Commemoration of Operation Overlord
The term commemoration of Operation Overlord refers to the material culture of remembrance for the Allied liberation of northern France from German occupiers during World War II .
After the Allied invasion of Normandy ( Operation Overlord ), many cemeteries, memorials and museums were opened on the former area of operations, to commemorate the fallen and survivors, as well as the events.
background
To relieve the Red Army , Joseph Stalin had urged the Western Allies to open a second front . At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, landings in northern and southern France, operations Overlord and Anvil were decided.
At the Casablanca Conference , in the absence of Stalin, it was decided to establish a combined headquarters , the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force . The leadership of the Supreme Allied Commander took over Dwight D. Eisenhower . His chief of staff was, under the designation Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander , the Lieutenant-General ( Lieutenant General ) Frederick E. Morgan , who then directed the planning for Operation Overlord. The main objectives of the planning were to control the larger cities of Caen , Bayeux , Saint-Lô and Cherbourg .
After the Allies successfully landed on the beaches, the fighting shifted to the hinterland. The Germans resisted bitterly and because of the bocage the fighting developed into a positional war at times. Overall, Operation Overlord lasted about three months, with the final part progressing relatively quickly.
graveyards
In Normandy and also in Brittany, many cemeteries were set up for the fallen on both sides during the war and in some cases afterwards.
American war cemeteries
The two cemeteries are administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission .
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
The World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial was built by the 1st US Army on June 8, 1944 as a tribute to the US soldiers who died during Operation Overlord.
The cemetery is located at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy , France . It is located east of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and northwest of Bayeux , and about 274 km west of Paris (location:) . The area covers 49 hectares (122 acres ) and contains 9387 graves. Visitors can tour the cemetery from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The names of Americans missing in 1557 are engraved on the walls of the semicircular garden on the east side of the monument. The monument again consists of a semicircular row of columns with a loggia at each end and contains maps and reports of the military operations. In the center there is a bronze column on which it says "Spirit of American Youth". To the west of the memorial are the burial grounds and a circular chapel . Behind the chapel are pillars that represent the United States and France.
At the beginning of the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg , the protagonist James Ryan visits the grave of the fictional Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks ). This grave was placed in the cemetery especially for the film scene and then removed again. The two Niland brothers buried there served as inspiration for the film.
Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial
The American military cemetery with its memorial for the fallen in Brittany is located 2.4 kilometers southeast of Saint-James , 19 kilometers south of Avranches and 22.5 kilometers north of Fougères (location:) .
4,410 American victims of the Battle of Brittany and Normandy are buried on the 11.33 hectare site. The names of 498 Americans whose bodies have never been found or who are believed to be lost are engraved on the wall surrounding the terrace of the monument. The cemetery was opened on August 4, 1944 by the 3rd US Army to bury their fallen.
The monument, made of gray granite , houses the chapel and also two large maps describing American operations in the area, as well as flags of American units.
British war cemeteries
Banneville-la-Campagne military cemetery
Mainly Allied soldiers who fell from the second week of July to mid-August in Normandy in the area of Caen lie in this cemetery . During this time, the battle for Caen and various other fights raged in the area. Most of the victims buried here died during Operation Goodwood.
The cemetery is about eight kilometers east of the city of Caen and three and a half kilometers west of the village of Troan.
Bayeux War Cemetery and Bayeux Memorial
Bayeux war cemetery
Bayeux was captured by the Sherwood Rangers on the evening of June 6, 1944; however, it was not officially released until a day later. Charles de Gaulle then established his first seat of government in the city, after which Bayeux became a key point for the Allies.
Many military hospitals and hospitals have been built in the city, which is why so many dead lie in the military cemetery. The cemetery is close to the museum in Bayeux, which commemorates the Battle of Normandy.
Bayeux Memorial
The Bayeux Memorial commemorates the soldiers who died during the Battle of Normandy and Operation Overlord but who have no burial site. An inscription on the memorial reads the following: NOS A GULIELMO VICTI VICTORIS PATRIAM LIBERAVIMUS which roughly translates as: Once we were conquered by William and now we have liberated the homeland of the conqueror . The names of the fallen are arranged according to their former regiments. The memorial is right next to the Bayeux War Cemetery.
