Normandy, a region in northern France, is one of the 18 Départements which make up mainland France. Luckily for me I had the good fortune to travel to this region as a part of the GW Paris program along with other GW students. I feel guilty to say my knowledge of the history of Normandy prior to the trip was limited to the D-Day landing and a vague understanding of The Battle of Normandy during World War Two. Therefore, it was an eye-opening experience when we arrived at our first stop, the Normandy Memorial in Caen, because I learned a lot about the brutality Normandy faced under the occupation of Germany, and the hardships soldiers and civilians underwent during the many battles.
The battle of Normandy is often referred to as the battle which won back Europe. It was a movement which began on June 6th, 1944 where the Allied forces launched the biggest and the arguably the greatest maritime invasion in history, which was intended to free all those under the suppression of the Nazi regime. Walking through each room within the memorial made me feel a deep sense of remorse and respect towards all those involved in the conflict. Reflecting now on the significance of the battle I believe D-day and the other Allied invasions of Normandy represent all that is virtuous in modern liberal democracy.
After our tour of the museum our group headed to Omaha beach, one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German occupied France. The D-Day landing is close to the hearts of many Americans because it was mainly the American troops who landed at Omaha Beach, and who suffered the worst on D-Day. It was clear when we drove down the coastline how the geographical landscape of the beach gave the Germans a clear shooting advantage against the Allied troops. The slopes above the beaches where the Germans were posted, gave them the advantage of having a clear shot of the Americans swimming onto the shore.
We were told that the fog which engulfed the whole coastline at the time of our visit, resembled the weather conditions on the exact day of the landing. The fog was so intense to the point where figures standing more than 100 meters away were barely visible, and to think this was what the Allied forces had to deal with as they were storming the coast line bewildered me. The thought weighed heavy on my mind to think that how even after enduring all the chaos and terror, the Allied forces were still able to make offensive gains in the aftermath of the battle.
The museums, memorials, cemeteries and sites set along the D-day landing beaches were all extremely moving. Although I’ve learned about these sites and the many battles fought in the Battle of Normandy in my history classes, the details never really stayed in my memory. However, after visiting these locations, and reading first-hand accounts from the devastations of the war, I believe the intimacy I felt throughout it all has made me more adept at recounting the historical significance of Normandy and the reclamation of Europe.