Beaches and Battlefields

This blog is meant to be a comparison of historical wartime pictures to what they look like in current time.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Westerkerk, Amsterdam

Our journey began in Amsterdam, Netherlands, a focal point in World War ll. Westerkerk is a Reformed church within the Dutch Protestant church. Westerkerk is located beside the Anne Frank House where Anne Frank, her family, and others hid in a secret annex from Nazi persecution for two years during the Second World War. While in hiding, Anne kept a diary where she wrote her thoughts, feelings, and fears until the time those in the Annex were discovered by the Nazi’s. From there they were all taken to Concentration Camps and killed. The only survivor being her Father, Otto Frank. The Westerkerk is mentioned numerous times during her diar, due to it being visible from the attic of the Annex. Anne described the chimes of the bell as a source of comfort.

Picture of Wartime Westerkerk was retrieved from http://archief.omkijken.nl/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Vimy Ridge, France

The overall purpose of this pilgrimage was to attend the ceremony to commemorate the 100 years that have past since the Battle of Vimy Ridge. This battle is a turning point in Canadian history; it is where the four Canadian divisions fought together as a united force for the first time. Canada’s victory over the German forces is known as the beginning of Canada’s evolution from dominion to independent nation.

The picture to the left depicts Adolf Hitler touring the Vimy Ridge Memorial in June 1940. The Germans were conquering France as the British had retreated across the English Channel. This is when a propaganda scandal broke out over the memorial. Canadian newspapers reported that the Germans had destroyed the monument. During this time, Germans were destroying many historic French sites and statues to get rid of all reminders of past defeats. Although, Vimy was spared. It was said that Hitler admired the Canadian landmark. To discount the rumours, Hitler toured Vimy.

There is no known reason as to why Hitler chose to spare Vimy, but there is speculation. The most common being that Hitler never fought at Vimy, but served in the area as a German infantryman during the First World War. He was said to have a soft spot for the soldiers of the Great War.

Picture of Adolf Hiltler touring the Vimy Ridge Memorial in June 1940 was retrieved from http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2007/04/05/3925529-sun.html.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Arras, France

Next on the trip was the City of Arras. Arras played a crucial defensive role in the First World War. In August 1918, Canadians and their allies begin the final push against Germany. This attack was an attack that will hopefully end the war. The Germans knew the Canadians were coming, and so to counter the lack of surprise, the Canadians opened the battle with a rare night attack. After weeks of fighting, on September 2nd, infantry of the 1st and 4th Canadian divisions pushed forward again and captured the entire German position. The Germans retreated behind Canal du Nord. The deep but dry canal separating the Canadian and German lines was more than forty metres wide. The Canadian plan called for the divisions to cross a stretch of the canal only about 2.5 kilometres long. This canal was barely enough room for a single division to ford, let alone four at once. Once across, the Canadians intended to fan out and capture the whole position.Every square inch of ground cost the Canadians dead and wounded, but they captured their goal and once again broke a key German line of defense.

Over the final month of the war, the Canadians would liberate the French cities of Cambrai and Valenciennes, and the Belgian city of Mons. The soldiers’ sacrifice was critical to ending the war against Germany.

While exploring the town of Arras, a local, elderly man approached me. He stopped me and before I could say anything, he shook my hand; he was crying. Through his tears the man said to me that he noticed my backpack, which featured a Canadian Flag. He wanted to express his gratuity towards my country for everything they did to free his town and his country. Although there was no way this man was alive during the time of the Battle of Arras, it was clear that the impact of what had happened here still affected the generations afterwards. This interacted humbled me. Seeing the impact that Canada’s peacemaking efforts made me realize how fortunate I am to live in a country that has been at peace for the past 150 years. 

Picture of Arras was retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917).  

[beachesandbattlefields]

Juno Beach, France

From Arras, we travelled to the Beaches of Normandy. The first beach being Juno. Juno was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German occupied France on D-Day during the Second World War.

On D-Day, (June 6, 1944) “Operation Overlord”, the long-awaited invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, began with Allied armies from the U.S., Britain and Canada landing on the coast of Normandy. On D-Day, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach. The Canadian assault troops stormed ashore in the face of fierce opposition from German strongholds and mined beach obstacles. The soldiers raced across the wide open beaches swept with machine gun fire, and stormed the gun positions. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, they fought their way into the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and then advanced inland, securing a critical bridgehead for the allied invasion. The victory was a turning point in World War II and led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Today, Juno Beach is a site in tribute to the men and women who served in the Canadian Army during D-Day and World War II.