Bénouville church cemetery
The church cemetery of Bénouville is located about ten kilometers northeast of Caen and a few kilometers south of Ouistreham.
During Operation Tonga , the bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne, as well as the place Bénouville and the surrounding area were captured by units of the British 6th Airborne Division . Some of the Allied soldiers who died in the fighting were buried in the Bénouville church cemetery.
A total of 23 British soldiers are buried in the cemetery.
Brouay War Cemetery
The construction of the cemetery began in June 1944. Between June 10 and 18, the area around Brouay itself was part of the front line, which is why many of the buried fell during this time. The cemetery, in which many members of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and other British divisions lie, was in use until August 1944.
The cemetery is small compared to the other cemeteries in Normandy. "Only" 378 Allied soldiers are buried in the cemetery.
Fontenay le Pesnil military cemetery
Fontenay le Pesnil is about sixteen kilometers west of Caen. The cemetery itself is one kilometer south of the village.
At Fonentay le Pesnil fierce fighting took place in June and July 1944, in which the 49th (West Riding) Division was involved, for which a memorial was erected nearby. The cemetery was laid out by Allied troops after the town was conquered.
In addition to many Allied soldiers, a number of German soldiers, mainly members of the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth" , are buried in the military cemetery in Fontenay le Pesnil .
Herouvillette cemetery
Herouvillette was attacked and captured by the main body of the 2nd Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on June 6, 1944, D-Day . That is why all of the soldiers buried here - a total of 27 British - are members of this division.
A memorial was erected outside the cemetery to honor the division.
St. Desir War Cemetery
St. Desir is four kilometers west of Lisieux, but the military cemetery is one kilometer west of the village. The German war cemetery of Lisieux is also nearby.
The war cemetery at St. Desir is the easternmost of the war cemeteries in Normandy. Most of the soldiers buried here died in the last part of Operation Overlord, during the advance on the Seine . However, there are also soldiers buried in the military cemetery who died of their injuries while they were prisoners of war in Germany.
There are 597 Commonwealth war graves from World War II in the cemetery. 78 of these graves were moved here from the local cemetery in Chartres after the war, along with four dead from the First World War.
St. Manvieu Military Cemetery
The St. Manvieu military cemetery was established in June 1944. Fallen from the fighting west of Caen, mainly from the battle of Tilly-sur-Seulles and the operations of Epsom and Jupiter, are buried on it. Some of the soldiers who fell in the attack on Hill 112 are also buried here.
Secqueville-en-Bessin War Cemetery
The Secqueville-en-Bessin War Cemetery contains the graves of soldiers who died in the advance on Caen in early July and in the ongoing fighting towards the end of the month. The cemetery has 99 Commonwealth war graves and 18 German graves.
All of the dead died in July 1944. The cemetery was not changed after 1944; no new burials were undertaken.
Hermannville military cemetery
The military cemetery in Hermannville , about ten miles from Caen, opened shortly after D-Day and was originally called Sword Beach Cemetery due to its proximity to Sword Beach .
Most of the soldiers buried here came from units of the British 3rd Infantry Division , which Hermanville also liberated. Many of the graves contain Allied soldiers who died in the early days of Operation Overlord. However, there were also soldiers who had died in Operation Goodwood in mid-July 1944 and in the Falaise Pocket in early August. After the war, some graves were removed from the cemetery. In addition to infantrymen, naval personnel and commando units are buried in the cemetery.
The stone area of the parking lot was designed like the insignia of the British 3rd Infantry Division.
Military cemetery at Hottot les Bagues
Most of those buried in the military cemetery at Hottot les Bagues died in the vicinity during the fierce fighting in June and July 1944 when the Allies tried to keep the Germans out of Bayeux and advance to Caen.
Today there are 1,015 British Commonwealth graves in the cemetery from the period 1939 to 1945. 56 of these dead are unidentified. In addition, 132 Germans and one person who did not die in World War II are in the cemetery.
