On the 6th June 1944, History was made as the Normandy Invasions began.
D-Day as it was known was the start of the end for the Germans against the Allies as
following the invasion they would be pushed back.
It was History being made, but the heroic actions of those soldiers that fought on the
beaches and fought to get off them were not without some war crimes.
Some German soldiers who should have been taken prisoner were shot dead by the Allies
as they were not in the business of taking prisoners, they were there to establish a
foothold in Europe.
But in the days that followed there were many war crimes committed against Canadian and
Allied soldiers that resulted in the executions of dozens of people.
These executions became known as the Normandy Massacres, and they were carried out by the
SS.
But what is the story of them?
Join us today as we look at the executions of the soldiers of D-Day shot by the SS.
To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
The 3rd Canadian Division landed around 7:45am on Juno Beach, and they were met by fierce
fighting by the German 716th Division.
Hours later Juno was secured, but the Canadian forces incurred many casualties.
They had in a day managed to advance 7kms, but the 12th SS Panzer Division was one of
the German armoured divisions based close to the beach-heads that were landed upon.
The division would later be ordered to fight hours after the landing, as Hitler had taken
sleeping pills and had been in such a deep sleep that he would not be awoken.
It was Hitler who gave the order to attack, and the Nazis and military had to wait for
his go-ahead.
But then then tried to push the Allies back.
At the front were Hitler Youth units, and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment led by
Colonel Kurt Meyer.
He was a fanatical Nazi, and he had been involved in many war crimes on the eastern front that
resulted in the slaughter of civilians.
The fighting continued and the Canadians managed to blow up many German Tanks, but they did
encounter heavy losses.
Some were captured and fell into the hands of the Germans.
But a number were executed.
The 3rd Battalion of the 12th SS Panzer Division led by Leftenant Colonel Karl Heinz Milieus
were involved in some of the war crimes.
The SS soldiers were furious with the casualties they sustained whilst taking a village, and
they would lash out on their captured prisoners.
One of the first victims of the Normandy Massacre was Private Lorne Brown who refused to retreat
and leave a wounded man behind, he was then pinned to the ground by a German soldier who
then bayonetted him a number of times.
One Canadian also walked towards the Germans with his arms raised to surrender, but he
was then shot dead.
Following this a German soldier then shot another Private and smashed his head in with
a rifle butt before shooting him.
Villagers were then ordered to bury the bodies and the remains.
Eight Canadians were also ordered into the middle of a road and they were then shot,
and the remains of one man was left in the road and traffic ran over it.
The 3rd Battalion incurred more casualties as Private John Metcalfe was killed whilst
being searched, and a German shot four times into his abdomen, before shooting three times
more in the head and emptying his magazine into his body.
Further atrocities and executions continued, until a Major appealed to the SS to stop.
However this didn’t last long as more POWs were executed.
The last man of the 3rd Battalion executed in the crimes was an Army Chaplain who walked
towards an SS patrol, but his remains were found weeks later and he’d been stabbed
through the heart with a bayonet.
Canadian Prisoners of War continued to be sent towards the courtyard of the Ardennes
Abbey where Meyer had his headquarters.
But following being searched, they were told to put their hands down, and they were told
to walk into the courtyard of the abbey.
Around 30 minutes later, the German police officers approached the Canadians and asked
for volunteers but not-one stepped forward.
The Germans then interrogated the prisoners one by one, before executing them.
The first six were bludgeoned to death and the last four were shot in their heads.
The following day 7 more POWs were executed, and there was no remorse at all.
Prisoners one by one were walked into the garden of the courtyard where they were shot
dead.
After the Battle of Putot-en-Bessin more executions took place.
24 Canadian and two British POWs were brought to a chateaux where the battalions set up
their headquarters.
SS Major Gerhard Bremer interrogated the prisoners, and following this they were marched single
file with their hands raised into a firing range where they were shot.
One of the prisoners shot was a medic, and some were forced to lie on their stomachs
when a German executioner stood above them with their rifles and weapons primed.
Some prisoners who were held in a stable were initially treated well, but then they were
escorted to the HQs of Leftenant Colonel Monkhe.
Mohnke’s order’s of ‘not to send back many prisoners,’ was taken by a subordinate
of ordering executions.
The prisoners were intercepted by an SS staff car, and the prisoners were forced to walk
close to a road, where they were then ordered to stand still.
The Germans then proclaimed ‘Now you die,’ and the soldiers opened fire on the prisoners.
Only 5 of the 40 managed to escape, and at least 4 died whilst trying to flee.
This individual episode was the worst single war crime committed against Canadians in their
military history.
Other murders and executions took place, as three soldiers were cut off behind German
lines and and to begin with these were kept under good conditions and were allowed medical
aid.
But then a German officer at gunpoint was ordered to kill the prisoners and his three
SS men then shot the Canadians.
Other men were shot in the same way, inside of a bomb crater.
There were additional massacres that took place, and many bodies of victims have not
been found.
One polish man conscripted into the Wehrmacht stated that he saw 15 SS soldiers guarding
7 Canadians who were then shot by machine guns.
Another incident took place near Caen, and one German soldier stated his company shot
15-20 POWs, but no bodies have been found.
So following the Normandy Landings there were scores of executions and atrocities with the
Canadian prisoners of war being treated savagely by the German soldiers.
Hitler would throughout his time as the dictator issue a number of illegal orders in which
he ordered enemy commandos should be shot on sight.
But in the aftermath of D-Day the SS would slaughter and rampage whenever they could,
and they would decide to execute their prisoners of war.
Many of the generals who were in command would give these orders to execute, and some have
been considered skilled commanders on the battlefield, but their hands were not clean.
The executions of the soldiers of D-Day were barbaric, and they were a war crime that deserves
to be remembered.
Thanks for watching
To support please make sure to subscribe
Once again thanks for watching