Tag: WWII
Arcs of War and Triumph
The France Revisited Newsletter: I write this in the wake of two major events in Paris over the past month that occurred by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. On Nov. 11, the gathering of leaders of the belligerent nations of the First World War to commemorate the centennial of the armistice.
On Dec. 1, the vandalization of the arch by some affiliated with the Yellow Vest movement.
Daytrip from Paris: A Compiègne-Pierrefonds Biking Excursion
Within an hour’s train ride from Paris, many cycling routes allow for a daytrip of biking and touring. This one involves a visit to the town of Compiegne and biking through the forest between the Palace of Compiegne and the Castle of Pierrefonds, with the possibility of a detour to the Glade of the Armistice.
The Silence of Oradour-sur-Glane
As Elisabeth Esris walks the charred and shattered streets of Oradour-sur-Glane (near Limoges) with other visitors the uniformity of silence is remarkable. This is not a place for conversation or expletive even though each step leads to palpable savagery.
The American Traveler and the First World War Sights in France
Between America First and me first there isn't much daylight for a national history lesson. Nevertheless, you don't have to be a war buff or a history buff to visit American-related First World War sights in France and to understand how they relate to our place in the world today.
Lion Feuchtwanger and the Milles Internment and Deportation Camp Near Aix-en-Provence
By Wendy Dubreuil. Aix-en-Provence may call to mind fountain-side cafés, the work of Cézanne, aristocratic palaces and the scent of lavender, but just several miles from the sunny heart of town lies a cautionary tale: the Camp des Milles, the only large French interment and deportation camp from WWII that is preserved and open to the public.
Beyond D-Day: Falaise, Normandy Examines the Fate of Civilians in Wartime
Of the 20,000 Normans who died as a direct result of WWII, the majority were killed by Allied bombardments. The effect of war on civilian populations is now the subject of a museum in Falaise, birthplace of William the Conqueror and site, with its surroundings, of the final combat of the Battle of Normandy 1944.
D-Day and American War Memories in France: A Travel Conversation
June 6, 2015—On the eve of the 71st anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy, Dan Schlossberg of Travel Itch Radio invited France Revisited's editor Gary Lee Kraut on the show to discuss D-Day and other American War Memories in France.
Film Review: Suite Française
Suite Française by Irene Némirovsky took the literary world by storm when it was first published in France in 2004, followed up with an English translation in 2006. The sensation had to do with the quality of the work itself in conjunction with the backstory, the sidestory and the epilogue relative to the author herself and her daughter Denise Epstein. Now comes the movie.
Editor of France Revisited on Lecture Tour in NJ, PA, DC
While the recent terrorist attacks in Paris caused some travelers to push the pause button on their immediate European travel plans, we can all be armchair travelers this month when New Jersey native and award-winning Paris-based travel writer Gary Lee Kraut explores France during a tour in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. from Feb. 16 to March 2, 2015.