Paris - Some 64 years after the massacre by German soldiers of 124 people in the village of Maille in western France, the alleged perpetrators have been identified, a press report said Saturday. A German Waffen-SS batallion stationed in neighbouring Chatellerault was responsible for the attack during World War II, Le Figaro reported, quoting prosecutor Ulrich Maass.
Maass has been probing the case for several months, using Gestapo archives and other means. Of the three alleged perpetrators who have been named, two are already dead. The fate of the third remains unknown.
Retreating German soldiers took revenge in Maille on August 25, 1944, killing 124 of its 500 inhabitants. Forty-four children were among the dead.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy travelled to Maille in August to attend a ceremony marking the event. The Maille massacre had remained long-forgotten, because it coincided with the day France was liberated from the Nazis.
