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I offer comprehensive tours of the major sites and battlefields of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, and the ensuing 77-day Battle of Normandy in English and German.

06/08/2023

Military museums on the Cotentin Peninsula

Many guided tours in Normandy do not include visits to military museums. A museum visit easily lasts 45 - 60 minutes, valuable time that is sorely missed for visiting other sites. Moreover, not every tour guide is allowed to guide in a museum. Nevertheless, visiting one or more museums is an exciting and interesting affair that interested tourists can also undertake on their own.
Here is a brief overview of the ten military museums located on the Cotentin Peninsula.

Sainte-Come-du-Mont:
The Dead Man’s Corner Museum and the D-Day Experience hangar. In the building where German paratrooper commander Major von der Heydte had set up the regimental CP of his FJR 6 on D-Day, there is now a small museum on the upper floor that displays only equipment of the German paratroopers. The building also houses a militaria store on the first floor, selling original and replica uniforms, weapons, and other parachute troop utensils and memorabilia. The building and grounds are owned by the Centre Historique des Parachutists du Jour-J, an association whose main goal is to preserve the historic grounds around the museum and provide information about the events of June 1944. In this context, the Centre Historique had set up a historic route with 13 sites of military historical importance that can be visited with the help of GPS coordinates. At each of these sites, a large information panel with detailed explanations, maps, and photos explains the respective battles in June 1944. A leaflet with GPS data is available free of charge at both the museum and the militaria shop.
Also on the ground of the site of the Centre Historique des Parachutistes du Jour-J is a relatively new museum that opened in 2015, the D-Day Experience Hangar. In the hangar, the mission of the men of the 101st Airborne in Normandy is described in detail. The absolute highlight of the Experience Hangar is a virtual Hologram briefing with Lieutenant Colonel Wolverton, preparing you for deployment as a paratrooper of the 3rd Battalion, 506 PIR, in Normandy. After the briefing, you board a spacious flight simulator, which is built out of an original C-47 Skytrain, and take off on the mission. An astonishing experience, whether it is realistic, only contemporary witnesses will be able to judge.
Please note that the admission fee for the Experience Hangar also includes admission to the Dead Man’s Corner
Museum.

Donville:
The Musée Mémorial de Bloody Gulch/The Manoir de Donville is an old Norman manor house, first mentioned in the late 11th century and rebuilt to its present form at the end of the 18th century. The listed property has military-historical relevance, as it was here in the house, on the compound and the terrain to the east, that a fierce battle took place between American paratroopers and paratroopers of the FJR 6 and grenadiers of the
17th SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen" on June 12-13, 1944. The proud owner of the house and the surrounding garden, Franck Feuardent, who bought the property in 1999, offers two guided tours in English and French.
The subjects of the tours are: "The Mansion, its History, its Architecture" and "The Battle of Bloody Gulch and Hill 30 in Donville in 1944 and its vestiges". For the visitor interested in military history, the latter tour is probably of main interest. The approximately 75-minute tour includes a visit to the Chapelle de Donville cemetery, where several civilians who were victims of the battle are buried, as well as the battlefield and its archaeological vestiges. Franck will also give a tour of his museum, which houses interesting exhibits. A walk through the mansion, where the traces of close combat are preserved, concludes this tour.

Azeville:
Ticket sales and access to the Musée de la Batterie d’Azeville are through the museum’s visitor center, located between casemates No. 2 and No. 3 opposite the entrance to the parking lot. The museum itself has the usual exhibits such as weapons, uniforms, documents, and equipment of all kinds. A 20-minute film describes the construction of the Atlantic Wall and the multifaceted relationships between the German occupation forces and the French population during the four-year occupation.
The highlight of the museum, which has been opened in 1994, is a tour (either audio-guided or guided) through a 350-meter tunnel that once connected the four casemates and a series of smaller concrete bunkers.

