The 75th Anniversary of D-Day

The D-Day Landings on the Normandy beaches in 1944 were one of the most remarkable Allied wartime operations. Despite heavy losses on both sides on the day, and for months afterward, as the German army defended their occupied territory, it was a turning point for the war and the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.

The 75^th anniversary of D-Day will be celebrated in 2019.

Heads of state from the whole world will be present to celebrate the allied landings and pay their respects to the last surviving veterans. The official ceremonies will take place on June 6 but many more events are also planned for June 5,7^h and 8

Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William & Kate, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Queen Margrethe of Denmark are among the official State guests of French president Emanuel Macron. Donald Trump finally accepted his invitation.

The international ceremonies will take this special opportunity to honour in their lifetime the last veterans of the battle of Normandy.

The importance of peace in the world will be the subject of a special ‘Forum Normandie de la Paix’ – a series of conferences in the presence of world leaders and marked by a grand international concert.

Many other festive and cultural events are also planned- fireworks along the coast, a giant banquet at the viallage of Saint-Mère-Église, concerts, aerial displays by Le patrouille de France https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x340DyYFpaI and parades of vintage military vehicles.

EXPOSITION NORMAN ROCKWELL AU MEMORIAL DE CAEN

The Memorial of Caen will present an exhibition of the work of the American artist Norman Rockwell – it will be the first time his masterpiece the ‘Four Freedoms’ will be shown outside the United States.

This is an illustration of the Four Freedoms which were described in US President Franklin D Roosevelts annual State of the Union address to Congress of January 6, 1941, which was delivered at a time when Nazi Germany occupied much of Western Europe. He asked the American citizens to support war efforts in various ways and stated his vision of a better future, founded upon four freedoms:

“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.”

If the principal commemorative events for D-Day take place between June 5 and 8, it is in fact from the beginning of Spring to the end of Summer of this year and for many years to come, that this great event will be celebrated in many of the communities of Normandy that were so badly affected by the conflict of WW2.