Tag Archives: Normandy

Bomb damage on picture postcards

Posted on March 6, 2012 by digitaldevelopment

It was common for photographs of destruction by bombs to be sent as postcards. This shows the destruction of rail installations at Vire, in Normandy, by a raid on 6 June 1944. Collection BDIC-MHC. Tous droits réservés.

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Public ceremony

Posted on March 6, 2012 by digitaldevelopment

Public ceremony: Marshal Pétain in St-Étienne, 5-6 June 1944. Pétain cut short his visit on hearing of the Normandy landings. This was his last appearance in public before his trial. Courtesy Archives Départementales de la Loire, 7/W/26. Tous droits réservés.

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Le Havre, Winter 1944-45

Posted on March 6, 2012 by digitaldevelopment

Le Havre, Winter 1944-45. A report by H. Holbek, a Swedish Quaker visitor to Le Havre, described popular feelings there in November 1944. ‘One notices a sense of bitterness towards the British, a profound chagrin and disappointment, in Le Havre. … Continue reading →

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‘To the inhabitants of this town.’

Posted on March 6, 2012 by digitaldevelopment

‘To the inhabitants of this town.’ The last warning: this leaflet, dropped in Normandy on the eve of the D-Day landings, made no reference to a specific locality and was ignored by most people who read it. Courtesy Mémorial de … Continue reading →

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Four days before the Normandy landings

Posted on March 6, 2012 by digitaldevelopment

Four days before the Normandy landings, Eisenhower instructed the air chiefs to minimise civilian casualties. His note preceded the three most intensive months of Allied bombing over France. © Crown Copyright. Courtesy The National Archives, AIR37.1012.

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