“Les clochers de la liberté”, commemorating in a different way

June 6, 2020 at the Normandy Victory Museum

As a Normandy museum of the Second World War, the June 6 ceremonies are important events for us in many ways. That year, many of us were saddened to see the day arrive, with no opportunity to pay tribute to and honor our liberators. Nicholas Bellée, one of the museum’s founders, came up with the idea for this initiative, which has been widely taken up, even across the Atlantic.

Les clochers de la liberté à Carentan juin 2020

To pay homage despite everything, a unifying idea

No sooner had he put forward this idea than he was joined by the other two founders of the Normandy Victory Museum, Patrick Fissot and Christophe Beaussire, and soon by a number of other key players in the Manche region: the D-Day Experience, the World War II Foundation, the C.A.P.A association (Camp Arizona and L’Atelier à Carentan), and the International WWII Film Festival. Since then, many others have joined them: institutions, communes, museums, and the information relayed by the local media seems to have won over private individuals too.

The Bells of Freedom, June 6, 2020 at 6:44 PM

What is this alternative event? In the heart of the summer of ’44, the bells rang out with glee to announce liberation, a sound that travelled, a sound that united, a sound that those who were there have not forgotten. Since this very special year doesn’t allow us to come together, let’s take our turn in ringing the bells of Freedom. More precisely, at a symbolic hour: 6.44 PM (6.40 p.m. here) as in June ’44. This sound will be a link between us all, in La Manche, in Normandy, in France. And why not across the Atlantic to America? Some people have already relayed this over there. This sound as a link between past and present. This sound as a vibrant and moving tribute to our liberators that we’d like to carry to the ears of the few veterans still with us. A travelling sound that carries with it the word Freedom, the importance of which we have come to appreciate in these early months of 2020.

Listen to Nicholas Bellée in podcast on Tendance Ouest.

… upcoming events

Exhibition: “Jean Gabin, la guerre c’est pas du cinéma

[ Apr. 23 to May 20, 2024 ] The exhibition is extended!!! Discover the commitment of legendary actor Jean Gabin during the Second World War. An exhibition presented in partnership with the Musée Jean Gabin and the Musée des blindés de Saumur.

D-DAY 80 – 80th anniversary of Normandy Landing

[ May 31 – June 9, 2024 ] An exceptional D-Day anniversary will take place in 2024. The whole of Normandy is mobilized to pay international tribute to those who reopened the gates of freedom in Europe. The Normandy Victory Museum is preparing a rich program for visitors. It will soon be online. Sign up to receive it.

COBRA 44 – Commemorative Festival – 2024 Edition

[ 20 – 21 July 2024 ] For two days and for the fourth edition of the COBRA 44 festival, the Normandy Victory Museum commemorates the end of the Battle of the Hedges and becomes an open-air museum. The program will be online soon. Sign up to receive it.