Crisbecq:
The Musée Batterie de Crisbecq is located on the site of the former MKB Marcouf. On the nearly four-hectare site, one can visit several well-preserved shelters such as the battery’s kitchen, ammunition depot, sanitary rooms, and infirmary. All dioramas are depicted with original equipment and uniforms and give a vivid impression of the life of the German soldier in a coastal battery.
The highlight of the museum is certainly a huge R683 gun casemate, from which a replica barrel of a 210-mm gun protrudes menacingly under camouflage netting. In 2016, the battery’s former command and fire control bunker, located directly opposite the museum site, was also made accessible and converted into a small museum by a local enthusiast, the Musée Marcouf 44. From the platform on top of the observation bunker, one can enjoy a panoramic view of the sea.

Sainte-Mère-Église:
Dedicated to the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, Le Musée Airborne Museum can almost be described as a shrine of sorts to American paratroopers.
The former assistant commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Brigadier General James M. Gavin, laid the cornerstone for the museum on June 6, 1961. The design of the buildings, whose roof structure symbolizes a parachute and a delta wing, was commissioned to the French architect Francois Carpentier, who was also responsible for the design of the Musée du Débarquement at Arromanches-les-Bains.
Since June 2014, the museum has presented a new building where you can relive the experiences of a U.S. paratrooper from D-Day to V-Day in Berlin. Other highlights include a walk-through CG-4A Waco glider and the Douglas Dakota C-47 "Argonia", the lead aircraft of the 439th Troup Carrier Group in Mission ALBANY.

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont:
The Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach was built in 1962 on the ruins of a bunker of resistance nest WN-5 and opened that same year. Interestingly, well-preserved parts of the bunker were integrated into the building during construction. In 2010 and 2011, the museum was expanded and the exhibition space was significantly enlarged. The two-storey museum describes and explains the U.S. landing at UTAH Beach by means of numerous photos, information panels, dioramas, and a film. Weapons and vehicles are displayed on the lower floor of the museum. Of particular interest are a remote-controlled German Goliath miniature tank, an LVT-2 (Landing Vehicle Tracked), an LCVP, and, most notably, a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber in a purpose-built hangar. Bombers of this type bombed the defenses of UTAH Beach with high accuracy on the morning of June 6 and were instrumental in the success of the amphibious landing. In a room at the entrance of the museum, there are also some German artifacts on display.

Quinneville:
The World War II Museum, which opened in May 2017, shows the chronology of the four years of German occupation on an area of around 1,000 square meters. What is remarkable here is that there is no presentation of weapons at all. Numerous panels and 75 mannequins explain the various aspects of the occupation. A reconstructed alley offers fascinating insights into the domestic life of the French under German occupation. Numerous dioramas with miniature vehicles and tank models also delight the visitor's eye. On the short walk to the museum entrance, you will pass a kilometer stone of the Voie De La Liberté (Road of Freedom) and a memorial in honor of the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, which liberated Quinéville on June 14, 1944.

Carquebut:
The Château de Carquebut is home to the D Day Collins Museum which opened in April 2023. The grounds of the Château de Carquebut served as headquarters of the commanding general of the U.S. VII Army Corps, Major General Joe Collins, during July 1944. It was here that the Americans planned and prepared Operation Cobra. The museum is one of only two military museums in Normandy located in a historic building that played a significant role during the Battle of Normandy. Everything remained as the Americans left it in 1944 when they left the furniture and the equipment.

Cherbourg:
The Musée de la Libération is situated on the north-western end of the famous Fort du Roule, which in turn is located on the western end of the Montagne du Roule hill. The museum commemorates the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of Cherbourg. The view that is offered from the fort and the museum down to the city and the harbor is breathtaking. So, a visit to the Fort du Roule is recommended for that reason alone.

15/02/2023

The life and death of Ernie Pyle, the famous American war correspondent of WWII

About a month ago, I wrote about the Mémorial des Reporters in Bayeux and about Sergeant Pete Paris, the first combat photographer to lose his life in Normandy on D-Day, on assignment for the American magazine YANK.
Today's article is about a newspaperman who is also commemorated at the Mémorial des Reporters, whose reportage is inextricably linked to World War II, a reporter who held a special place in the hearts of those who fought in the war: Ernie Pyle.

Ernie Pyle was the most famous American writer during World War II, a man who captivated readers with his simple and direct accounts of life in the war zones and his ability to capture the human essence of the soldiers he encountered. Ernie Pyle was not only popular with GIs. He had a large audience in the United States who appreciated the simple, straightforward approach to the people and events he wrote about in his columns.

