The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, when 643 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a company of troops belonging to the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", a Waffen-SS unit of the military forces of Nazi Germany. A new village was built after the war on a nearby site, but on the orders of the then French president, Charles de Gaulle, the original has been maintained as a permanent memorial. The Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour museum is located beside the historic site.