Le Deliverande military cemetery
Most of the dead from D-Day , who fell on the Oboe and Peter sections of Sword Beach , lie in the Le Deliverande military cemetery .
Other fallen Allied and German soldiers were later taken to the cemetery after they died in the area between the coast and Caen. Today there are 942 Commonwealth war graves in the cemetery.
Ranville military and church cemetery
The military cemetery is located north of Caen in Ranville on Rue des Airbornes.
Ranville was an Allied target during Operation Tonga . The church square was used to bury the fallen soldiers. After the Second World War, more dead people from the surrounding areas (Amfreville, Colleville-sur-Mer, etc.) were moved to the cemetery. In 1946 the cemetery was finally closed to new burials. Many of the dead buried here were soldiers of the British 6th Airborne Division. Close to the military cemetery is the smaller church cemetery where the first soldiers who fell on D-Day were buried.
One of the burials in the church cemetery is Lieutenant Den Brotheridge , the first Allied soldier to fall on D-Day. Brotheridge commanded a platoon of D Company of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry of the British 6th Airborne Division , with which he fought for the Pegasus Bridge on June 6, 1944 . On the side of the bridge that was still in German hands, Brotheridge threw a hand grenade into the bunker there . The next moment Brotheridge was fatally wounded by a shot in the neck. He then died on the morning of June 6th at the age of 29.
Ryes Military Cemetery
The cemetery was opened on June 8, 1944 and is located near Gold Beach and about five miles from Bayeux .
In addition to many infantry and other landing troops, various marines and mechanics are buried in the cemetery in Ryes. Some of the graves have the inscription that the soldiers died from their injuries, which suggests that there was a hospital nearby.
Tilly-sur-Seulles military cemetery
After the Allied landing in Normandy, fierce fighting broke out around and in Tilly-sur-Seulles , in which the British 7th Armored Division was involved. The Allies did not succeed in conquering Tilly-sur-Seulles until June 19.
The first burial in this military cemetery took place on July 8th. After that, more Allied soldiers were continuously buried here.
Today there are around 990 Commonwealth war graves from 1939–45 in the cemetery, 45 of which contain unidentified dead. There are also 232 graves of German soldiers in the cemetery.
Jerusalem War Cemetery at Tilly-sur-Seulles
The Jerusalem War Cemetery at Tilly-sur-Seulles is the smallest of the war cemeteries in Normandy, as well as one of the smallest of WWII in north-western Europe.
The cemetery was laid out in June 1944 when fighting in the area around Tilly-sur-Seulles. The nearby farm buildings were used as a preferred field hospital, which is why many of the soldiers who died there of their wounds were buried in the cemetery. After the fighting in Tilly-sur-Seulles was over and continued in the Bocage , the military cemetery was no longer used.
Canadian war cemeteries
Military cemetery in Bretteville-sur-Laize
The cemetery is about fourteen kilometers south of Caen, about north of the village of Cintheaux, and three kilometers from Bretteville-sur-Laize .
Most of the people buried in the Canadian military cemetery in Bretteville-sur-Laize died in the late fighting during the Battle of Normandy, for example in the Falaise pocket . Most of the soldiers buried here came from units of the 2nd Canadian Corps and died in late July and early August 1944.
In Bretteville-sur-Laize, 2957 victims of the Second World War, mainly Canadians, found their final resting place. 87 of the bodies could not be identified.
Canadian War Cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer
The 3rd Canadian Division has fought its way through Normandy towards Caen since landing on Juno Beach during D-Day . Many Canadian and German soldiers died in the fighting with German units, including the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth.
The Canadian victims of these fighting are buried in the war cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer .
German military cemeteries
Many of the German soldiers who fell in Normandy were buried in individual graves, in fields or in small cemeteries. In the years after the Second World War, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge decided to create six larger German military cemeteries in Normandy.
German war cemetery in La Cambe
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The construction of the German war cemetery La Cambe began in 1954. During this time, more than twelve thousand dead were exhumed from their old graves in several hundred locations in the Calvados and Orne departments and transferred to the cemetery of La Cambe . The construction of the cemetery was completed in 1961, after which the military cemetery was inaugurated in September of the same year. Since then, over seven hundred other soldiers whose bodies have been found in the area have been buried in the cemetery.