Of course, there was no shortage of excellent reporters during World War II. In the United States alone, journalists such as William L. Shirer, Edward R. Murrow, John Hersey, Quentin Reynolds, Martha Gellhorn, and Richard Tregaskis are still valued today for their coverage of the greatest conflict of the twentieth century. Famous authors such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Erskine Caldwell also served as war correspondents. And of course, the British Army was covered by men like Richard Dimbleby, Alan Moorehead, Frank Gillard, and Chester Wilmosts, to name a few. But no one reached the hearts of his readers and followers the way Ernie Pyle did.

Ernie's civil career:
Ernest Taylor Pyle was born on August 3, 1900. Ernie was an only child and grew up working on the 80-acre grain farm rented by his parents.
After graduating from high school, Ernie enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in October 1918 but was unable to serve overseas before WWI ended. In 1922, he left school to become a reporter at the LaPorte (Indiana) Herald-Argus Newspaper. However, the always restless reporter worked for the paper for only four months before moving to Washington, D.C., to take another job as a reporter for the Washington Daily News, a newly formed tabloid in the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain.
After marrying Geraldine "Jerry" Siebolds and traveling around the United States in a Ford T for more than three months, the young couple ended up in New York City, where they sold the car to pay for food. Ernie found work with The Evening World and later with The Evening Post.
In December 1927, Ernie moved back to the Washington Daily News and soon became one of the best-known aviation journalists of the time. After writing about aviation for four years, Ernie became managing editor of the Washington Daily News in 1932. In 1935, he had the idea of traveling the world as a roving reporter and writing about the people he met. For the next six years, Ernie and Jerry traveled the world with only brief interruptions. By 1940, Ernie estimated that he had "covered 200,000 miles and visited five of the six continents." Ernie especially sought out people with unusual stories. In addition, his articles enjoyed a wide readership at a time when money was tight and working families often could not travel.

Ernies's career as a war correspondent:
In England:
When the war broke out in Europe, Ernie received permission from his editor to go to England to write about the Blitz from London. He arrived in the United Kingdom in December 1940, and the columns he sent home made him the best-known newspaper correspondent in America. Ernie wrote about the air raids and the bombing, doing in print what Edward Murrow did on the radio.
Ernie did not pretend to give his readers a definitive account of the battle. Rather, he gave his own impressions and feelings. Ernie's columns from London were universally appraised. When he returned home, he was a celebrity. A publisher approached him about printing his columns from Britain in a book, ”Ernie Pyle in England”, which was published in late 1941.
After the United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, Ernie tried to join the Navy but was turned down because he was too small and too old. As a result, Ernie decided to travel to the war zone in England, where Allied forces were getting ready to strike against the Axis powers.
By August 1942, Ernie was back in England reporting on the lives of American soldiers and their relations with the British.

Ernie in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy:
From England, he followed American and British soldiers in the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. Generals and officers appreciated his presence to promote their campaigns, and the soldiers wanted to see their names in the newspapers to let their friends back home know they were doing well. Ernie was happy to oblige them. He wrote articles about military policemen, quartermasters, and airmen, but he was most sympathetic to the infantrymen. Ernie's column was a resounding success. People eagerly read his descriptions of North Africa, the battlefields, and U.S. soldiers to learn what their boys were experiencing. Soldiers liked his column, too. In the United States, about 300 newspapers published his column, which was read by millions and millions of Americans.
Ernie liked to mention specific units, which filled their soldiers with great pride.
Ernie was far from depressing readers in the United States, his honest accounts of the soldiers were just what the public wanted.
After the campaign in North Africa ended, Ernie accompanied American forces in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. When the Sicily campaign ended a month later, Ernie suffered from exhaustion and what he called a "state of mental dullness." In mid-August 1943, Ernie returned home to rest. Unexpectedly and very surprising to him, he was a national celebrity upon his return. His reports from North Africa were compiled and published under the title “Here Is Your War”.

