![Liberation route logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Liberation_route_logo.jpg)
Liberation Route Europe is an international remembrance trail that connects the main regions along the advance of the Western Allied Forces toward the
liberation of Europe
The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf ...
and final stage of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The route started in 2008 as a Dutch regional initiative in the
Arnhem-Nijmegen area and then developed into a transnational route that was officially inaugurated in
Arromanches
Arromanches-les-Bains (; or simply Arromanches) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arromanchais'' or ''Arromanchaises''.
Geography
Arromanches-les ...
on June 6, 2014, during the
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
D-day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
commemorations. The route goes from
Southern England
Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...
(commemorating the early years of the war) through
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
,
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, then extends to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The southern route starts in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. As a form of remembrance tourism, LRE aims to unfold these Allied offensives of 1944 and 1945 in one narrative combining the different perspectives and points of view. By combining locations with personal stories of people who fought and suffered there, it gives visitors the opportunity to follow the Allied march and visit significant sites from
war cemeteries to museums and monuments but also events and commemorations. In April 2019, Liberation Route Europe became a certified
Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
A Culture Route of the Council of Europe, sometimes referred to as a European Cultural Route, is a certification awarded by the Council of Europe to networks promoting the European shared culture, history and memory. These routes must also matc ...
.
The Route
Great Britain
After the
fall of France in 1940 and their own defeat on the continent, The Royal Air Force (RAF) defended their island. The action became known as the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. The route starts in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and goes through
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
(from where
the Dunkirk evacuation was controlled) and
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
(where
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the D-Day landing, was planned and prepared).
Important remembrance sites
*
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
*
Churchill War Rooms
The Churchill War Rooms is a museum in London and one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum. The museum comprises the ''Cabinet War Rooms'', a historic underground complex that housed a British government command centre throughout the ...
*
Dungeness
Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...
*
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...
*
D-Day Museum Portsmouth
*
Southwick House
Southwick House is a Grade II listed 19th-century manor house of the Southwick Estate in Hampshire, England, about north of Portsmouth. It is home to the Defence School of Policing and Guarding, and related military police capabilities.
History ...
France
Normandy
During Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious assault in history,
Allied forces landed on five beaches along an stretch of
Normandy coast on D-Day. This operation marked the start of the
liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
of Western Europe. The route here comprises the five landing beaches:
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...
(from
Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes
Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Aure sur Mer.
History World War II
On 13 September 1942 13 British ...
to
Vierville-sur-Mer
Vierville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Vierville on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. ...
),
Utah Beach
Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...
(Sainte-Marie-du-Mont),
Gold Beach
Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...
(between
Port-en-Bessin
Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain.
Population
History
The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse ...
and
La Rivière),
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...
(from
Courseulles
Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18 ...
to
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer),
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...
(from
Ouistreham
Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France.
Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town borders the mo ...
to
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer), along with
Pointe du Hoc
La Pointe du Hoc () is a promontory with a cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados '' department'', France.
Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. P ...
(
Criqueville-en-Bessin) and
Ranville
Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Ranville was the first French village liberated on D-Day. The village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieute ...
(British Airlandings) or
Longues-sur-Mer
Longues-sur-Mer () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandie region in northwestern France.
The Longues-sur-Mer battery is nearby, part of the Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Calvados d ...
(
German Battery).
The following
Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...
resulted not only in the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers, but also many French civilians. Almost all of the larger cities in the region were badly damaged.
![Juno Beach Centre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Juno_Beach_Centre.JPG)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Liberation Museum Cherbourg
**
Juno Beach Centre
The Juno Beach Centre (french: Centre Juno Beach) is a museum located in Courseulles-sur-Mer in the Calvados region of Normandy, France. It is situated immediately behind the beach codenamed Juno, the section of the Allied beachhead on which 14 ...
**
D-Day Museum Arromanches
**
Mémorial de Caen
The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating World War II and the Battle for Caen. More generally, the museum is dedicated to the history of the twentieth century, mainly focused on the fragility o ...
**
Memorial Pegasus
Memorial Pegasus at Ranville in Lower Normandy is a museum and memorial to the 6th Airborne Division in the Normandy landings and particular the capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges.Memorial Pegasus Ranville-Benouville Guide Book, Eng ...
