While in Bayeux, France, we went on a lot of day trips to museums, beaches, and other cemeteries in the area to understand and learn more about D-Day.
I found the French perspectives to be very interesting, particularly at the museum in Caen. The museum covered many events I did not know too much about in detail, such as the German invasion of France. It also, however, seemed to try to maximize its presentation on the French resistance and the role France played in the Allied victory, which at times appeared to be exaggerated. The discussion on the bombings of France by allied forces by the exhibit were also interesting; at times the exhibit made it sound like the bombings were much more hurtful and unnecessary than anything else. Of course, the subject in the first place is touchy, but it would have been best that the exhibit tried to cover all sides of the issues as why the bombings could have been bad or good and necessary or unnecessary, rather than use somewhat strong language saying the bombs were generally unneeded.
Additionally, I generally was not happy about the statues in the front of the museum because although they represent a historical event, they ultimately represent (and arguably glorify) sexual assault. While there were captions present that discussed the controversy, this discussion would not necessarily be visible to those driving by; the photo the statues were based off, of course, have repeatedly been glorified in our society (I had no idea that the man grabbed someone he didn’t know until I happened to read about it a few months ago).
Otherwise, despite these biases in relation to the French perspective, I think the museum did very well in creating a context in its exhibition on the events before the Second World War. It also made great connections to the present day with its Cold War exhibit.
I also found, however, the discussion of the ICRC and its goals of humanitarianism during war to be particularly interesting. In the exhibit, there were examples of what was said was acceptable in war and what wasn’t (for example, fighting other soldiers would be “okay,” while killing civilians would not be acceptable according to the rules). It also displayed rights that people should have at times in war, which included the right to know what happened to family members, as well as the right to sustenance.
I find it a difficult subject because ICRC inevitably okays war though it condemns specific actions in particular though of course, it makes sense that what the group is doing is for the best because it does make sense to try to step in the right direction. The discussion as to where the lines should be drawn is interesting but it can also be disheartening for this same reason; it is best that something as opposed to nothing is done to try to make war more civil, though it would be best that wars in general would cease to exist.
Ultimately, seeing Bayeux, the beaches of the D-Day landings, and the French perspective as a whole was a great experience! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip brings in Paris and Berlin.