The act that was passed in April 1946 classified Oradour as a historic monument and mandated that the ruins be preserved as they were. The result was the curiously hybrid status of the site, at once a shrine to the memory of the dead villagers and a monument to the nation鈥檚 suffering, a place of pilgrimage and a tourist destination for the public at large. The intent of the act was to allow the remains of the village to speak for themselves, to preserve a moment in time 鈥渇or all eternity鈥 in a state of material authenticity 鈥
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Anthony Purdy鈥檚 鈥淢补谤颈耻辫辞濒鈥 recently won the Writer鈥檚 Federation of Nova Scotia 2022 Postcard Poem contest.