**
Merville Battery Museum
**
'The Grand Bunker' Atlantikwall Museum
**
Airborne Museum - Sainte-Mère-Eglise
**
Crisbecq Battery Museum
**
Memorial of Montormel
**
Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy - Bayeux
**
Utah Beach D-Day Museum
* Cemeteries
**
Bayeux British Military Cemetery
**
Bény-sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery
**
La Cambe German Military Cemetery
**
Normandy American Cemetery
* Monument
**
La Fière Bridge and Iron Mike Monument
Paris
An uprising of the population against the Germans on August 19 forced the Allies to send troops to
liberate Paris, although it was not a priority. The
French 2nd Armoured Division
The French 2nd Armored Division (french: link=no, 2e Division Blindée, 2e DB), commanded by General Philippe Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front for the liberation of France. The division was formed arou ...
entered Paris on the evening of August 24. The capitulation was signed on the
Île de la Cité
Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...
, German troops surrendered at the Montparnasse train station. Two days later a triumphal parade, led by
General Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
, was held on the
Champs-Elysées.
Important remembrance sites
*
Historial Charles de Gaulle
*
Memorial General Leclerc de Hauteclocque and the Liberation of Paris—Jean Moulin Museum
*
Army Museum—Invalides
*
Order of Liberation Museum
Belgium
Ardennes
The
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
was the last major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
region. They were eventually pushed back by the Allied forces to the
Siegfried Line
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...
.
Important remembrance sites
*
Bastogne War Museum
*
Mardasson Memorial
*
Bastogne Barracks
Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, ...
*
Battle of the Bulge Museum—
La Roche-en-Ardenne
La Roche-en-Ardenne ( wa, Li Rotche) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg and the arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium. Lying beside a bend in the River Ourthe, the small town of La Roche-en-Ardenne ...
*
Henri Chapelle American Cemetery
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
was
liberated on September 3 by the
Guards Armoured Division
The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier G ...
of
General Allan Adair including the
Belgian 'Piron brigade'.
Important remembrance sites
*
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (french: Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire, often abbreviated to MRA, nl, Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en de Krijgsgeschiedenis, KLM) is a military museum that occupi ...
*
Kazerne Dossin
*
Fort Breendonk
Fort Breendonk ( nl, Fort van Breendonk, french: Fort de Breendonk) is a former military installation at Breendonk, near Mechelen, in Belgium which served as a Nazi prison camp (''Auffanglager'') during the German occupation of Belgium during Wo ...
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
was in the vicinity of the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
offensive and had to wait until 12 February 1945 before being completely liberated.
Important remembrance sites
*
Museum of Military History—Diekirch
*
Luxembourg American Cemetery
The Netherlands
The Dutch section of Liberation Route Europe is concentrated in the provinces of
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
,
North-Brabant,
Overijssel
Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...
,
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
and
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
. In these provinces a large network of 176 'audiospots' has been developed to combine historical sites and personal stories.
Gelderland
The main historical places on the route here are
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
(
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...
)
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
(
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
),
Groesbeek
Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, when ...
(
Operation Veritable
Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...
),
Wageningen
Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many t ...
(German capitulation),
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem.
The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank o ...
(
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
),
Otterlo
Otterlo is a village in the municipality of Ede of province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, in or near the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe.
The Kröller-Müller Museum, named after Helene Kröller-Müller, is situated nearby and has the world's ...
(Liberation of the East) and
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
(Men's Island).
![Airborne Museum Hartenstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Airborne_Museum_Hartenstein.jpg)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Airborne Museum Hartenstein
**
National Liberation Museum 1944–1945
**
Museum De Casteelse Poort
* Cemeteries
**
Airborne War Cemetery Arnhem-Oosterbeek
**
Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek
**
Jonkerbos War Cemetery Nijmegen
**
Loenen Field of Honour
**
Memorial for the mass grave Huissen
* Audiospots: 76
North-Brabant
![Kamp Vught](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Kamp_Vught.JPG)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Overloon War Museum
The Overloon War Museum (''Dutch: Oorlogsmuseum Overloon'') is located in Overloon, Netherlands.
The museum was opened on May 25, 1946, making it one of the oldest museums in Europe dedicated to the Second World War. The museum is located on ...
**
General Maczek Museum Breda
**
Camp Vught National Memorial
**
Museum Wings of Liberation
* Cemeteries
**
Bergen op Zoom Canadian War Cemetery
**
Overloon War Cemetery
* Audiospots: 61
Overijssel
Important remembrance sites
* Cemeteries
**
Holten Canadian War Cemetery
* Audiospots: 7
Zeeland
![Map - Battle of the Scheldt (Oct-Nov 44)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Map_-_Battle_of_the_Scheldt_%28Oct-Nov_44%29.jpg)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Liberation Museum Zeeland
**
Roertriangle Museum
* Cemeteries
**
Flushing Commonwealth War Cemetery
* Audiospots: 10
Limburg
![German cemetery ysselsteyn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/German_cemetery_ysselsteyn.jpg)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Eyewitness Museum
* Cemeteries
**
Netherlands American Cemetery—Margraten
**
Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery
**
British Military Cemetery Mook
**
Brunssum War Cemetery
**
Nederweert British War Cemetery
* Audiospots: 22
Germany
North Rhine-Westphalia
During the autumn and winter of 1944–45, the longest battle of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on German soil took place in the
Hürtgen Forest
The Hürtgen forest (also: Huertgen Forest; german: Hürtgenwald) is located along the border between Belgium and Germany, in the southwest corner of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Scarcely in area, the forest lies within a ...
