If one could spend 3 weeks in Europe on a "WWII Site" vacation, where would you go and what are the not-to-be-missed locations. I'm talking about battlefields, museums, etc. I would love some suggestions between Normandy and Stalingrad...
If I can't pick Stalingrad, then i'd go for a stay looking over the Kursk (the greatest tank battles ever) or Kharkov Battlefields.
As an avid ACW battlefield visitor, it is difficult to envision what many of the battlefields looked like in the 1860s because of all the development. I wonder if these WWII battlefields are in similar condition as they were in the 1940s?
Normandy and the Ardennes are no-brainers for the WWII buff in Europe, really - there is a lot to see both in terms of the field and museums. If you're into 'Market-Garden' then a trip to Arnhem/Hell's Highway is worth doing. Whatever you decide to do, then I would strongly advise buying the relevant back-copy of 'After The Battle' magazine. These will enable you to locate many lesser-known corners of the battlefields and their 'Then & Now' format can really fire your imagination. There's nothing worse than getting back home and finding that you have passed within yards of a historic location without being aware of its significance....
Normandy one because of the historical significance and two it's just such a beautiful area. As i'm an East Front fanatic i'm got to recommend Stalingrad and Narva, have been lucky enough to visit them both on a few occasions , but the one that has eluded me so far is Kharkov would love to do the area of the third Battle, Paul
Hi Grosborn, I live too far for it to be easy for me to visit Civil War battlefields but that is something I want to start doing within the next few years. As for the Eastern Front Battlefields and what some look like-my friend Paul is the guy to ask. Paul has shown me a few photo's from some of his visits. When I was touring germany with a good friend of mine back in 2000, we did not go to very many places that had battles taking place before the end of the war. However, I saw a few places as we were driving through areas like just outside of Wilhelmshaven, there are still some bomb-damaged structures still easily seen. And one I saw inside Wilhelmshaven's city limits-and actually not too terribly far from the Botel (Boat-Hotel) we stayed at, was some sort of a factory of somekind, tht had a large bombhole in it's roof. I seem to recll that you could only see the bomb damage if you wer in the area or at, the Ships Museum there on Jadestrasse. I saw the damage while looking through the working Bridge optics of the East German Minesweeper that we toured. I also tried to take a few photos through the periscope with my camera but, I don't know how thyey turned out as I have not had all the rolls developed.
If you try to visit Normandy and Stalingrad, you will find yourself losing a big chunk of your 3 weeks in travelling. I would stick to one area; from Normandy you could also do some 1940 sites in France (eg Maginot Line) and then go up into Holland to do Arnhem, and maybe also Belgium for the Bulge. Plenty of ideas on my website.
If your interest is the western front of WWII Europe, I also endorse a trip to Normandy - you will gain an invaluable understanding and appreciation of the tactics employed by both sides, especially those during the initial assault. Plus, Normandy is a beautiful region, and a lovely place to spend your downtime between sites (avec le Calvados). For touring guidance, I would also recommend Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide: Normandy Landing Beaches which served me well when I toured the beach front in 2000 (wish I'd had 2-3 weeks rather than just 1-1/2 days !) - it is a handy, large-pocket size field guide book, with driving instructions to each site, well written summaries about them and their role in the campaign, a very good map keyed to entries in the book, and well illustrated with color photos of the places to see.
Well said Sommercourt! Grossborn, I am planning a trip as well, check the "Places to see" thread, I decided to concentrate on one area, and see all that was in that area. The last thing I want is to be stuck on a train watching it go by, traveling from country to country! I want to be right there re-tracing their footsteps! Good luck!
Wow -- that's a large patch of geography to choose from! I agree with everyone else: Normandy is a great place to stop. In Compiegne (just north of Paris), there's a museum with a reproduction of the carriage -- in the proper location -- where the Versailles Treaty was signed (end WWI) as was the "treaty" (surrender) between the Germans and French in WWII -- if you're not familiar with this, Hitler chose this place to sign the treaty precisely because it was where the German surrender was signed in the previous war. I was there in 2005. I spent the summer of 2006 walking and camping in the Alsace region, and it was a historian's dream: I passed and explored all sorts of sites, from pre-history through Roman remains... lots of Maginot Line buildings... a WWI encampment... lots of WWII sites, including the only labor camp on French soil -- and, of course, many many castles. For me, walking was the best way to see all of these things, because many of the preserved sites are off-road, anyway, and are now points of interest along the hiking trail network. There are many things that I would not have seen had I been driving from major point to major point -- e.g., many little "monuments" erected in honor of the Allies in tiny little towns or seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, where a battle was fought, on a little riverbank or along a narrow road. On that same trip, I walked along the Rhine and stopped at some interesting places in terms of history. My suggestion to you would be to find the tourist offices online for the various places that interest you -- you'll find lots of good listings on those sites. Let me know if you need links to Alsacien/Rhine tourism sites -- I think that I still have them all in my bookmarks.
A very valid point indeed. On e very battlefield I've ever visited, the really interesting things have been discovered on foot, and usually a long way from where the car or bus is parked......
If anyone seriously wants to do the Eastern Front send me a PM ,i have been many times to Narva and a few to Stalingrad and can advise you accordingly re the whole trip. The Eastern front isn't actaully that far away ,Moscow is only a 3 1/2 hour flight from Heathrow or Paris CDG, Regards Paul
I'm not sure about Sicily, but there's plenty to see in the Cassino area - I believe that 'Sommecourt's website has an Italian section.....
maybe not exactly what u r looking for.... but try this: AUSCHWITZ (poland): nothing to add WOLFSSHANZE (poland): hitler's headquarter in the estern front, he spent some 800 days there. btw, 20july plot took place here. MARZABOTTO (Italy): not very famous as it should be.... (wikipedia): In reprisal of the local support given to the partisans and the resistance movement, between September 29 and October 5, 1944, soldiers of 16.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Reichsführer-SS, led by Sturmbannführer Walter Reder, killed hundreds of people in the territory of Marzabotto, in the largest civilian massacre perpetrated by Nazis in Western Europe.
