Cecilia Badano

Under the watchful eye of six American veterans visiting Berlin after serving there in 1945, the LRE Foundation launched its international network of hiking trails on 22 July in the Allied Museum. “We are taking a pledge with you”, said managing director Rémi Praud, in the reassurance that the Liberation Route Europe’s mission and purpose will be fulfilled. “We will continue to grow with our partners across Europe to keep your stories alive as Liberation Route is creating the largest WWII memorial in Europe.”

The day started in the German-Russian Museum in Berlin-Karlshorst, where Rémi Praud, together with deputy director Jurriaan de Mol, and Margot Blank, curator of the museum, welcomed the special guests and a handful of international journalists in the Kapitulationssaal. “In this historic room, the High Command of the German Wehrmacht signed the unconditional surrender in front of representatives of the Soviet Union, the USA, Great Britain, and France on the night of 8-9 May 1945”, explained Blank, while her words were at times overwhelmed by the creaking of the antique wooden floor.

After a visit to the permanent exhibition documenting the war of conquest and annihilation led by the German Reich against the Soviet Union from both perspectives, and a lunch in the museum garden, it was time to move from Berlin East to the Allied Museum in Southwest Berlin, where American troops were stationed right after the war.

The director of the Allied Museum, Mr. Jürgen Lillteicher, welcomed the group, and the veterans toured the grounds under the inspiring guidance of curator Bernd von Kostka, who told compelling anecdotes while gazing at an original British candy bomber, a spy tunnel, and the original Checkpoint Charlie. 

From the original ‘outpost theatre’ of the US troops, hosts Praud and de Mol opened the launch event at 15:00, live-streamed on the Foundation’s channels. “We dreamed of our own Camino de Compostela” [the famous Spanish pilgrimage], smiled founder de Mol, explaining how it all started in 2008 as a regional initiative in the Netherlands. “Already then, we knew it belonged to a far bigger story”.  Ten years later, Liberation Route Europe was an extensive international network certified by the Council of Europe. “But we were still missing a very tangible aspect”, Praud continues, “We wanted to really connect those sights. Now you can follow in the footsteps of history with your own feet. And by bicycle, as well, in the future”, he smiled.

De Mol pointed out that the Liberation Route Europe hiking trail network is unique and has the direct support of the German government and the vfonds (Dutch Foundation for Peace, Freedom and Veteran Support). One of the people making this possible is German MP and LRE Foundation’s patron, Martin Schulz. In his introductory message, Schulz said: “To commemorate is a duty, especially of my generation, the first one in Europe born, and – I hope – until death, living in freedom, democracy and a kind of liberty no generation before has known.”

More personal messages from LRE supporters and partners followed, as well as from Daniel Libeskind, architect and designer of the ‘Vectors of Memory’, the special trail markers on the Liberation Route Europe trails. The Director-General of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andreas Görgen, had a special message for hikers: “Go for it. Put on your shoes and experience the wonderful landscapes you are walking in. Go back home and contribute to freedom, to peace and to what will be the grand task of the 21^st century: diversity and sustainability.” Attending guests and viewers were taken on a virtual hike along the Liberation Route Europe in Portsmouth, Normandy, the Ardennes, the Hürtgen forest, the Netherlands, and ultimately in Berlin.

For the veterans, the trip to Berlin is, without exception, very meaningful. “The target of my unit was Berlin”, says 95-year-old sergeant William Bill Casassa. “We fought up to the Elbe river. That was the end of the fighting for the entire American army. It took me 76 years to get back – to get to Berlin”. He referred to the American war cemetery in Margraten, the Netherlands. “That’s where our guys are. I hope future generations visit places like that and learn about what happened.”

LRE Foundation Chairman, Ed Kronenburg, closed the launch event with a special message for the veterans and for the future: “We have to continue to tell the stories you have told us. Your stories provide hope, strength and graciousness in times of uncertainty”. “We have to inspire the younger generations and teach them the values of freedom, democracy, and equality and the need to defend these values. We have to fight for them on a daily basis.”