In December 1943, the ever-restless Ernie returned to Italy. Over the next three months, he wrote some of his most poignant articles about the war. His most famous column described the soldiers' reactions to the death of their beloved company commander, Captain Henry T. Waskow.
Ernie took the life of a soldier. He narrowly escaped a bombing raid at Anzio and followed the slow advance on the Italian peninsula until February 1944, when he traveled back to England to await the invasion of France. In May, Ernie was stunned to learn that he had won the Pulitzer Prize "for outstanding war correspondence in 1943."

Ernie and the Battle of Normandy:
Ernie planned to go ashore a few weeks after the landing, but couldn't turn down an invitation to watch the landing from the bridge of the cruiser Augusta, General Omar Bradley's flagship. The next day, while walking along Omaha Beach, he looked at the wreckage and reported the enormous sacrifices Allied troops had made there.
“Submerged tanks and overturned boats and burned trucks and shell-shattered jeeps and sad little personal belongings were strewn all over those bitter sands,” Ernie told his readers. “After it was over it seemed to me a pure miracle that we ever took the beach at all.”
On July 25, Ernie was nearly killed in an accidental bombing by the Army Air Forces during Operation Cobra near Saint-Lô in Normandy. In the same incident, Lieutenant General Leslie McNair was killed.
Exactly a month later, Ernie witnessed firsthand the liberation of Paris.
Ernie remained in France for two more months until he again reached his limits. The 43-year-old suffered from the stress of living near the front, but also from seeing so many young men killed and maimed.
In the fall of 1944, Ernie returned home to a hero's welcome.

Ernie's last assignment and death:
But after only a few months, Ernie felt compelled to return to the war. He publicly stated that he needed to correct his one-sided focus on forces in Europe and cover the Pacific. Ernie set out from California in January 1945. His trip took him to Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan, where he wrote about B-29 crews bombing Japan.
In March, Ernie sailed with the Allied invasion fleet toward Okinawa.
On April 17, 1945, Ernie went ashore on the small island of Ie Shima off the coast of Okinawa. The U.S. Army's 77th Infantry Division was in the final stages of securing the small airfield on the ten-square-mile island. The next morning, Ernie was riding in a jeep with an Army officer when a hidden Japanese machine gunner opened fire.
Ernie and his companion jumped into a nearby ditch, but when Ernie raised his head a moment later, a bullet hit him just below the rim of his helmet. He was 44 years old.

On April 18, 1945, the Associated Press reported, “Ernie Pyle, war correspondent beloved by his co-workers, G.I.s and generals alike, was killed by a Japanese machine-gun bullet through his left temple this morning.” This news was not just an ordinary report of another casualty of war. No, this news stunned the nation - a country still mourning the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt six days earlier.
Pyle was mourned by millions of Americans who felt they had lost a close friend, someone who in his unique way honored the sacrifices of their sons and daughters who served their country in the most difficult and dangerous times.
Harry Truman, who was sworn in as President of the United States just six days before Pyle's death, said of him, “No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told. He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen.”
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote of Pyle the day after his death “I shall never forget how much I enjoyed meeting him here in the White House last year, and how much I admired this frail and modest man who could endure hardships because he loved his job and our men.”

The U.S. Army's affection for Ernie was evident in the memorial erected at the site of his death:

AT THIS SPOT
THE 77TH INFANTRY DIVISION.
LOST A BUDDY
ERNIE PYLE
April 18, 1945

On July 19, 1949, Ernie Pyle was reinterred in the presence of 2,000 mourners at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where he rests today along with 31,000 other American fallen of World War II. In 1983, Pyle was awarded the Purple Heart, a rare honor for civilians.

Through his work, Pyle became friends with the enlisted men and officers, as well as those in leadership roles such as Generals Omar Bradley and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Pyle wrote that he was especially fond of the infantry "because they are the underdogs".Pyle was arguably the first embedded reporter, a recent term that describes his approach to war reporting as well as any. Pyle took not a macro but a micro approach. He was not interested in reporting on the successes and failures of military campaigns or in portraying generals, admirals, and other high-ranking figures. He spent his time with ordinary soldiers and reported what they went through. His reports appeared in more than 300 newspapers, so his audience was vast and his readers eagerly followed his every account to get a better sense of what their sons and daughters were experiencing.

