Louis Lugand (1905-1945)
French prisoner of war – Forced labor – Memoirs
Le témoignage de Louis Lugand s’inscrit dans une réflexion plus large sur la mémoire historique et les trajectoires individuelles liées à la Seconde Guerre mondiale. À travers ce récit, il est possible de mieux comprendre comment les événements du passé continuent d’influencer les générations suivantes.
An individual destiny at the heart of European history
Louis Lugand is one of the millions of men whom the Second World War brutally tore from their lives, their families, and their futures. His story, long shrouded in obscurity, is that of a French prisoner of war subjected to forced labor in Germany, then swept away by the senseless violence of the final days of the conflict, at the very moment when freedom was finally within reach.
Rencontre Réconciliation shares this testimony as part of a process of transmission, understanding and reflection on the legacies of war in Europe and beyond.
Why tell this story today?
Because prisoners of war have long occupied a marginal place in national narratives. Because their suffering has often been silenced, minimized, or overshadowed by other war memories. Because wounds do not end with the fighting, but are sometimes silently passed down to subsequent generations.
Telling the story of Louis Lugand means: – restoring an identity and dignity to a man who has disappeared, – understanding the mechanisms of dehumanization in times of war, – questioning family and European legacies, – opening a space for reflection on responsibility, transmission and reconciliation.
Before the war: a man and his daily life
Louis Lugand was born in 1905. Before the war, he was a farmer, deeply attached to the land and to a way of life rooted in work, family, and the passing down of traditions. His life story is representative of that of many men of his generation, whose existence would be profoundly altered by the war.
Mobilized late, he was incorporated on November 20, 1940 in Strasbourg as a pioneer in the 213th battalion. Less than two months later, on January 14, 1941, he was taken prisoner.
Captivity and forced labor
After his capture, Louis Lugand was interned in several camps before being transferred to Stalag VA in Ludwigsburg, one of the large German camps for soldiers and non-commissioned officers.
Like the vast majority of French prisoners of war, he was quickly seen as available labor. He was assigned as a forced laborer to the Daimler-Benz factory in Sindelfingen.
For this man, accustomed to agricultural work and the outdoors, the ordeal was harsh: precarious living conditions, chronic fatigue, insufficient food, overcrowding, illness, and progressive weakening. Sources describe unsanitary barracks infested with parasites, and a daily life marked by exhaustion and a loss of self.
The last few months: forced march and tragedy
As the end of the war approached, the French prisoners were moved in haste. From Ludwigsburg, Louis Lugand was transferred to Leonberg, then forced to march for several days, over approximately 70 kilometers, through the Schurwald to the Göppingen region.
On April 10, 1945, a group of 825 prisoners was distributed among the surrounding villages. Louis Lugand was taken in at a farm in the hamlet of Oberhausen, part of the municipality of Rechberghausen, where he participated in agricultural work, a familiar activity that offered a glimmer of hope for a return home soon.
On April 19, 1945, as American troops approached, an exchange of fire led to the bombing of the area. A farm was burned down.
According to eyewitness accounts, Louis Lugand was trying to save animals trapped by the flames. He was seriously wounded by shrapnel and, lacking medical care, died during the night of April 19-20, 1945.
He was 40 years old.
He died on the very day of his release.
After death: burial and return to France
Louis Lugand was initially buried on land belonging to the local Catholic parish, near the site of the tragedy. At his family's request, his body was exhumed after the war and repatriated to France. He now rests in the family vault in Orgelet, where he was interred on March 6, 1949.
An exemplary work of remembrance
This story could not have been reconstructed without extensive research conducted over several years in Germany and France.
The biographical and memorial work dedicated to Louis Lugand was conducted by Ms. Angelika Taudte, project manager, with the assistance of numerous witnesses, archivists, historians and institutions.
Municipal and regional archives, French and German historical services, documentation centers and residents of the villages concerned have contributed to bringing this collective and cross-border memory to light.
Openings
This testimony is part of a larger project dedicated to prisoners of war and their legacies. It resonates particularly with the account of Jean Soulas, a former French prisoner of war, as well as with upcoming conferences, webinars, and publications.
👉 If you wish to explore these themes further, share your experiences or support our actions, we invite you to continue exploring our "Shared Memories" section.
— Documents from the original presentation —
The documents below are from a presentation carried out as part of the research and memory work conducted by Mrs. Angelika Taudte, with the assistance of numerous witnesses, archivists and institutions in Germany and France.
They are presented here in their original form, without modification, in order to respect their coherence, meaning and spirit.
— To go further —
The following elements are based on the research, documentation and contextualization work that enabled the development and transmission of these stories.
Credits, sources and research work
The documents presented above are the result of research and a dissertation conducted by:
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Ms. Angelika Taudte (Birenbach), project manager, carried out from 2010 and presented publicly from 2015.
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Mr. Dominique Soulas de Russel , further research and biographical contributions.
This work is based on the use of numerous sources and archives, including:
– municipal and regional archives (Rechberghausen, Göppingen, Ludwigsburg, Merseburg),
– specialized archive collections (ITS Arolsen, Bundesarchiv, Service historique de la Défense – Caen),
– industrial archives (Mercedes-Benz Classic),
– oral testimonies from residents and families of the municipalities concerned.
The documents are reproduced in their original form, as they were designed for public presentation.
The texts integrated into the panels constitute the captions and contextual elements of the images.
The work presented also relies on lists and registers from German archives relating to the presence and death of French prisoners of war in the district of Göppingen, consulted as part of the research.
Photo credits
The photographs and iconographic documents come from public and private sources, including:
– municipal and regional archives (Rechberghausen, Göppingen, Ludwigsburg),
– private funds (Bestand Frau Wahl, Oberhausen),
– local documentary collections.
The photographers and rights holders are mentioned in the original project documentation (Angelika Taudte), in accordance with the indications provided by the authors of the presentation.
Rencontre Réconciliation thanks all the people, witnesses, archivists and institutions who contributed to this memorial work.
This story is part of the reflection developed by the association around transgenerational memory and the invisible legacies of war in Europe.
If these stories resonate with your own history or elicit a reaction, you can write to us or share your story with us .
You can discover other testimonies in the Memoirs section
This testimony is published in accordance with the words spoken and with the consent of the persons concerned or their relatives.
This testimony is published in accordance with the words spoken and with the consent of the persons concerned or their relatives.