SS officer in 1944 French massacre dies

[kurth]

FRANKFURT, Germany - Heinz Barth, a former SS officer convicted of involvement in the massacre of an entire village in Nazi-occupied France, has died, a priest in the town where he lived said Tuesday. He was 86.

In 1983, a court in East Berlin convicted Barth and sentenced him to life in prison for his role in the slaughter of villagers in Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944, widely considered the worst atrocity in Nazi-occupied France.

On June 10, 1944, as they headed toward Normandy to combat D-Day invasion forces who landed four days earlier, German troops of the armored SS Division "Das Reich" slaughtered 642 men, women and children in the village.

The Germans rounded up the village men, forced them into barns and machine-gunned them. The 241 women and 209 children were herded into the church, which was set afire with grenades and then shot at with machine guns.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070814/ap_on_re_eu/obit_barth

[lastliberalintexas]

1. Humans really are assholes

Absent an immediate threat to my family/friends, I just can't imagine intentionally harming someone, human or otherwise. :(

[MadMaddie]

2. Life is ironic...

Looks like he lived his life in secret till he got caught, went to jail and suffered the ravages of diabetes....hopefully he felt the pain and anguish of the innocent victims he so casually helped to slaughter...

It's ironic a priest announced his death since he is going to hell....good riddance.

[Teaser]

3. good.

I'm so glad I stopped being compassionate towards motherfuckers.

The GOP has cured me of that, and I'm well rid of it.

[MadMaddie]

9. That's interesting because I feel the same way you do....

[emilyg]

4. May he rot in hell.

[Selatius]

5. There are nutjob Repubs in places like FR who advocate brutal tactics like this in Iraq

Logically speaking, there is no more resistance to occupation if everyone who is capable of fighting is dead, but cold logic without humanity isn't what people support.

[burrowowl]

6. Ouradour-sur-Glan

near Angouleme, I visited it in 1969.
And when I think of 8,000,000 people in Iraq not having water, I wonder how much better is the U$ agreeing with Bu$hCo and/or letting them reign.

[rockymountaindem]

7. One less piece of garbage

Fuck him.

[ruiner4u]

8. forgive me for not wanting to take part in the death glee, but did he order the massacre?

Or was he just involved?