Legacy:
When Pyle's columns were collected in book form, four volumes were published, titled “Ernie Pyle In England”, “Here Is Your War”, and “Brave Men”. In 1946, a selection of Ernie's columns from the Pacific Theater was published posthumously under the title “Last Chapter”. All four of Ernie Pyle's books became instant bestsellers.
The book that is probably of most interest to those interested in the Battle of Normandy is Ernie Pyle's book “Brave Men”, published in 1944. “Brave Men” is divided into four sections. The first covers the invasion of Sicily and the subsequent campaign between June and September 1943, and the second is devoted to the Italian campaign from December 1943 to April 1944. This is followed by a section on Pyle's time in England in April and May 1944. This material includes reflections on the war in Italy, a visit with American airmen in England, and a portrait of a tank destroyer unit. The book concludes with the Battle of France from June to September 1944. Pyle arrived in Normandy the day after the D-Day landings and followed the fighting all the way to Paris.
The rights to Pyle's war reports were even bought by Hollywood and adapted for the 1945 film “The Story of G.I. Joe”. It was directed by William Wellman and starred Burgess Meredith in the role of the thin and aging 44-year-old reporter and Robert Mitchum. A modest man, Pyle insisted that the film feature other war correspondents playing themselves, not actors. But sadly, he perished before the film was even released.

The legacy of Ernie Pyle lives on. There is a museum at the Erie Pyle State Historic Site in Dana, Indiana, and Indiana University's School of Journalism is located in Ernie Pyle Hall. There is also an Ernie Pyle Journalism Scholarship at Indiana University. Visitors can also tour the Ernie Pyle Home and Library in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
His home has been converted into a branch library that also houses Ernie Pyle material and memorabilia.
In the spring of 1944, Pyle wrote a column in Italy calling for combat pay for the infantry, just as the airmen received "flight pay." In May 1944, the U.S. Congress passed a law that became known as the “Ernie Pyle Act”. It authorized a 50 percent increase in pay for combat service.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and a diminutive newspaper reporter from the Midwest seems an unlikely candidate for that status. But Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernest Taylor "Ernie" Pyle was indeed a hero to millions of Americans who appreciated his bravery in reporting the experiences of ordinary soldiers, sailors, and airmen during World War II.

Who are the more than 100 women and children buried at the German Military Cemetery Mont d’ Huisnes/Normandy?Two weeks a...

03/02/2023

02/02/2023

Who are the more than 100 women and children buried at the German Military Cemetery
Mont d’ Huisnes/Normandy?

Two weeks ago, in a talk about the German military cemetery at La Cambe/Normandy, I mentioned the fact that two German women are buried in this cemetery, Hildegard Oesswein and Marie-Luise Micknat. This statement prompted a fellow tour guide from Normandy to contact me to bring to my attention the nearly 100 women, female teenagers, and little girls buried in the German military cemetery at Mont d' Huisnes (near Mont St.-Michel).

Who were these women, teenagers and little girls and what was their fate?

Veronique provided me with a list from the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission) showing the ages, names, and military affiliations, if any, of these individuals. All of the women have last names that sound very German. A quick count revealed that 17 women worked for the Todt organization, were Red Cross nurses, or were staff or signals aides. These young women either were killed in the Battle of Normandy or were victims of bombing raids, accidents, or disease during the four-year German occupation.

But what about the other women and the young children/babies?

The list provided by the Volksbund showed that the women were mostly older women, the oldest born in 1860, the youngest baby girls only between 1 and 2 months old.

