Murder in Le Paradis

On May 17, 1940, the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment was dug in at this house (A) in Le Paradis attempting to slow the German advance during the BEF's retreat to Dunkerque. These troops eventually ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrendeer. They were captured by the 14t h Company SS under the command of Hauptsturmfuhrer Fritz Knochlein. The POW's were marched to the field (B) where they were murdered by machine gun fire. Of the 99 prisoners, two escaped death and subsequently hid in a pig sty (D). They later surrendered to the German troops and survived the war to become prosecution witnesses at Knochlein's war crimes trial. He was convicted and hanged in 1949. The murdered troops are buried in the cemetery at (E) There is a memorial plaque at (C).

This crime is on a par with the Malmedy Massacre where SS Division 'Totenkopf' murdered 84 surrendered American troops.


Murder in Le Paradis.kmz (1.82 KB)