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The Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands, joins the LRE Foundation and its international network made of places, people and stories that keep the memory of WWII alive.

The Kröller-Müller Museum is famous for its impressive collection of Van Gogh paintings, together with other outstanding pieces of art by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, among others. Besides its excellent art collection, the museum also has a fascinating war history. At the beginning of the Second World War, a bomb shelter was constructed in a sand dune to preserve the museum’s valuable collection. Later on, in the final year of the war, the building served as an emergency hospital for the Red Cross. On 15 April 1945, the museum was finally liberated by the Canadians, who also helped reinstate the art so the collection could be opened to the public on 6 October 1945.

Jurriaan de Mol, Director of the LRE Foundation in the Netherlands: “In a region where remembrance tourism plays an important role, visitors of the Liberation Route Europe will appreciate the combination of art, culture and history. The collaboration with the Kröller-Müller Museum is, therefore, a great addition to what the LRE Foundation’s network currently offers“.

Check out the Kröller-Müller Museum on Liberation Route Europe.

The LRE Foundation is happy to announce that, from 1 July 2021, it has members in eleven countries of Europe. The signature of a membership agreement with Pass Partout – a tourism marketing organisation based in Thessaloniki, Greece – marks a step further in the inclusion of Southern Europe in the Foundation’s activities. 

Pass Partout works closely with the region of Central Macedonia, in the north of Greece, and creates remembrance tourism campaigns that promote the region’s contemporary history. In World War II, Central Macedonia was occupied between 1941 and 1944, with major suffering for the population. The memory of the Holocaust is particularly relevant in Thessaloniki, a city with a large Jewish presence and history. 

Thanks to this cooperation, the LRE Foundation will promote and highlight the WWII history and sites of the Central Macedonia region and the remembrance tourism offer in the region. 

“We are delighted and honoured to be the first Greek member of a certified network which presents and promotes the war museums, military cemeteries, battlefields and memorial sites”, says Sofia Bournatzi, owner of Pass Partout. “In Central Macedonia, Greece, the memorials tell stories from the Greek War of Independence in 1821 until the country’s liberation in 1944. In the land of Aristotle and Alexander the Great, modern history is equally significant. We look forward to sharing these stories with the LRE Foundation audience by being active members of an organisation that works to preserve our heritage.” 

“Expanding the organisation to more countries of Europe is a long-term goal for the LRE Foundation”, says Rémi Praud, Managing Director of the LRE Foundation. “Southern, Central and Eastern Europe are a priority. We are pleased to add Greece to the LRE Foundation’s map of WWII remembrance and work with Pass Partout to promote the sites in Central Macedonia. We hope this is a first step to further expand our network in Greece.” 

The LRE Foundation is proud to be supported by the German Federal Government for the second year in a row. In December 2020, the German Bundestag decided to renew its support to the LRE Foundation and the development of the Liberation Route Europe trails. The signature of the grant took place today, 21 May 2021, at the German Embassy in the Hague, at the presence of Deputy Head of Mission, Ingrid Jung, and LRE Foundation Deputy Director, Jurriaan de Mol.

The grant will make possible the further development of the Liberation Route Europe trails, which will form a traceable link between the main regions along the Allied Forces’ advance across Europe, stretching nearly 10.000km. The routes will pass numerous historical locations and tell stories told from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the last phase of World War II.

The Liberation Route Europe trails will be launched very soon, together with a new web-app and travel planner. Later in 2021, the first Vectors of Memory will be placed, and a mobile app will enable visitors to hike, walk and cycle the Liberation Route Europe.

LRE Foundation Deputy Director, Jurriaan de Mol, said: “We are very happy to receive substantial financial support from the German Federal Government again in 2021. The German government has renewed its commitment to upholding the LRE Foundation’s mission, values and initiatives. We are extremely proud of this landmark decision.”

Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in the Hague, Ingrid Jung, spoke about the reasons behind the decision of supporting the LRE Foundation and the Liberation Route Europe’s trails project during the LRE Forum in February. Listen to her inspiring words at this link.