This powerful novel tells the shocking story behind the decimation of an entire French village by SS Troops towards the end of World War II - and of the escape of the only surviver, a seven year old boy. The author brings vividly to life the terrible human cost of war.
One Day in Oradour is based on true events in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane on 10th June 1944. The village has been in the news spotlight again in recent months because of a new German investigation into the massacre following the arrest of six former SS soldiers believed to have been involved in the killings. With a twist in the tale, this is a story which leaves the reader surprised, inspired and profoundly moved.
On a hot summer afternoon in 1944, SS troops wiped out an entire French village. 644 men, women and children died that day. Just one child survived.
This book tells the story of what happened in Oradour, and imagines what drove both the SS officer who ordered the massacre, and the seven-year-old boy who escaped it. Powerful, moving and almost unbearably tense, this book weaves the truth about what happened to the people in Oradour into a powerful fictional story centred on two characters: the plucky, inspirational seven-year-old Alfred Fournier, refugee and resident of Oradour, and the hot-headed, power-hungry SS commander who shattered his world and changed his life for ever, Major Gustav Dietrich. As their two worlds collide, we gain a fascinating insight into the extremes and contradictions of human behaviour and emotion.
Helen Watts is a writer, editor and publisher. Her experience spans magazine, book and online publishing for children and teachers and she has written and produced fiction, non-fiction and classroom resources on a vast range of topics - from The Olympic Games and the football World Cup to cyber-bullying and teenage fashion. Helen is also the Schools Coordinator for the Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival.
She is married with two children – Jack and Georgia - and lives in Warwickshire.