Picture of Juno Beach landing was retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/juno-beach-feature/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Arromanches (Gold Beach), France

After Juno Beach, we travelled to the town of Arromanches, more commonly known as Gold Beach. Gold Beach was also one of the five beaches of the Allied invasion of German occupied France on D-Day during the Second World War. The assault was to be carried out by the British 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division.

The Germans had houses set up along the coast. These fighting positions were vulnerable to naval gunfire and could easily be set afire. The Germans counterattack plan was to team up with Kampfgruppe Meyer, a mechanized unit of the 352nd Division based at the nearby town of Bayeux. This unit had practiced rapid maneuver to the beach to meet possible invasion attempts.

By the evening of June 6, the 50th Division had landed 25,000 men, penetrated 10 km inland, hooked up with the Canadians from Juno Beach on the left, and reached the heights above Port-en-Bessin. It had not cut the Caen-Bayeux highway or linked up with the Americans from Omaha Beach, but it had made an impressive start. The British suffered 400 casualties while securing their beachhead.

Picture of the aerial view of Gold Beach was retrieved from http://www.oisterwijk-marketgarden.com/gold_beach.html.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Upon the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, Adolf Hitler posed in front of the Eiffel Tower with his architect, Albert Speer, and his favorite sculptor, Arno Breker.

Before the Nazi occupation, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit of the Eiffel. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. Hitler indeed stayed on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. Some German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and it was replaced by a smaller one. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.

Picture of Hitler was retrieved from http://manplate.com/25-rare-photos-in-history-that-will-blow-your-mind/2/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

German soldier enjoy a break under the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Picture of Nazi soldiers under the Eiffel Tower was retrieved from https://pictureshistory.blogspot.ca/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Louvre, Paris, France

In August 1939, 10 days before the outbreak of World War II, a secret rescue mission began in Paris. This was lead by Jacques Jaujard. Jaujard was deputy director of The Louvre museum, and saw the potential dangers for the art treasures there. On August 25, a few days before the Germans invaded Poland, Jaujard ordered the closure of the museum for three days, masked as repair work. On the first night, 800 of the most important works of art were removed from the walls, among them Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. In the following days, 4,000 works were packed up and loaded onto a variety of vehicles, including hundreds of trucks, ambulances, private cars and taxis. The destinations of these vehicles were castles throughout France, where the works would be kept safe until the war passed. Jaujard had to move the "Mona Lisa" several times, in order to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis.

Picture of an Empty Louvre was retrieved from http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/leisure/.premium-1.645657.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

The Notre Dame Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral located in the fourth arrondissement of Paris. With its sculptures and stained glass windows, it shows the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture. It was one of the very first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction took place throughout the Gothic period. The construction of the Cathedral began in 1163 and ended in 1345.

Between the time of the German victory in the Battle of France and the liberation of the country, the Western Allies bombed many locations in France. In all 1,570 French cities and towns were bombed by Anglo-American forces between June 1940 and May 1945. The total number of civilians killed was 68,778 men, women and children. Paris was not as heavily bombed as other European cities such as Warsaw, Rotterdam or London, but it did suffered bombing raids. As well, the Liberation of Paris did not immediately bring peace to Paris. A thousand people were killed and injured by a German bombing raid on August 26. Also the city and region suffered from attacks by German V-1 rockets beginning on September 3.

Picture of the bombing of Notre Dame was retrieved from https://kuruc.info/r/4/163507/

[beachesandbattlefields]

Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath the arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The Arc remains a symbol of remembrance amongst the citizens of Paris. 

The picture depicted on the left was taken on the day Paris was Liberated on the 25th of August 1944.  Paris had been ruled by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Compiègne Armistice on 22 June 1940. The liberation began when the French Resistance staged an uprising against the German forces upon the approach of the US Third Army. On the 25th of August, the bulk of the 2nd Armored Division and US 4th Infantry Division entered the city. Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrendered to the French at the Hôtel Meurice, the newly established French headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle assumed control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

Picture of Liberated France was retrieved from http://www.ericringsby.com/getz/3rdusarmygal2.htm.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Palais Garnier, Paris, France

Palais Garnier, built in 1875, is the Paris Opera House. It is known as the Palais Garnier in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. It is also the place of the setting of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.

Again, the picture depicted on the left was taken on the day Paris was Liberated on the 25th of August 1944.  

Picture of Liberated France was retrieved from https://ww2gravestone.com/the-liberation-of-paris-19-augustus-1944/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

King’s Cross Station, London, England

We arrived in London England via the Eurostar into King’s Cross Station at Platform 9 and 10. In wartimes, trains made up of the majority of transportation in Great Britain, especially London. King’s Cross being one of the central stations.  

