COLLECTION MEMORY 1944: STE MERE EGLISE

Photographs of the fighting and aftermath in Ste Mere Eglise, Normandy 1944. Two days after the 6th of June 1944, the New York Herald Tribune, which had previously been very discrete about the D-Day landings, mentionned a specific site for the very first time. It was reported that Sainte Mère Eglise was in the hands of the allied paratroopers since the dawn of D-Day. The name of this small and secluded Norman village was to be propelled into notoriety and emblazoned on the front pages and the headlines of the media for a long time to come. This reclaimed liberty seemed to be heaven-sent and was significantly symbolic worldwide. Many Norman villages suffered as much, if not more than Sainte Mère Eglise, but as far as history was concerned, that was where it all started. Our memories fade over the years, and the many details of the landings fade with them, but a few names still come to mind over sixty years later, when we remember how important the 2nd World War was for Norman history: Arromanches, the Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Pegasus Bridge and, of course, Sainte Mère Eglise.