The
Wormhoudt massacre (or
Wormhout massacre) was an atrocity against soldiers
hors de combatHors de Combat, literally meaning "outside the fight," is a French term used in diplomacy and international law to refer to soldiers who are incapable of performing their military function. Examples include a downed fighter pilot, as well as the sick, wounded, detained, or otherwise disabled...
in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that occurred on Tuesday 28 May 1940 when the Nazi German
Infantry Regiment Leibstandarte SS Adolf HitlerThe Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler's personal Bodyguard Regiment...
under the command of
Sepp DietrichJosef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the men closest to Adolf Hitler...
, and allegedly specifically the 2nd Battalion commanded by Hauptsturmführer
Wilhelm MohnkeSS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933...
, killed approximately 80
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
prisoners of war (POWs).
The murdered men were soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the
Cheshire RegimentThe Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...
, and
Royal ArtilleryThe Royal Artillery is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, an arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
as well as French soldiers in charge of a military depot in a nearby farm.
The British soldiers had formed part of the
rearguardRearguard may refer to:* A military detachment protecting the rear of a larger military formation, especially when retreating from a pursuing enemy force. * Rear Guard , a computer game released in 1982....
of the 48th Division of the
British Expeditionary ForceThe British Expeditionary Force was the name given to the British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during The Second World War.-History:...
retreating towards Dunkirk for evacuation.
The
Wormhoudt massacre (or
Wormhout massacre) was an atrocity against soldiers
hors de combatHors de Combat, literally meaning "outside the fight," is a French term used in diplomacy and international law to refer to soldiers who are incapable of performing their military function. Examples include a downed fighter pilot, as well as the sick, wounded, detained, or otherwise disabled...
in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that occurred on Tuesday 28 May 1940 when the Nazi German
Infantry Regiment Leibstandarte SS Adolf HitlerThe Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler's personal Bodyguard Regiment...
under the command of
Sepp DietrichJosef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the men closest to Adolf Hitler...
, and allegedly specifically the 2nd Battalion commanded by Hauptsturmführer
Wilhelm MohnkeSS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933...
, killed approximately 80
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
prisoners of war (POWs).
The murdered men were soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the
Cheshire RegimentThe Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...
, and
Royal ArtilleryThe Royal Artillery is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, an arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
as well as French soldiers in charge of a military depot in a nearby farm.
The British soldiers had formed part of the
rearguardRearguard may refer to:* A military detachment protecting the rear of a larger military formation, especially when retreating from a pursuing enemy force. * Rear Guard , a computer game released in 1982....
of the 48th Division of the
British Expeditionary ForceThe British Expeditionary Force was the name given to the British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during The Second World War.-History:...
retreating towards Dunkirk for evacuation. They had fought until overrun by the Germans, at which point they had been taken prisoners. They were taken to a barn a short distance from
WormhoutWormhout is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.The town's name is of Germanic origin.Neighbouring towns and villages :*Ledringhem to the south-west, separated by river Peene Becque*Esquelbecq-Education:...
and
EsquelbecqEsquelbecq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.Its southern limit with Ledringhem is chemin de Rubrouck.-References:*...
. The SS threw a number of
stick-grenadesThe Model 24 Stielhandgranate was the standard hand grenade of the German Army from the end of World War I until the end of World War II. The very distinctive appearance led to its being called a "stick grenade", or a "potato masher" in British Army slang, and is today one of the most easily...
into the barn which caused many deaths and wounded others; the survivors were brought out five at a time and shot one by one. 15 men survived the massacre, and were eventually found by a regular German Army unit. Their wounds were treated before they were imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp.
Wilhelm MohnkeSS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933...
was alleged to be the perpetrator, but was never brought to trial. The case was reopened in 1988 after a campaign by British
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
Jeff RookerJeffrey William Rooker, Baron Rooker, PC is a British politician. He was the Labour Party member of parliament for Birmingham Perry Barr until the 2001 general election...
, but a German prosecutor came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
In popular culture
The massacre was re-enacted in the
2004The year 2004 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2004.For the American TV schedule, see: 2004-05 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
BBC televisionBBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927.-History of BBC Television:...
docudrama
DunkirkDunkirk is a 2004 BBC television docudrama about the Battle of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II.-Awards:*BAFTA Awards 2005**Won: Huw Wheldon Award for Specialist Factual: Robert Warr & Alex Holmes...
.