Hello all, I’m a bit of a geek for ww2 stuff, I’ve visited various sites across Europe in the past but would like to hear from anyone who has any recommendations regarding places to visit as I find it all very fascinating. I find the Nazi structures simply mind bending, the likes of La Coupole and le blockhaus for example. https://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/ http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/ Anyway I thought it would be good to have a ww2 euro site seeing thread for like minded history geeks which can be visit whilst touring either on bike or car, Regards, Adam
My Daughter went to Auschwitz as a school visit, she rates it as a site worth visiting. I’ll recommend a visit to Bovington tank museum, not mainland Europe but interesting. Went when they had the largest of the German tanks tank destroyers in a stand alone exhibition. Once a year they take Tiger 131 and give it a little run out in their arena.
It’s on my list for sure. I have mixed feelings about the place being a tourist site but feel it my human duty to visit and pay my respects. I guess you can say that about all war sites ultimately
Yeah, felt for a long time I should go there, but not as a 'tourist'. You need to be alone with your thoughts at such a place. When I used to work on old Brit bikes in a lock-up past which half the estate used to walk to the shops, one old Eastern European guy used to stop and chat, really nice guy. It wasn't until he died I found out he was the only one of his family to survive Belsen. That was mid-eighties and it still gives me a chill.
The stadium in Nuremberg is quite a sight. You know it from the big Nazi military parades. Doubles up as a racetrack once a year too called Norisring. They race DTM touring cars there. It's a good combined weekend.
Mimoyecques is close to La Coupole if you don't want to go further than a day trip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Mimoyecques Many many other sites further away. I think the major of those are The Eagles Nest, Colditz Castle and Mitelbau Dora (concentration camp / underground V2 factory). I hadn't expected to be affected by visiting the Dora concentration camp (which was effectively a death camp), but I was.
I spent my childhood in Germany in the '60s as an Army brat. I went to a British boarding school in Germany in the early '70s. I did two tours in Germany with the RAF after that. I admit that I have seen many things and places. I remember that many places were ex German army, my school for one. Along the side of the corridor where the dormitory's are, were gun racks built into the walls. I was married at RAF Bruggen, the chairs all has swastikas on them as they were saved from somewhere. RAF Gutersloh was a Luftwaffe airfield with all the buildings and many fittings still intact. I forget how many times I have visited both the Mohne dam. Belsen was just up the road from us for a few years too. I now live in France and have seen most of the stuff in northern France and other stuff down here in the Perigord too. Two weeks ago the girlfriend and I were on a two bike trip around Corsica. We stayed in the most southern hotel in France at Bonifacio and looked out of out hotel window at the WW2 German gun battery. I took a trip to Port Vendres, nearly the last village before the Spanish boarder on the Med, and found a huge German defence facility just outside of the village, all intact and abandoned. There is just so much to see all over Europe.
it's not strictly all ww2 stuff but have you been to the Submarine museum in Gosport and/ or Portsmouth historic dockyard?
Closer to home is Orford Ness in Suffolk. Superb desolate place that used to be a bombing range and also has some brutal monolithic concrete structures used to test the robustness of British nuclear weapons in 50’s and 60’s. (@Bob T - was also an RAF brat but around 5 years later than you )
A friend and I booked a Brittany Ferries 3 day Normandy tour, Portsmouth - Caen to visit D day landing beaches, Pegasus bridge and various museums. Booked 3 different hotels, 2 of which were superb, 3rd not as good. Excellent 3 days sightseeing with a few relaxing miles on the bikes each day with coffee stops en route to the next hotel.
Dungeness Sound Mirrors are worth a look if anyone is down that way, built between the wars as an early warning for enemy aircraft. You can only get close on certain days but you can still see them on other days when they are not open http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/soundmirrors/locations/denge/
I did some ww1 sites with my lad a few years ago. Very somber. Seeing how close the frontline was, literally 100-200 yrds, makes you realise how things have changed in conflicts
I'd like to visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery though it gets to be less about the war and more about scaring the bejeebus out of yourself. I feel the kind of pull to explore it as Father Dougal did to press the big red button.
Channel Islands. Bunkers everywhere. Moscow, armed forces museum. They have the Eagle with oak leaves clutching the crooked cross that was taken from above the door of the Reich Chancellery itself - displayed on the floor of the museum. Think what that means - excuse me Mr Fuhrer there are three million Soviet troops here to see you now. They also have displayed all of the captured German regimental banners - also displayed on the floor. Mind blowing.
We are not far from Vogelsang https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordensburg_Vogelsang and Westwall https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Line A great source of info is www.tracesofwar.com. Type in any location and it comes up with loads of stuff to be found in that area.
oradour sur glane In mid lower France ish . Amazing visit , the Germans killed everyone apart from one to tell everyone what happened there . Why they do , because they could . They've left the village as is and built a new one , it's the same today as the day they did it . Incredibley sad , fantastic museum next to it , well worth the effort .
