An authentic Bailey bridge for the museum

The Normandy Victory Museum has a rather unusual US Army vehicle on permanent display. This is the Weasel, also known as the M29 Weasel Tracked Cargo Carrier. We invite you to learn more about this Swiss Army knife-like vehicle that found its place in the Battle of Normandy.

Florent Plana is a tour guide with a passion for the Second World War and is known for his interviews with veterans. He has a special connection with Omaha Beach, where several scenes from the film “They Won’t Die Twice” were filmed

In 1939, when men were mobilized, women were on all fronts. They are found in domestic tasks as usual but also in the production of weapons, mechanics, fields, in hospitals, in the resistance and in battles. This exhibition pays tribute to them and highlights their sometimes overlooked actions.

Enter the scene of the Poche de Roncey and discover a newcomer who moved in with the officers of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 in March 2021.

The summer of 1944 witnessed terrible confrontations between the American and German armies in Normandy. For 11 weeks, in the Cotentin and then in the centre and south of La Manche, the American army, led by General Eisenhower, fought hard against the Reich troops. It was the battle of the hedges.

A muse to the greatest artists of her time, Lee Miller embodied the feminine ideal of the 1930s. During the war, she proved to be an outstanding reporter at the time of the liberation of the camps. Photographing the enemy seemed liberating for this wounded woman whose life and work would remain intimately linked.

On February 22, 1943, three German students from the University of Munich were executed. They are accused of acts of high treason and subversive propaganda for repeatedly distributing leaflets. Among them, Sophie Scholl, a young woman barely 20, became a symbol of resistance and courage against Hitler’s murderous madness.

Another piece of history enters the museum. René Duclos’s jacket will be on display in a few weeks with its history. So that we never forget the sacrifice of these men, for our Freedom.

Discovered under a barrel, still covered in dust, these three helmets are riddled with impacts from the fighting. A camouflaged German helmet from a Heer unit, an SS helmet with remnants of camouflage and a heavily damaged American light helmet can be seen.

Did you know? The Normandy Victory Museum is located on a historically famous former American military airfield: the A10 Airfield. It is still in operation and small aircraft can still use its shortened 400 metre long runway.

This small wooden coffin was sent in 1944 to a shopkeeper in the Saint-Lô area, a notorious economic collaborator, along with a letter full of “recommendations” for the years to come and how to behave… It reveals a strong spirit of resistance.

As the German 7th Division under Rommel advanced inexorably towards Cherbourg and the war drew closer to La Manche, a handful of die-hards clung to the defensive lines in the Cotentin region and tried to halt the enemy’s meteoric advance.

Because of its agricultural situation and a certain self-sufficiency in food, La Manche, even if it suffers, seems to be somewhat spared from the shortage, at least as far as food is concerned.