At the start of this year, LRE Foundation and its partners began the implementation of ‘Retracing the Footsteps: A Transnational Journey of Canadian Liberation in WWII (REFOOT)’. Supported by funding from the European Interreg North-West Europe programme, the project aims to create a transnational hiking trail that follows the path of Canadian soldiers involved in the liberation of Western Europe during the Second World War. We caught up with Emme Johnson, Project Officer at LRE Foundation, who is leading the project to hear more about it.
Can you tell us a bit about the project and the role of LREF?
The Foundation is leading the project, so we are working with local partners in France, Germany and Belgium to implement it in the four countries in which the trails will be located (BE, FR, DE, NL). Building on the existing Canadian Trail that we created in the Netherlands, we wanted to highlight the history of the Canadian Troops who helped liberate Europe at the end of the war on an international level, and so this project was born.
The new sections of the Canadian Trails will connect the stories of the Canadian soldiers’ journey, from France to Germany via Belgium and the Netherlands, connecting sites like memorials, museums and villages that were important along the way. Once completed, members of the public will be able to discover this history by hiking the trails, either in shorter distances at a local level, or challenging themselves to follow the longer, national and transnational routes.
Who else is involved in the project?
To make sure we highlight a variety of stories in each country, the Foundation is working with several international project partners who have expertise on the topic at a local level. These include: LRE France, the Juno Beach Centre (France), and the For Freedom Museum (Belgium). We also have associated partners supporting the project, including the Juno Beach Centre Association (Canada) who cooperate on the historical aspect of the project, and the French Hiking Federation, European Ramblers Association (Germany), and Stichting Wandelnet (Netherlands), who we consult regarding the hiking trails we use for the routes.
What’s the latest on the project?
So far, we have created a map of all the sites (points of interest) that we would like to include in the trails, for example museums, memorials, locations where a key event occurred etc. There are 200 altogether! We’ve also mapped the international and local hiking routes in the four countries and how they connect with these locations, and at the moment we are finalising the trails we will use. Some of the historians and partners working with us have also started to write the historical content, and this will be a big focus over the next months. We will be working to bring all of the interesting sites and stories together to create the final product, our transnational hiking trail!
Why is this project important for you?
I think it’s easy to see the liberation of Europe at the end of the Second World War almost as a singular event – that we were at war and then once it ended we celebrated together. But it is much more complex than this, and the experiences of liberation varied hugely for people, both soldiers and civilians, depending on where they were geographically. There are some very tragic and moving stories which took place even in the last days of war whilst in other places celebrations took place. This project shows how, even among a small group of countries, the liberation took its time. Each region and village experienced it differently, and it took huge and continued efforts from the armies, in this case the Canadian army, for entire countries to be fully liberated.
How is this project important for local communities?
This project brings a lot of interesting benefits to the wider public. Not only does it highlight history that is lesser known, the more local stories and places, but it provides a great resource for many different people to discover. Whether you’re a keen hiker, a history enthusiast, a young family looking for a day out, or a local who has lived in town for many years but had no idea of the history right on your doorstep, the trails have something to offer everyone!
As a final question, what makes this project special for you?
Highlighting the experiences of so many different places, the stories of the people there and their interactions with the soldiers when they arrived, is really interesting for me. I also like that these trails can take visitors to new places you may not know, like a small village, but also to places that are familiar, like more famous cities, and then reveal a whole new experience there by telling a certain history that you didn’t know before. Combining this history with walking routes is a great way to enable people to explore at their own pace and learn more about Europe’s history and culture. For me this project is a way to preserve important historical events, memories and experiences whilst encouraging people to be active and get outside, and I think that’s a great combination.
Read more about the project here: Retracing the Footsteps: A Transnational Journey of Canadian Liberation in WWII – LRE Foundation
