in on the beating, eager to avenge their wounded comrade. A well placed kick broke some of her ribs and punctured one of her lungs. Another broke her nose and one of her eye sockets, her eyes started to swell up and were soon completely shut by her blood engorged eyelids. Most of her teeth got knocked out under the flurry of punches and kicks battering her tattered body.

"Well look at that" one of the soldiers laughed. "We should have kicked her teeth out before letting you fuck her face, you wouldn't have lost half of your dick that way"

"Fuck this" said the soldier still clutching his groin. "Let's switch things up a little, this bitch is almost dead anyway, let's do her child in front of her, that'll learn her to bite".

Marie couldn't believe her ears. "No..." she whispered spitting out a mouthful of blood. A sudden acute pain flared up in her left arm as she attempted to crawl towards her crying child. The bones were sticking out. Her arm was badly broken and was refusing to work properly.

“It probably broke when Marie fell” she thought detachedly. Her attention solely focused on protecting her daughter.

Her pathetic attempt to save her child seemed to be hilarious in the eyes of the depraved soldiers. Raucous laughter could be heard once again.

Erwin took a long time to catch up, he had no clue about the exact direction the soldiers took and had to search for them slowly and meticulously. First he found the woman who got knocked out at the forest border, a quick check enabled him to determine she was still alive, but she would at least suffer a mighty headache upon waking up.

“With a bit of luck she’ll survive the whole ordeal”.

A sudden shot rang out from the trees.

He had to push far into the forest before hearing the characteristic laughter of soldiers having their fun. He could already imagine the scene that was going to unfold before his eyes. A young girl being raped by a group of soldiers was nothing new under the sun, especially in times of war. Erwin steeled his heart before stepping forward. But he was not prepared. The situation was in fact much worse than anything he could ever have imagined. Not satisfied with raping the girl they had beaten her up to a point where she was a barely recognizable mess. He saw the girl miserably crawling towards a child laying on the ground some distance away. The soldiers were closing in on the child. "She probably let go of the child when she got shot" Erwin thought. He instinctively knew he wouldn’t be able to stop the soldiers, not after seeing them so incensed with blood. Erwin's handgun was in his hands before he even knew what he was doing. Two gunshots went off, the bullets going straight through the child’s brain. Death was the only solace he could offer them now.

The soldiers were scared shitless when the shots went off so close to them. They turned around and saw the newcomer, his arm extended towards the child they were intending to rape. They wanted to vehemently protest against the one that took away their fun but rapidly changed their minds when they saw Erwin's eyes. For the first time in a long while those battle hardened veterans were genuinely scared. The only thing they saw in those eyes was cold rage devoid of any reason. It was pretty clear from their point of view that protesting now would only result in them getting shot on the spot.

The commotion allowed Marie to reach the body of her daughter. Quite a miracle considering her condition and extensive injuries. Marie pulled little Elise in her arms trying to soothe the child by singing her favorite lullaby.

Marie was still unaware of her daughter's dead. Her hands moving all over little Elise's body desperate to ascertain whether or not she was alright. She couldn't understand why her daughter didn't react to her touch. When her hands reached Elise’s head Marie suddenly stopped.

A heartbreaking wailing rose up in the air. It was far worse than the sound of a dying beast.

Erwin walked towards Marie, extending his arm again. Feelings of sadness, anger and guilt overcame him and ripped at his heart. Even the soldiers who had committed those atrocities just moments ago suddenly had a strange expression on their face, as if they had just understood the immensity of their actions.

“So much blood…” Erwin thought.

Erwin got closer to pull the trigger, he could barely hear a faint whisper escaping the girl's lips.

"M.... ...... ..."

Bending forward he put his ear as close to her lips as he could.

"Marie denies you..."

Erwin shivered before pulling the trigger, not realizing Marie was already dead

Under the gaze of an uncaring sky the blood of mother and daughter had mixed turning them into an interlaced crimson statue.