Friday, June 4, 2010

Etretat, France in World War 2

































































































This one is for the World war 2 history buffs. When I first saw these photos I thought they must have been from the Dover area in England. But, I've been to Dover, and I couldn't remember the sea arches seen in several of the prints. A bit of research and I was able to identify the town as Etretat in France. With some of the signs in English and the bombed out houses makes these from the post D-Day era. The bunkers have to be German built, as a defense against the allied invasion.



5 comments:

  1. Most interesting series of photographs...

    Intriguingly, the second one must have been taken earlier in the War, since the church is still extant on top of the North Cliff and, also, the buildings seem more intact. The church was demolished by the Occupiers since it interfered with their guns

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  2. ** the church was rebuilt post-war

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  3. Quite interesting !
    The landscape has much changed since then...
    Are there any other photographs in this collection ?

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  4. The last photo, with the bunker in the hillside, is this part of the stairway that Monet took to the Manneport? Is it between d'Aval and the Manneporte?

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  5. Brilliant photos, thank you!
    An interesting article thank you. We recently followed up and old photo on a postcard of Etretat, the memorial to Nungesser and Coli – some pictures here http://www.normandythenandnow.com/last-flight-of-the-white-bird-at-etretat/
    It’s a stunning memorial at the place Nungesser and Coli last saw France.
    Also posted is an old postcard of the original memorial blown up in WW2. Memorial styles certainly change!
    We are glad Nungesser and Coli and their bravery are not forgotten.

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