WWII Surrender Museum in Reims -- June, 2012

Unbeknownst to me until I researched what to see in Reims besides the Cathedral, the room in which the German army surrendered to the Allied forces in 1945 is located in Reims.  It was worth a visit.

It is located in this school, somewhat behind the train station.

 

This was Eisenhower's headquarters, so he is prominently displayed.

 

Can you guess why these four languages are shown here?

This is the surrender document.  Of course, it is in English.  Note the date of May 7, 1945.  Eisenhower didn't sign the surrender himself.  It was his chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Walter Smith who did that.  The NY Times reported on the event.

 

There are some typical displays interpreting the use of this location during the war.



There is a painting in the back of this one showing the table with the representatives of the German and Allied forces.

 

This is the case with the surrender document in the center.

 

This photo shows Ike visiting an extermination camp.

 

This is a photo of the actual surrender taking place.  The numbers refer to the parties present.  The list had such tiny print, I didn't take a picture.  

 

This very secure area was THE operations center.  After the surrender, it was left as it was with only minor work done to preserve the maps and other documents.

 

Now remember that surrender date, May 7?  De Gaulle made sure to get some publicity out of the signing, but note that this picture shows the US flag.  This parade took place 2 days after the signing.  

 

This museum is quite small but has a big impact on the visitor.  Although neither Trout nor I were born at this time, WWII had such a huge effect on our parents' lives that we both were very awed by what we saw there.

Strolling Around Paris and Reims -- June, 2012

We spent quite a bit of time just walking.  On this day, the Louvre was not open so the grounds around it were not very crowded.  There's no mistaking those  pyramids.

 

 

The Tuileries gardens are just across the street.  On this Saturday, it was crowded with people. We had visited the Orangerie and were on our way to a walking tour that started nearby.

 

We went to the Conciergerie the same day as we went to St. Chappelle.  This former palace and prison housed Marie Antoinette before she faced the guillotine.

 

This was the stained glass in her "cell."

 

Although a room is set up to represent what her cell was like, these pictures show where she was actually  imprisoned.

 

The building looks like a prison here.

 

And like a palace here.

 

One evening on the way back to our apartment, we noticed the lights on in what must be a spectacular apartment overlooking the park we passed on the way to the Metro and the Marais district where we stayed.  We both said we could live there.

 

After our week in Paris, we took the train to Reims, just 45 minutes away.  Reims was heavily destroyed during WWI.  In fact, our B&B host told us that before the war there were 13,000 houses (I think he meant buildings) in Reims and after there were 70 left standing.  As a result, the city has a real art deco vibe.  This library was built by Carnegie (yes, the same guy who paid for libraries all over the US).  It is still the central library for Reims.

 



 

This is just someone's house, but I loved seeing the roses above the wall.

The tourist information is located in medieval ruins.

 

We stopped at a cafe for a snack and Trout liked this tower.

 

And the brickwork on this building.

 

We love just walking around.  This was a route we took to dinner one night and to get our rental car.  Trout loves these streets.

This fountain was a block away from where we stayed at Les Telliers.  It was part of an extensive system of fountains to supply water to the residents of the city.  I think that was done in the 18th century, but I could find no verification of that.

 

This bank with my name on it, misspelled naturally, was around the corner from us.

The sidewalks are narrow, to say the least.  This may mean to walk your dog on the other side.  More likely it means to "curb your dog," and that means to be sure the dog potties next to the curb on the street so that the poo will be washed down the drains each day when the streets are cleaned.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.  While we were at that street cafe, I saw this little girl with her arms spread out up in the air as if she wanted to go on the carousel.  By the time I got the camera out, she had them stoically behind her back.  I assume that's mom to her left, paying absolutely no attention.  To the little girl's credit, she behaved the way we saw almost all French children of any age behave out in public.  She may have been upset but there was no whining, no crying, no hissy fit (or meltdown as people say today).  Just the typical Gallic acceptance of the situation.

These were some pictures with no particular theme other than just being there.  The next few posts will be more specific.