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"Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere are with you..."</br>
~~Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 6, 1944

A Tribute to the Liberation of Europe March 18, 2002

Ttrealtravels
2005-12-26 14:37:07

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battle, as seen in those horrific opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Imagine coming up on a long, deep beach in bad weather, then having to head past sand dunes and hillocks only to traverse a steep hill, taking on heavy German defenses and fortifications who all the while have the vantage point, as they unleash a raining hell of artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire around you.

It seems so very peaceful now, standing on the beach with the waves gently lapping the sand.

Let us all hope it remains so forever more.

Arromanches

The port of Arromanches was liberated by the 50th British Division on D-Day. Soon afterwards, Allied forces towed football-field size cement blocks called "mullberries" across the English Channel to form a breakwater. The wreckage of this giant floating harbor -- named Port WInston, because it was Churchill's pet project -- remains on the beach and off shore.

Caen ~ The Museum for Peace

The next day, we visited Le Mémorial, un Musée pour la Paix, in Caen. It is probably the best WWII museum in the entire world. It's huge, comprehensive, and incredibly moving. The museum begins by showing, with documents, artifacts, and interactive displays, how WWI and the world economic downturn created the conditions for Hitler's rise to power in Germany. This kind of context is sorely missing from most U.S. school curriculums and many American treatments of WWII.

Then the museum shows how Germany began to take over Europe, with most of the rest of the world turning a blind eye. This works up to the six-week Battle of France and quick capitulation of the French government -- against the will of the French people. Several rooms of the museum are devoted to the French resistance movement, and General Charles de Gaulle's stirring radio speech to the occupied French nation is played in one area.

The Battle of Britain and the expansion of the war are covered in great detail too, as are the Nazi concentration camps. All kinds of WWII subjects are addressed, from secret radio communications to rationing to propaganda to nuclear research to clothing of the era (including a wedding gown made from parachute silk!).

Finally, it comes to D-Day. The centerpiece of this part was a 20-minute film of mostly actual footage of the preparations and the invasion. It's gripping, heart-rending stuff that left us teary-eyed. This was followed by a film that summarized the rest of the war, from the Battle of Normandy through the liberation of Paris on to the Battle of Berlin.

Last in the series was a film that showed how WWII led to the Cold War and conflicts such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. This film also showed rays of hope, such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It presented both tragedy and triumph and left us feeling like, just maybe, the world might be a peaceful place someday in the future...