The old man has spoken. Edmond Réveil, known as "Papillon" in the maquis movement of Corrèze, southern France, cleared his conscience. It was time. Today he is 98. He was 95 in late 2019, when he finally revealed his secret, it was about time. It was at an ordinary veterans' reunion in Meymac, a town in Corrèze where he had returned to spend his retirement after a long professional exile in the Paris region. All items on the agenda of the meeting had been treated.

Members were already heading for the reception when Réveil cleared his throat. "I've got something to tell you," he declared. Something big. In front of a group stunned into silence, Réveil recounted the day on June 12, 1944, when in Le Vert, a hamlet near Meymac, he had witnessed the summary execution of 47 German prisoners and a French collaborator, a woman, by comrades from his section. The soldiers had been shot one by one and buried in a pit they had dug themselves. For lack of volunteers, a draw decided who would kill the woman.

Nearly 80 years later, and four years after Réveil's confession, the story may now find its epilogue. The National Office for Veterans and Victims of War (ONAC-VG) has taken charge of the case, in conjunction with the German War Graves Commission (VDK), the German organization whose mission is to find the bodies of soldiers that disappeared during various conflicts around the world. The site of the executions has been identified, according to the authorities. In July, radar surveys detected anomalies in the terrain and the presence of buried metal objects.

Excavations are due to begin on August 16 to unearth the remains, involving some 15 archaeological specialists. "We are cautiously hopeful of finding the mortal remains of the soldiers," said the VDK in a statement. "The results of the soil analysis campaign seem promising," said the prefecture of Corrèze. Officials speak of "near-certainty" in finding the bodies. A laboratory in Marseille has already been enlisted to analyze and attempt to identify any bodies unearthed.

An ugly moment in an ugly era

Réveil was a modest 19-year-old liaison officer when he was plunged into this tragedy. Since then, the former resistant-turned-railway worker had concealed this painful, unbearable memory deep inside him. He hid it from his wife, his children, his friends and even his brother-in-law, who was a maquis commander. It was an ugly moment in an ugly era, drowned in the days of mourning that the Limousin region experienced before being liberated. It was inseparable from the endless trail of blood that crossed the region at the same time.

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