The Blitz, from the German word Blitzkrieg meaning 'lightning war', was the name used by the British press to describe the heavy air raids carried out over Britain in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War.During the Blitz of London, 37 High explosive bombs were dropped only on King’s Cross station. Working and travelling to London in the wars years was not easy. More often that not, air raids shut down the underground, so getting to and from work could mean hours of delay. To assist with the problem of clearing the station in the event of an air raid, a volunteer fire guard duty was organized by railway staff. The duty required that the guard spend hours on the station roof listening for sirens or watching for approaching aircraft. If an attack was imminent, the fire guard sounded a siren to clear the building.

Picture of a Post Air Raid King’s Cross was retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/421860690074303845/ .

[beachesandbattlefields]

Tower Bridge, London, England

The Tower of London is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. Built in 1894, the Tower Bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London.

A group of six captive ravens live at the Tower of London. Their residence is believed to protect the Crown and the tower; a superstition holds that if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it. During World War II, only one raven was able to survive the bombing during the Blitz, so the Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered more ravens to be brought in. The Tower ravens are enlisted as soldiers of the Kingdom, and were issued attestation cards in the same way as soldiers and police. As is the case with soldiers, the ravens can be dismissed for unsatisfactory conduct.The first reference to an early version of the legend that Britain will fall if the ravens leave the Tower comes from July, 1944, when ravens were being used as unofficial spotters for enemy bombs and planes during the Blitz.

The picture of the smoke rising behind the Tower Bridge was taken during the first mass daylight attack on London on September 7th, 1940. This is the beginning of the German Air Raid Blitz.

Picture of the Bombing of Tower Bridge was retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/549650329499186823/ .

[beachesandbattlefields]

London Underground, England

Built in 1863, the London Underground is a public rapid transit system serving London and its surrounding area.  

During the Second World War, hundreds of Londoners sought refuge from the air raids in stations across the London Underground network. This was initially against the wishes of the government, reluctant to sanction its use partly because of fears that a large group of people underground in trying circumstances would develop anti-war sentiments and a refusal to resurface to continue their war work. However, in September 1940, Churchill agreed to close Aldwych station and authorise its development into an air-raid shelter as a model for other stations, should it be successful. During the next few years, it was widely regarded as the best Underground shelter. Its facilities, such as the provision of sleeping bunks, and the activities ranging from religious services to concerts, were vastly superior to those of other shelters.

Picture of the London Underground retrieved from http://sirjohnlawesart.blogspot.ca/2015/01/apart-and-or-together-edexcel-gcse-2014.html .

[beachesandbattlefields]

Palace of Westminster, London, England

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster.

While the Palace of Westminster is Parliament'€s permanent home, it does not have to meet there. As during the Second World War, it can still meet anywhere if it wishes.Between 1940 and 1941, both Houses of Parliament were in fact convened at Church House in Westminster due to a fear that the Chambers might be bombed while the Houses were sitting. The Palace was damaged by air raids on fourteen different occasions during the war.

Picture of the Barbwire Palce of Westminster was retrieved from http://newsburglar.com/2009/01/27/world-war-ii-photos/.

[beachesandbattlefields]

Westminster Abbey, London, England

Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for British monarchs.

The Abbey holds the tomb of The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in the Abbey on the 11th of November, 1920. This grave is the only one in the Abbey on which it is forbidden to walk. There is also a memorial chapel to the airmen of the Royal Air Force who were killed in the Second World War. It incorporates a memorial window to the Battle of Britain, which replaces an earlier Tudor stained glass window destroyed in the war.

The picture depicted on the left was taken on the 8th of May, 1945, also known as VE Day (Victory in Europe Day).

Picture of Westminster Abbey on VE Day retrieved from http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Crowd-Streaming-into-Westminster-Abbey-on-Ve-Day-Marking-the-End-of-WWII-in-Europe-Posters_i8532003_.htm.

[beachesandbattlefields]

St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England

St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral, originally built in 1256 and rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1675. St Paul's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity.It is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as of images of the dome surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz. Unlike the Great Fire of London, St.Paul’s was practically unharmed during the blitz of the Second World War.

Of course, this was not a coincidence. Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that St Paul's Cathedral should be protected at all costs. Over the war, bombs rained down on the cathedral. Volunteer firewatchers patrolled its myriad corridors, armed with sandbags and water pumps to douse the flames. At one point. an incendiary device was lodged on the roof. As it burned, the lead of the dome began to melt. Luck was on the side of the firewatchers. The bomb dislodged, fell to the floor of the Stone Gallery, and was smothered with a sandbag. St Paul's was saved.

Picture of St.Paul’s during the Blitz was retrieved from http://home.bt.com/pictures/uk-news/75-years-since-st-pauls-cathedral-was-bombed-during-the-blitz-41364009463013.