Normandy 1944. Then and Now (204 pics)

This must have taken an amazing amount of research to complete this project. Great job.

you should include photos of the empty field then to comapre with the thousands of tomb markers now. The real reminder what some gave.

It's amazing to see an average street, like the ones we know today, And see troops marching down them like something we would see in a movie.
Although I would never wish it upon anyone, there is a certain beauty to the archaic way of life during WWII. A world was torn apart, but unlike moderns war, the entire planet was involved in some way. You could almost say it was the last time the world was all fighting together for one reason or another. Just my opinion.

Great set, great work p Elie
I hope you understand that with putting them here they are getting the attention they deserve!!
Would be great if someone would do that for the region i am from (ypres) for WW1. Although i think that is a lot harder to accomplish.

Exceptional endeavor which obviously required significant time, effort and research... very thorough and well done! As noted in No 34, the website from which this originated is even better!

It's an amazing job. Truly makes me respect what those men did over there, to see the emotion in their faces is sureal. I can't wait to show my husband, who's a part of the Canadian Air Force. Thank you!

amazing collection

Amazing collection! A dunning contemporary document.

Why so many fakes?

Brilliant!
Was this one person's journey to stand in front of and retake one person's photo collection - or a group thing?
Loved the patisserie sign on the shop on the same corner.
No_ 40 needs to get away from his computer and 'step outside to see whats shakin in the real world"
more info would be good.

And None of these pic could be taken.. if the Soviet Red Army wasnt responsible for 9 of every 10 German soldier casualties.. Bless the USSR

Great Job Mr Elie.

Very nice ! I liked it.

A marvelous collection of photgraphs. I wonder what became of all the soldiers, Allied and German, shown in the pictures. May their lives have brought more joy than was possible at that time.

Thank you so much for making this available.

Emil Rechsteiner, Groton MA, USA September 6, 2009

What is truly amazing is how the French rebuilt and preserved their priceless history, while here in the USA, we'd have razed those old buildings and put up a McDonalds. Here, here, great compilation of photos.

Caz

Absolutely brilliant pictures, can't wait to go back to Normandy next summer.

These are amazing! but i wish they we're side by side comparison or in a book that'ld be cool too.

I'm very proud to be a Canadian looking at these photos.a

Amazing pictures.
:)

Added to the collections of www.worthpics.com

These are wonderful! They should be in school curriculums.
I found a bakery (boulanger) that's still a bakery today!!!
How great that they rebuilt and didn't redesign!!
Thanks

Brilliant work! That must have taken months and months but worth every minute. Many thanks

this is a labor of love- the french people have done a wonderful job of preserving their sense of community. they honor the past, the lives of those who came before and the brave people who fought to free them.

in north america we would have preserved a few points as monuments, but most would have been raised to make way for condominiums, hotels, restaurants, theme parks and the like- europeans, on the other hand, posess a deep sense of history and feel a strong connection to all those who came before and made their lives possible. americans are only interested in "what's next" and where can i get the latest gadget. the human element is largely over looked in north america.

and while here i noticed two posts which are rather immature. to say the least:

to "SnioQ": "works for me ... u r do it wrong :D"

"u r do it wrong"?- what, in the name of all that is sane,are you talking about? have you graduated from elementry school? have you ever done ANYTHING of any consequence?

i think not!



to "FAIL" "Why so many fakes?"

just a few questions:

have you ever been to normandy? what do you base your comment on? and why would you choose a nom de plume such as "FAIL"?

i doubt that you have the attention span to even remember that you were here and made such a ludicrous remark.

it is a pity that we can't make a colection like this from Rotterdam Holland because every thing was blowen a way.

I cant even comprehend the level of dedication you have made to collect these images. you should be very proud of yourself. You should write about it, i know lots of people would be very interested in your experiences!!!!!

Amazing thank you very much.

Nice pics man

These are utterly amazing and awe-inspiring.

And I agree completely with Davy, I'm very proud to be Canadian as well, after seeing these. :)

WOW is all I can say. WOW.

This is truly amazing!

Outstanding collection!!