Recent months have been eventful for our team as we commemorated the 80th anniversary of significant World War II milestones, including the Normandy landings and Operation Market Garden. Our team travelled to Normandy and the Netherlands to attend the commemorative events organised on this occasion and cover them for a wider audience. This work was part of our Europe Remembers campaign – a collaborative project aimed at raising awareness about the final years of the war and preserving stories about their witnesses.
In June, we travelled to Normandy to cover the commemorations of D-Day. From 5th to 7th June, we participated in several events, visited historical sites, and interviewed veterans and attendees. Key moments included the ceremony at Pegasus Bridge and visits to the British Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer and Pointe du Hoc. We also interviewed veterans such as Mervyn Kersh, who shared their valuable stories with the Europe Remembers audience.
This September, we travelled to the Netherlands for the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, one of the largest airborne assaults in history, which took place between 17th and 25th September 1944. Although it did not fully achieve its objectives of liberating the Netherlands from German occupation, the Allies succeeded in freeing several towns and many Dutch provinces still remember and celebrate such effort toward their liberation.
Between 13th and 18th September, we visited various historical sites and participated in many commemorative events. These included Mesch, in Limburg (where we attended the 80 Years of Freedom opening ceremony), Arnhem (where we attended the ceremony at John Frost Bridge), Ginkel Heath (where we saw a re-enactment of the parachute landings), and Nijmegen (where we attended the Waal Crossing re-enactment, commemorating the US soldiers who crossed the river in small boats, and the impressive and warmly participated Sunset March XXL).
Throughout this campaign, our Europe Remembers team focused on capturing and sharing personal stories and the lasting impact of Operation Market Garden. We were privileged to interview WWII veterans such as Jack Einstein and Dominic Citelli (who also played on his soprano saxophone for us).
The content we created, including reels and live updates, was shared across social media platforms allowing a wider audience to learn about these events even without leaving their homes. You can view all the materials we created to this date on our website and social media pages (Facebook & Instagram).
We are grateful to everyone who made this possible, especially our key partners in Region Normandy, Normandy Tourism, Provincie Gelderland, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Visit Brabant, Brabant Herinnert, Provincie Zeeland and vfonds.
As we reflect on our journey, we are now looking at the 80th anniversary of other milestones such as the Battle of the Scheldt in Zeeland, the Battle of the Bulge, the International Holocaust Memorial Day in January, among others, until the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in May 2025.
