Plomion

Plomion
Commune
The church of Plomion
Plomion Plomion
Coordinates: 49°48′31″N 4°01′08″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Aisne
Arrondissement	Vervins
Canton	Vervins
Intercommunality	Thiérache du Centre
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	René Blary
Area 1	16.39 km2 (6.33 sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	02608 /02140
Elevation	132–226 m (433–741 ft) (avg. 200 m or 660 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Plomion (French pronunciation: ​[plɔmjɔ̃]) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

History

Plomion was the site of a massacre by retreating German forces on the evening of August 31, 1944 as the American army approached pushing toward the Belgian border. Sixty German Waffen SS members who had been quartered in the village for six days, murdered fourteen men rounded-up at random and shot them with machine guns after lining them up in a meadow prior to retreating. Five men from a single family were dragged from their home during supper. The ages of the victims ranged from 70 to 17. After murdering the men, they set part of the town on fire. American troops arrived the following morning and their early arrival was credited by residents with preventing further murders.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1793 1,280 —     1800 1,215 −5.1% 1806 1,261 +3.8% 1821 1,349 +7.0% 1831 1,494 +10.7% 1836 1,621 +8.5% 1841 1,617 −0.2% 1846 1,646 +1.8% 1851 1,557 −5.4% 1856 1,643 +5.5% 1861 1,638 −0.3% 1866 1,586 −3.2% 1872 1,512 −4.7% 1876 1,518 +0.4% 1881 1,276 −15.9% 1886 1,257 −1.5% 1891 1,219 −3.0% 1896 1,197 −1.8%

Year Pop. ±% 1901 1,164 −2.8% 1906 1,064 −8.6% 1911 1,045 −1.8% 1921 949 −9.2% 1926 890 −6.2% 1931 810 −9.0% 1936 764 −5.7% 1946 669 −12.4% 1954 715 +6.9% 1962 704 −1.5% 1968 681 −3.3% 1975 630 −7.5% 1982 511 −18.9% 1990 527 +3.1% 1999 518 −1.7% 2008 491 −5.2% 2012 463 −5.7%

Sport

Plomion has been host to the French Sidecarcross Grand Prix in the past and hosted it again in 2010, on 2 May.

See also

• Communes of the Aisne department