When an image of Oradour first flashed on to TV screens it was seen by millions of viewers around the world. Today, although it still seems familiar, few know the full story.
The first episode of the World at War series began with a poignant black and white image of a ruined village in France. The picture was of Oradour-sur-Glane, the French village that remains a ruin and testimony to those who died one terrible day in 1944.
We were visiting the old city of Limoges, famous for its hand-painted porcelain, when we accidentally stumbled on this site.
At Limoges we had chosen to stay at the elegant chateau hotel of La Chapelle Saint-Martin. Nearby stands a minuscule church straight out of Gulliver's Travels.
This elegant hostelry stands in a 30ha park on the edge of an ancient forest where a sign proclaims the proximity of Oradour-sur-Glane - 10 minutes from the centre of Limoges. The sign also calls for silence and requests quiet reverence.
Walk across the little bridge that spans the River Glane, and take a step back in time. The road winds uphill towards an old oak tree, the only living witness to the tragedy enacted here 63 years ago.
On June 8, 1944, two days after D-Day and the Normandy Landings, the French Resistance blew up a railway bridge at the small town of St Junien, 10km from Oradour. (This was on the direct route to the Normandy beaches and the blast slowed the advancing German troops.) The SS response was immediate.
An example had to be made.
On June 10 the men of Oradour-sur-Glane were herded into barns while the women and children were shepherded into the church. That day 642 victims were machine-gunned and their bodies burned.
When, much later, President Charles de Gaulle visited the site of the martyrdom he made two decisions: to preserve the ruins as a memorial and to rebuild a new Oradour near the first one.
Today, the tourist can look beyond the empty streets towards the new village ahead, a place of new homes where flowers bloom and children play.
Make a stop at the ruined 12th-century church on the left. It is open to the skies and the blackened remains of the stained glass windows look out over the countryside. There is an altar constantly adorned with fresh flowers, and a worn, stained floor.
The height of the church windows made it almost impossible for anyone to escape and only one woman was able to climb out, although seriously wounded, and live to tell the story (she lived another 43 years and is buried in the village).
It's an immensely evocative scene.
Move on through an outdoor museum of winding streets that have remained locked in time. Tram lines are still visible in the roads, but there are no trams, and the only cars to be seen are the burnt-out wrecks that ran in the days before the soldiers came. Old fashioned streetlights are in place, but can offer no source of light.
The charred buildings remain as they were left on that terrible day: the roofs have collapsed but the bricks have survived, along with some of the homely contents. There are old cooking utensils to be seen and even an old Singer sewing machine.
The houses are well tended and the ruins pristine - there is no litter, the lawns are mowed, the trees and bushes pruned. They are all just uninhabited.
And then there is the cemetery. When the ashes settled, kinsmen carried away their dead in ox carts to their final resting place beyond the fairground and beyond the town: a level field where the sun shines and where eight black marble plaques commemorate the dead. Two tall columns rise above them: an Ossuary and an ancient Lantern for the Dead.
By way of contrast, make a stop at the next small town, St Junien. It is bustling and beautiful and has been a famous glove-making centre since the Middle Ages. It is also a popular holiday venue, with many villas available for rent.
Do not leave Limousin without paying court to Limoges. The ancient heart of the old cité first beat for the Romans 2 000 years ago. It was coveted by the English, besieged by King Henry II, sacked by the Black Prince, and finally settled into its creative phase as a centre of excellence for ceramics and enamel work.
Stop in the old, paved town square and admire the architecture of the 13th-century Cathedral of St Etienne. Walk to the wonderful, covered food market where everything from freshly caught fish to homemade breads and a selection of amazing cheeses is on display. It is colourful, aromatic and addictive.
Browse through Galeries Lafayette and the myriad specialist boutiques and handmade chocolate shops. Finally, treat yourself to a personalised souvenir box of hand-painted Limoges porcelain - the perfect gift.
You will forget neither old Limoges nor its haunting neighbour - the silent village that waits in the forest. Both are truly memorable.