Only seven people survived the massacre: five men protected by fallen bodies, a woman who escaped through the church window and a child who managed to escape during the round-up. In 1946 the French government declared that the burnt-out remains of Oradour-sur-Glane should be left untouched as a memorial to those lost that lost their lives – a purpose it continues to serve to this day.

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Eerie ghost towns before and after they were left to rot