Following an ambush a few days before and in reprisals against activities of the French Resistance, Second Lieutenant Gustav Schlüter and his men organized the massacre and burnt the village.

On the evening of August 24, 1944, skirmishes between the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) and German troops took place near a farm in the commune of Maillé.

Gustave Schlüter, commander of the German control post at Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, mobilized his men and two train-mounted artillery pieces (Chevereau & Forlivesi, 2005; Delahousse, 2008; Payon, 1945; Lieb, 2007).

In less than four hours, entire families were slaughtered by the Waffen SS, many of whose soldiers were only 16 and 17 years old (Chevereau & Forlivesi, 2005; Delahousse, 2008; Payon, 1945).

Since March 9, 2006, a memorial museum, La Maison du Souvenir, has been open to the general public in the Café Métais, in Maillé.

The museum shows collections of photos and artifacts commemorating the village of Maillé and those killed during the massacre (Chevereau & Forlivesi, 2005; Delahousse, 2008; Payon, 1945).

Gustav Schlüter was condemned in absentia in Bordeaux in 1953, yet he died peacefully at his home in Germany in 1965 (Chevereau & Forlivesi, 2005; Delahousse, 2008).

On August 1, 2005, the public prosecutor of Dortmund, Ulrich Maass, reopened the inquiry, resulting in a visit to Maillé in July 2008.