Leaving the City

On day eight of our twelve days, we ventured out of the city of Paris and travelled north-west to the providence of Normandy. To reach our destination, travel time was expected to take a little over two hours; however, due to the upcoming Olympic games it took us over four hours. The further we got from the city the masses of buildings and people turned into lush fields and grazing cows. Although this course is titled “American Writers in Paris”, we were able to visit this providence due to its rich history based in World War II. The history in Normandy works to enhance our understanding of the novel Agent Josephine by Damien Lewis, which is the story of Josephine Baker in World War II.

Memorial De Caen

After our four hour bus ride our first destination was the Memorial De Caen. This is a memorial as well as a museum. It demonstrates how easily peace can be disrupted as well as educate about some of the wars. Although the museum covers many different wars, I spent the majority of my time learning about the World Wars as well as the battle of Caen. When we exited the bus we were immediately greeted with flags being flown to commemorate some of the nations that were involved in World War II.

Once inside we began our visit by watching a film on the D-day invasion as well as the Battle of Normandy. Watching this film, you could feel the intensity of everyones gazed locked on the screen. You could feel the air still as people were held their breaths. Its very challenging to separate that the film shows real lives being lost, not simply actors on a screen. The aftermath of this battle left the city unrecognizable, you could never tell that days prior to the invasion people were living their day-to-day lives. After this film, we walked through the museum. Although all the exhibitions were very fascinating the one that stuck out to me the most was featured exhibit titled, “L’aube Du Siecle Americain 1919-1944” which translates to “The Dawn of the American Century 1919-1944”.

This exhibition was created in honor of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion and the Battle of Normandy. This exhibition shows the culture in America through the Great Depression up until the Normandy landing. It gave a timeline of the American soldier up until the invasion. Since the United States stayed out of World War II for as long as possible, it was interesting to see an exhibition that focused on the American perspective, as most of this history is taught from the European perspective. After viewing this exhibition it was time to go to our next stop. Although the land outside this memorial did not change, my perception of it did and I found it nearly impossible to fathom that eighty years ago the entire city of Caen was nothing but rubble.

We travelled another hour to the Normandy American Cemetery. This is the final resting place of over 9,300 American soldiers who lost their lives in the D-Day invasion and following operation. The vastness of this cemetery brought me a heavy-heart. It is hard to envision that all of these graves are representative of lives loss. The most challenging part of this day was humanizing the rows and rows of graves. Within the information center they showed a helmet balanced on the top of a rifle, set immediately after the operation as a memorial for the sacrifices made, their sacrifices never went unnoticed.

Omaha Beach

Our final stop before returning to the city of Paris was Omaha Beach, this was one of the five beaches that the D-Day invasion began on. Much like the cemetery it was so hard to comprehend that this coastline was home to the largest invasion in military history, where so many lives were lost. What stood out to me the most was the weather. The dark clouds and rainy weather enhanced the mood, demonstrating that this is a very solemn place. The difference of 80 years was really put into perspective when our biggest concern was being wet and cold, whereas in this very location people sacrificed the one thing they could never get back.

Conclusion

Coming into this day trip, I had a solid understanding of World War II as a whole; however I knew very little about the D-Day invasion or the lasting affects of it. This trip was very educational, and I would recommend that anyone who is able should visit at least one of these sites in their lifetime.