Photo on a window of a pharmacy in Bayeux, France.
One of the most striking features of the town of Bayeux and others like it across the Normandy Coast is the sheer appreciation and celebration of the Allied powers in World War II. They are all very much places steeped in time, still ever aware of the war even eighty years later. The flags from the various Allied countries are scattered throughout town, with seven of them flying in a roundabout outside of the hotel we are staying at. I can see them from my window as I write this. The walls of buildings downtown are covered in drawings that optimistically evoke the liberation of France, depicting smiling Red Cross medics and American soldiers with beers. “Thank you” is written on windows in French and English, and historic black and white photos of the town during the forties are taped on the doors of restaurants and stores.
It is almost overwhelming, especially when considering the difficult hand the French were dealt in World War II. Coastal villages like Bayeux were often harmed by the very same forces that were supposed to liberate them— something that seems very much at odds with the more positive nature of remembrance in the towns.
A photo of a destroyed Caen following the Normandy Bombings, which were conducted by Allied forces. (https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-culture/caen-ww2-war-story-france/)
But the treatment of French civilians by the Allied forces is not entirely forgotten. A portion of the Caen Memorial Museum is dedicated to the Allied air campaigns over the French coast. It is remarkably frank in regard to the harm the raids caused the French. Aircraft decimated towns including Caen and Le Havre in hopes of stalling German advancement and by the end, it is estimated that over ten thousand civilians lost their lives in the fire. These facts don’t paint a pretty picture and it’s true that the Allied liberation of France was often met with apprehension.
In many ways, this makes the French acknowledgement and appreciation of its fellow Allied powers all the more meaningful. It is difficult to not only reconcile but also choose to celebrate, and all the more admirable that the French are able to do so while acknowledging the past. To the residents of Normandy; merci pour votre amour et votre gratitude. I’m certain they have not always been easy things to give.