A total of 21,222 German soldiers were buried in the La Cambe military cemetery. 207 unknown and 89 identified soldiers were buried in mass graves.
An information center has been located on the cemetery grounds since the mid-1990s. There you can visit a permanent exhibition of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge and search for burials in a digital data collection.
German war cemetery of Champigny St. André
The German military cemetery Champigny St. André is 20 km southeast of Evreux . This cemetery was inaugurated on September 12, 1964. There are 19,809 German war dead under stone crosses made of shell limestone (two or three soldiers each) and in a large mass grave with 816 dead (as many of the bones could no longer be separated during reburial, or only 303 could be identified). The cemetery is known for the grave of Fritz Witt .
German war cemetery in Marigny
The German war cemetery in Marigny is located in the municipality of La Chapelle-en-Juger in the La Manche department . 11,619 German soldiers who died in Normandy rest here.
German war cemetery Mont d'Huisnes
The German war cemetery Mont d'Huisnes is located a few hundred meters east of the town of Huisnes-sur-Mer . It is a crypt in which 11,956 fallen from the Second World War are buried.
German war cemetery Orglandes
This war cemetery is located at the northern exit of the village of Orglandes in the Manche department . 10,152 dead rest here.
German military cemetery of St. Désir-de-Lisieux
In addition to the war cemetery of La Cambe, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge also laid out the military cemetery of St. Desir-de-Lisieux. This cemetery contains the graves of those who died between June and August 1944. Many of those buried here had died of their wounds in the nearby hospital near Lisieux, while others fell in the fighting near Falaise .
A total of 3,735 German soldiers are buried in the cemetery. The cemetery was established between 1957 and 1958 and was consecrated on September 21, 1958.
English cemeteries with dead Germans
Ten English war cemeteries also house German fallen soldiers in a special section in their complex (number in brackets).
- Bayeux / Calvados (467)
- Fontenay-le-Pesne / Calvados (59)
- Hottot-les Bagues / Calvados (132)
- Douvres-la-Delivrande / Calvados (182)
- Ranville / Calvados (323)
- Ryes-Bazenville / Calvados (325)
- Cheux-St.-Manvieu / Calvados (555)
- Tilly-sur-Seulles / Calvados (32)
- Tourgéville / Calvados (33)
Individual graves
In Normandy, however, not only cemeteries were built for the fallen, but also some individual graves.
Lieutenant James Gerald Marshall-Cornwall was buried in Cahagnes. He was commanding a tank when it was killed by a German sniper . He was then buried in the same place. His father bought the land after the war and built a memorial behind the headstone of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Elsewhere was Captain ( Captain ) George Charles Gray, who in the early stages of Operation Bluecoat died on 30 July 1944 at the age of 25, buried. He was buried by his comrades on the battlefield, after which his family built a grave for him here. Gray was a member of the City Council of Berwick-upon-Tweed and also the son of Major-General ( Major General ) Wulf Henry Gray .
Memorials
Many monuments were erected to commemorate the Battle of Caen and Operation Overlord . For example, on the road to the Odon Bridge, at Tourmauville a memorial for the 15th Scottish Division or on hill 112 a monument for the 53rd Welsh Division and one for the 43rd Wessex Division. Furthermore, a new forest was planted near the hill 112, which today serves as a memorial park.
There are also various memorials in and around Cherbourg that commemorate the costly battles in the area.
There is also a memorial in the city of Mortain that commemorates the Liège company .
Museums
Caen
Today, the Mémorial memorial with the Peace Museum ( Musée de la paix ) in Caen commemorates the landing in Normandy, the Battle of Caen and the Second World War . It was built over the former command bunker of General Wilhelm Richter , the commander of the 716th German Infantry Division, on the initiative of the city of Caen. On June 6, 1988, it was inaugurated by the then French President François Mitterrand , as well as by twelve ambassadors from the nations involved in the struggle in Normandy. The museum is pacifist and borders on the Parc international pour la Liberation de l'Europe , a garden that commemorates the Allied participants in the invasion.
