The victims

The victims of Tulle

The sentence initially involved 120 hostages, reduced after heated discussions between the SS officers present and the local authorities of the city, aided by Father Espinasse, to 99 hostages—99 innocents. (P 5)

In groups of 10, with their hands tied behind their backs, the unfortunate are forcefully led to the base of ladders. It’s with the butt of their rifles that the SS soldiers inflict blows, forcing them to climb the rungs where, once at a certain height, one of the executioners places the rope around their neck and brutally removes the ladder, resulting in almost immediate death.

The hangings continued, punctuated by atrocious scenes linked to last-minute attempts made by some hostages, albeit unsuccessfully, such as the brave and rebellious act of François Teillé who violently pushed back his executioner a few seconds before his scheduled hanging and threw himself into the Corrèze, or the example of those three young men who, at the beginning of Rue de la Gare, tried to escape but couldn’t evade the deadly bullets from the machine guns of their SS guards.

Will we ever know the thoughts that crossed the minds of the future victims as they witnessed the tortures of their unfortunate comrades, exacerbating the psychological and physiological trauma of the future condemned already in a state of complete shock?

Despite the courage they showed, to which we pay homage, it must be understood that they did not go to their execution like kamikazes.

It’s important to note the accuracy of the sentiments expressed by Antoine Soulier in his work “Le Drame de Tulle,” which states: “the truth is quite different, lower, weaker, more human.” We must not distort this tragedy of a June afternoon; the martyrs of Tulle died as living beings who wanted to live.

As men of thought, guided by their honesty, they spontaneously believed the fallacious and insidious argument of their executioners, imposing a resounding “papers check!” They complied without any prior behavior of evasion, proving, if there was still any doubt, their exemplary innocence.