France 3 Normandie on 13/06/2020.
In Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, the Utah Beach Landing Museum presents a new exhibition entitled “A German prison camp at Foucarville”, retracing the daily life of these captive soldiers in Normandy.
73 years ago, the largest German prison camp in Normandy came into being in the Manche communes of Foucarville and Ravenoville. Initially conceived as a transitional camp before sending the captives to Great Britain and the USA, the camp was to become permanent from November 44 onwards. Nearly 60,000 prisoners were spread over more than 100 hectares.
It’s to this page of history, undoubtedly little-known by the general public, that the Utah Beach Landing Museum is today devoting an exhibition, the first on this theme. The initiative was spearheaded by the town council of Foucarville, a commune of 130 inhabitants, several of whom have lent personal objects from this period to this exhibition retracing the daily life of the camp. “It’s a kind of micro-society, a society on a scale model,” explains Benoît Noël, head of historical research and collections at the Utah Beach Museum.
The exhibition also looks at the relationship between the prisoners and the Americans, as well as the post-war period and learning how to return to a “normal” life. The exhibition will be open to the public until November 30.
Museum opening hours:
January 2 to May 31: 10:00-18:00
June 1 to September 30: 9:30-19:00
October 1 to November 30: 10:00-18:00
Ticket office closes 1 hour before the Museum closes
Annual closure December 1 to 25 and January 31 to 1.
Report by Suzana Nevenkic and Laïla Agorram
Speakers:
- Charles Devallavieille, Deputy in charge of the Utah Beach Museum
- Benoît Noël, head of historical research and collections at the Utah Beach Museum