Cherbourg
In Cherbourg , in Fort du Roule , on the mountain of Roule, there is now the Musée de la Liberation de Cherbourg , the oldest museum in Normandy, which is dedicated to the events during Operation Overlord and the German occupation as well as the battle for Cherbourg recalls. However, neither weapons nor uniforms are displayed in the museum.
Benouville
In the Pegasus Bridge Museum , the original bridge, which was captured by British paratroopers in 1944 during Operation Tonga , can be viewed today . There are also various finds, reports, maps and other items in the museum.
Merville
The former artillery battery near Merville can be visited by tourists. A small museum is now housed in one of the old, preserved bunker buildings of the Regelbau 611 type , Casemate No. 1 . In front of the grass-covered battery is a small memorial to the 9th British Battalion of the 6th British Airborne Division and a memorial stone with a bust depicting Colonel Otway, the unit's commander.
New Orleans
The official US Museum ( The National D-Day Museum ) authorized by Congress opened on June 6, 2000 in New Orleans . A foundation initiated by Stephen Ambrose, New Orleans University, prepared this since 1991. It was built here because the landing craft ( Higgins Boats (LCVP) ) that are important for it were built here. Because of this, Dwight D. Eisenhower called Higgins "the man who won the war for us." In addition to Normandy, the museum also commemorates other landing companies where the US armed forces fought against the Axis powers in World War II.
Brest
The Montbarey fortress in Brest , built under King Louis XIV and one of the strong German bases during the siege of the city, now houses a museum. The fort is an official WWII memorial. A permanent exhibition about the time of the Finistère département under German occupation has been on view here since 1984 .
literature
- Jean-Pierre Benamou: The museum dedicated to the 1944 Battle of Normandy, Bayeux . Saep, Ingersheim 1988
- Direction Régionale de l'Environnement de Basse-Normandie (ed.): Les jardins de la mémoire en Basse-Normandie . Association Régionale pour la Promotion de l'Environnement et de l'Architecture, Hérouville-St.-Clair 1994, ISBN 2-9502460-7-9
- Elizabeth Diller, Jean-Louis Déotte : Visite aux armées. Tourismes de guerre. / Back to the front. Tourism of war . FRAC Basse-Normandie, Caen 1994, ISBN 2-9505940-0-X (French and English)
- Serge Barcellini, Annette Wieviorka: Passant, souviens-toi !. Les lieux du souvenir de la Seconde Guerre mondiale en France . Plon, Paris 1995, ISBN 2-259-00003-7
- Yves Lecouturier: Discovery Paths . The Allied Landing beaches . Morstadt, Kehl am Rhein 2003, ISBN 3-88571-287-3
- Andreas Langenohl: State visits. Internationalized memory of the Second World War in Russia and Germany . In: Eastern Europe 4-6 / 2005 - full text
- Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (Ed.): Normandy. German war cemeteries. Kassel. (Brochure with brief information on the cemeteries)
Web links
Course of the invasion
- normandie44lamemoire.com ( English and French )
Museums
- Pegasus Memorial ( English )
- Overview of museums and memorials ( English )
- American War Graves Commission ( English )
- The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, overview
- Information on the 60th anniversary of D-Day ( English )
Care of the war graves
War cemeteries
- Memorials and cemeteries , as well as museums ( English )
- War cemeteries in Normandy on the website faehreensucher.com ( German )
- 6juin1944.com ( English )
- Civil Victims Map ( French )
swell
- ↑ Colleville-sur-mer in Normandy on the website faehreensucher.com ( German )
- ^ Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (Ed.): Normandy. German war cemeteries. Kassel. P. 13 (brochure with brief information on the cemeteries)
- ^ Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (Ed.): Normandy. German war cemeteries. Kassel. P. 12 (brochure with brief information on the cemeteries)
- ^ Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (Ed.): Normandy. German war cemeteries. Kassel. P. 15 (brochure with brief information on the cemeteries)
- ↑ About the Museum: Why is The National World War II Museum in New Orleans? (Homepage) ( Memento of the original from May 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
