Le Paradis massacre
The Le Paradis massacre was a World War II war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a time when troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region during the Battle of Dunkirk. Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, had become isolated from their unit. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of Le Paradis. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans led them across the road to a wall where they were murdered by machine guns. Ninety-seven British troops were killed. Two survived with injuries and hid until they were captured by German forces several days later. After the war, Knöchlein was convicted of his role in the massacre by a British military court, with the two survivors acting as witnesses against him. For ordering the massacre, Knöchlein was sentenced to death. He was executed in 1949.
Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Le Paradis massacre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).Le Paradis massacre
Chemin du Paradis, Béthune
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Continue reading on Wikipedia Geographical coordinates (GPS)
| Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|
| N 50.595 ° | E 2.6477777777778 ° |
Address
Chemin du Paradis
Chemin du Paradis
62136 Béthune
Hauts-de-France, France
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