A few hours of internet research revealed the following:
The women in question were mostly from eastern France, i.e., from the départments Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin (with the exception of Belfort and its environs), as well as from the northern part of Lorraine, including the départment of Moselle, and from parts of the départments of Meurthe and Vosges, all of which had been French territory before 1871 but were annexed by the German Empire after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 with the defeat of France.
After the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I in 1918, these territories were returned to France. Only 22 years later, they changed hands again and came under German civil administration after France surrendered at the end of June 1940.
Although the five départments were not annexed by the 3rd Reich, the civil administrations of these areas had the task of Germanizing them. The French living in these departments were now given the status of German citizens, whether they wanted it or not. The manpower shortage, which was already becoming apparent in 1942, prompted the Wehrmacht to draft 100,000 Alsatians and 30,000 Moselans as "ethnic Germans" into the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS between 1942 and 1944. The conscription violated international law since nationals of the enemy were not allowed to be drafted. These unfortunate young men became known as "Malgré Nous" (Eng: "Against Our Will"), they were mostly deployed on the Eastern Front, and more than 40,000 were killed in their involuntary service for the 3rd Reich.

And it is these 130,000 "Malgré Nous" who are the link and take us back to the women and children buried at Mont d' Huisnes.

When the Allies liberated Alsace and Lorraine between the fall of 1944 and March 1945, the advancing troops encountered thousands of women who were either married to "Malgré Nous" or had other close family ties to these men (e.g., grandmothers, mothers, sisters). These close links made these women suspicious: would they be loyal to the victorious French state or would they be N**i sympathizers?

To play it safe, it was decided to move thousands of "German" civilians (women, men, children, babies, and even entire families) to the other end of the country, to the Vienne department, and to "accommodate and guard" them at the so-called "Centre de séjour surveillé," the Chauvinerie camp in Poitiers.
The camp was under the supervision of the French Ministry of the Interior. What was planned for these unfortunate individuals, suspected of being N**is, I do not know, but as the name of the camp implies, they were placed under surveillance in a camp they could not leave.
The sanitary conditions in the Chauvinerie camp were disastrous, and the inhumane conditions were made worse by the corrupt camp director, a retired lieutenant colonel of the gendarmerie, a certain Justin Blanchard, who embezzled food and especially milk rations for the children and sold them elsewhere.
In April 1945, up to 102 children aged 0 to 3 were counted in the camp. The living conditions were appalling. Testimonies speak of "people dressed in rags" who slept in bunks, of which "only one in 30 was furnished with straw." Apparently, the Ministry of the Interior was informed of this situation by letters dated "May 30, June 1, and June 8, 1945," according to which "the weak internees are all condemned to disappear because of the lack of food and proper care".
Especially during the hot summer of 1945, the mortality rate soared and was seven times higher than in other camps of the same type. The Red Cross reported an "extremely alarming sanitary situation." Deaths were numerous: 33 children in May, and 57 children between July and August. Of the 65 children born in the camp, none survived.
The Red Cross cited two main reasons for this mortality: the poor condition of many internees even before they arrived at the camp, but also the living conditions in the camp itself. Despite all the warnings addressed to the government, it did not react until September 1945. When the judicial investigation was opened for "theft to the detriment of the internees and the state," several crimes were found. The camp guards testified that abuses were added to the material shortages and difficulties. The money and personal belongings of the detainees, confiscated upon their arrival at the camp, were stolen and sold. The camp administration and some guards diverted some of the food, even the milk for the infants so that the rations were extremely meager: one carrot soup at each meal and one loaf of bread for three people.

The investigation revealed the abuses and embezzlement in the camp. The case was widely reported in the press. However, few convictions resulted. Lieutenant Colonel Blanchard, the director of the camp, was suspended (before being retired), as was the manager and chief of staff (who was none other than the son of the director). All the others were amnestied.

But how did the women get to Mont d' Huisnes?
Originally they were buried near the La Chauvinerie camp, but in the late 1950s the German government, in consultation with the French government and the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission), decided to transfer the remains of those who were not buried in Alsace-Lorraine (at the request of their families) to the German military cemetery at Mont d' Huisnes, which was under construction.
Today, 73 women and female children from the eastern departments of France rest in the cemetery's crypts, another 9 women and female children rest in the mass grave at the entrance to the cemetery, and it is unknown to me how many of the 58 unknown dead in the mass grave were also female.

All war dead are tragic, but for these women, who were made German citizens and who had some family ties to "Malgré Nous," the suffering in the infamous Chauvinerie camp and their resulting death is all the more tragic.
I will think of these women the next time I visit Mont d' Huisnes cemetery. Please do the same.
Rest in peace, poor souls.

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