. With this battle, which ended in an Allied victory, the war returned to Germany and opened the road to Berlin.
Seven 'audiospots' have been installed in the region.
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Museum Hürtgenwald 1944—Vossenack
**
Field Hospital Bunker Simonskall
**
Vogelsang International Place
* Cemeteries
**
Halbe Forest Cemetery
**
Hürtgen War Cemetery
**
Vossenack German Cemetery
**
Reichswald Forest British War Cemetery—Kleve
* Audiospots: 7
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
is the endpoint of the route. The
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
was one of the last battles of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in Europe. Many soldiers died in widespread house-to-house fighting where Soviet soldiers faced desperate German resistance. On May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison surrendered to the
Soviet army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
. The unconditional surrender of Germany was signed on the 8th.
![Berlin Clayallee AlliiertenMuseum UAV 04-2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Berlin_Clayallee_AlliiertenMuseum_UAV_04-2017.jpg)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Allied Museum
The Allied Museum (german: AlliiertenMuseum) is a museum in Berlin. It documents the political history and the military commitments and roles of the Western Allies ( US, France and Britain) in Germany – particularly Berlin – between 1945 a ...
**
German-Russian Museum
**
Cecilienhof Palace
Cecilienhof Palace (german: Schloss Cecilienhof) is a palace in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, built from 1914 to 1917 in the layout of an English Tudor manor house. Cecilienhof was the last palace built by the House of Hohenzollern that ruled t ...
**
Topography of Terror
The Topography of Terror (german: Topographie des Terrors) is an outdoor and indoor history museum in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Niederkirchnerstrasse, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, on the site of buildings, which during the Nazi reg ...
* Monuments
**
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regi ...
**
Reichstag
**
Seelow Heights Memorial
**
Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten
**
Soviet War Memorial Treptow Park
**
Friedrichstraße Railway Bunker
**
Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe
* Cemeteries
**
Soviet-Russian War Cemetery Simmerath-Rurberg
Poland
Gdańsk
On the 1st of September 1939, the
battleship ''Schleswig-Holstein'' opened fire on the
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula (one of the Vistula delta estuaries), in the Gdańsk harbour channel. From 1926 to 1939, it was the location of a Polish Military Transi ...
in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
. This is regarded as the first shots of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After the war, Gdansk would become an important symbol of Polish resistance.
![The Nazi-soviet Invasion of Poland, 1939 HU106374](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/The_Nazi-soviet_Invasion_of_Poland%2C_1939_HU106374.jpg)
Important remembrance sites
* Museums
**
Polish Post Museum
**
Stutthof Museum
**
European Solidarity Centre
The European Solidarity Centre ( pl, Europejskie Centrum Solidarności) is a museum and library in Gdańsk, Poland, devoted to the history of Solidarity, the Polish trade union and civil resistance movement, and other opposition movements of ...
* Monuments
**
Monument of the Coast Defenders
* Cemeteries
**
The Cemetery of the Defenders of Westerplatte
Czech Republic
Pilsen
Pilsen is the capital city of the Czech Republic's western region of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
. In May 1945, the
US Third Army
The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf W ...
led by
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
entered Pilsen to liberate the Czech people from six years of occupation by Nazi Germany. The locals remember these events today and they remain immensely grateful to the US Army.
Important remembrance sites
*
** 16th Armored Division Memorial
** Thank You America Memorial
Italy
The Liberation Route Europe in Italy connects important remembrance sites connected to the
landing in Sicily
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
, the
Gustav Line defense, the
Battle of Montecassino, the
landing in Anzio, the
Gothic Line defense.
The Liberation Route Europe Foundation
The Liberation Route Europe is developed and managed by the Liberation Route Europe Foundation with offices in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Its purpose is to bring together all of the institutions related to World War II—museums, universities, regional and national governments, tourism authorities, veterans associations, war graves commissions and so on.)—and to coordinate their efforts at an international level.
Martin Schulz
Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliame ...
, former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, serves as the patron of the Liberation Route Europe Foundation.
See also
*
History of World War II
External links
Official website
References
{{Liberation of France
Aftermath of World War II
Trails