The Seine river cruise travels from Paris to the heart of Normandy, where the cultural offerings also include lessons in World War II history.
The “Les Braves” monument, dedicated to the American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, is seen on Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, on April 11, 2024.
Gathered around a towering bronze statue called “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves,” a group of Americans observed a moment of silence, some tearfully remembering their own military family members who had served in WWII or one of the many conflicts since. On D-Day the beach was a cacophony of machine gun fire and shouting soldiers as they attempted to breach Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, an extensive system of coastal defenses. Monstrous military landing craft jammed the shore, and the normally fresh sea air was thick with the acrid smell of explosives, participants were told during the tour.
On view is a uniform worn by a French female resistance fighter deported to Germany’s Ravensbrück concentration camp to build aircraft engines for the Third Reich. Even after she was arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced to death for treason, Sophie Scholl remained courageous and defiant saying, “I am now, as before, of the opinion that I did the best I could do for my nation. I do not therefore regret my conduct and will bear the consequences of my conduct.”
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