The car of Doctor Desourteaux (from the rear)

The car of Doctor Desourteaux (a Peugeot model 202) on the Champ de Foire (Fairground). According to Sarah Farmer in her book, Martyred Village, this is actually the car of the village wine merchant. The Doctor's car was moved from the Champ de Foire to his property in order to be garaged, several days after the massacre. The doctor had arrived back in Oradour from visiting a patient whilst the round-up of the villagers was taking place. He parked his car here and joined his father the mayor in waiting to see what was going to happen. This view is one of the best known of all the images of Oradour, symbolising as it does, a frozen instant of time. The main road the, Rue Emile Desourteaux is out of view to the left. See also, the car from the front, next the interior view, next an undamaged example in the museum at Mulhouse, next a comparison between the car in June 1998, June 2010 and October 2018 and finally a close-up of the repair work done to the sill.

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