Le Paradis massacre

Le Paradis Massacre
Location	Le Paradis village, commune of Lestrem, Northern France
Date	27 May 1940
Target	2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment
Attack type	Mass execution of prisoners-of-war
Deaths	97
Non-fatal injuries	2
Perpetrators	14th Company, 3rd SS Division Totenkopf SS Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein

Coordinates: 50°35′22″N 2°38′26″E / 50.58944°N 2.64056°E / 50.58944; 2.64056

The Le Paradis massacre was a war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a time when the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region during the Battle of Dunkirk.

Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, had become isolated from their regiment. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of Le Paradis. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans led them across the road to a wall, and machine-gunned them. Ninety-seven British troops died. Two survived, with injuries, and hid until they were captured by German forces several days later.

After the war, Fritz Knöchlein was located, tried and convicted by a war crimes court, with the two survivors acting as witnesses against him. For his part in the massacre, Knöchlein was executed in 1949.