JBSI - reflection on Normandy's connection to Canada

When teaching World War Two in grade 10 Canadian I have always spoken about the connection between Canada and the Netherlands.  Even though I have never experienced it, I teach students how much the people in the Netherlands still love Canadians.  I tell them of the importance of having a Canadian flag on their backpack or jacket.  We talk about the tulips in Ottawa.  I've never mentioned a strong connection between Canada and France.  I now feel unbelievably bad.  I want to bring all my former classes back and say "hey, the people in Normandy LOVE Canadians for what we did from June 6 to the end of August 1944."
As part of our Juno Beach Centre Summer Institute tour, we were overwhelmed by the gratitude of the people in Normandy.  Many small towns had memorials built for the work and sacrifice of the Canadian soldiers as they liberated occupied France from the Germans.
At Dieppe there was a small park dedicated to Canadians.  It not only commemorated what Canadians attempted on August 19, 1942, but a long history of connection between France and Canada.

Of course there are also monuments for regiments that fought in Dieppe August 19, 1942.

But this was a large Allied raid in a major port.  One might expect there to be memorials here.  What I didn't expect were the numerous Canadian flags all over the Normandy countryside.  And the people's reaction toward us (Canadian history teachers visiting and learning about the Normandy invasion).
At Le Mesnil-Patry, we were met by a group of community members at a memorial their committee had fundraised for.  This same committee also worked with Garth Webb (Canadian veteran and Juno Beach Centre founder) to get the JBC built.  We had a small remembrance ceremony at the memorial they had built before they hosted us for a typical Norman picnic lunch.  One of the touching moments at the brief ceremony was when we all sang "Oh, Canada" en francais.  They knew all the words.  Our group of teachers were all moved by their knowledge of our anthem.

 Our hosts in Le Mesnil-Patry.

In Le Mesnil-Patry.

Another remembrance ceremony we were invited to was quite a bit bigger.  The first Sunday of August every year, the Cinteaux Canadian Cemetery in Bretteville-sur-Laize has a remembrance ceremony.  We were all surprised by the size of this event.  In attendance were veterans, citizens and politicians - including someone who I think was basically the equivalent of our Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Again both the Canadian and French national anthems were sung.

 The flags, and people getting set up in the parking lot prior to the beginning of the ceremony.

Two of our Canadian teachers from BC, with an enlisted Canadian soldier representing a regiment from BC.

Two of our teachers read L. Binyon's "Ode of Remembrance" in both English and French.

These are just a couple examples that stand out as they were events.  But as the bus drove through Normandy the Canadian flags and memorial plaques were everywhere.  As I look forward to teaching grade 10 Canadian history again this year, I know that my stories about how Canada is connected to the Europeans liberated at the end of World War II will change and will be much more personal as I share my photos of and experiences with the people of Normandy.

JBSI - Day 7

Theme: The land of Living History in Normandy: Getting beyond D-Day
Where/What:  town of Authie, Abbaye d'Ardennes and le Mesnil-Patry (battle site June 11, 1944), Juno Beach Centre
Questions: Why do you/do you not include the Abbaye d'Ardenne (Authie) in your classroom practice?
What meaning do you draw from Le Mesnil-Patry experience for your classroom practice?

Reflections:
It was another day of very moving stories that I had never heard before.   I didn't know that 20 Canadian soldiers were executed by the Hitler Youth 12th SS panzer unit in the Abbaye, or that in the town the SS division executed both civilians and soldiers, and ran tanks over the executed soldiers.

Amongst that anguish, there was a story of a Canadian who hid in a church in Authie and managed to make it out alive.  He took with him 2 small pieces of the wall that had protected him from gunfire, and his son returned the pieces of the wall to the church with the man's story after he died.

We also had lunch with a group of men and women (Lori called them grammas and grampas at lunch) who call themselves the "Comite des Liberateurs Canadiens."  They are great friends to the Juno Beach Centre and have created a memorial in their town for the 125 Canadian soldiers killed in their town trying to liberate it - including 2 brothers.  They had stories to tell as well, including one that Marie-Eve (from the JBC) hadn't heard before.

    These living histories were amazing.  There was an older man in Authie who stopped to tell us we must go into the church to see the picture of the Canadian who survived and hid in the church.  He didn't have to do that.  The seniors who fed us lunch were also amazing and wanted nothing more than to provide lunch for us, to thank 'us' for the efforts of Canadians in World War II.  It was great and they were sweet, but I can't help but wonder what will happen once they pass away.  Who in the town will take the torch from them?  Are they passing their stories along?  Does anyone younger in their town care?  Is someone interviewing them and recording their stories?  It's fantastic that they want to share a meal with us, and we very much enjoyed it.  It's nice that they told us how important it is for us history teachers to pass on the stories about the war, but they need to help us help the stories live.  In 5-10 years (sorry if I'm selling them short) who will be around to share lunch with that summer's group of JBC Summer Institute teachers?

JBSI - Day 6

Theme: Student engagement through experience: the power of being on-site with the Juno Beach Centre's tools
Where: Juno Beach Centre
Questions/Considerations:
Getting students to better appreciate the scope of what was achieved on D-Day.
Other Questions:
How well does the JBC tell the story of D-Day for Canadians?
As the Vimy Memorial is to the First World War, the JBC is to the Second World War - is that a fair/accurate statement?
Where can the JBC fit into your teaching practice ... now that you see it?


OK, the questions above are all great questions, and I have thought about them and am working on coming up with my own responses to them, but I'm going to write about something else that challenged me today.
A little overview of the day first: We arrived at Juno Beach Centre, had a guided tour (with a very good guide), had a brief museum visit, including a 12 minute amazing video at the end, then had a PD session with Neil Orford (twitter: @neilorford1) on bringing the JBC experience to our students.
Neil asked us a "minds on" question as we got started this morning for us to do a "think, pair, share".  It was something like: based on your experiences on your trip thus far, how will your teaching practice change?
At first I wasn't sure I had an answer.  I couldn't think of a significant change that I was planning on making based on my experience.  I've loved the experience; I've loved the stories and I will t new absolutely be taking these back, and I will share what I've seen and heard.  But that isn't new for me - that's how I always run my classes - sharing experiences.  But then  as we started to speak about how emotionally charged this week has been, I started questioning whether I would share that with my students.
Generally I am fairly open with my students.  I am willing to show my vulnerability about making mistakes, or not having all the answers.  I am willing to show emotion to my students when it is excitement, or joy, but I get really self-conscious when it comes to sharing tears, and some of these stories that I want to share are emotional and may make me tear up.  Am I willing to do that?  I think I have to be - it is part of the story.  It  is part of what will help make history alive.  It should also be part of a modelling process.  It's OK to be moved by something; it's OK to let others know something has moved you (alright, I mean me).
So my challenge this year will be to allow a fuller scope of emotions to show in my classes, and be OK being vulnerable one more way.

JBSI - Day 5

You can read more about our trip at Dispatches from Juno

Theme: Understanding Historical Hindsight in Operation Overlord
Where: Pegasus Bridge (where 1st Cdn Parachute Battalion and 6th British Airborne Division landed night of June 5, 1944), walk from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer (most Eastern edge of Juno Beach) to Bernieres-sur-Mer, then Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery
Questions/Considerations:
Getting students to better appreciate the technological constraints and challenges when assessing achievements and failures.
Getting students to better appreciate the multi-dimensional and interconnectedness of the Allied invasion from the airborne flanks perspective  of the landing zones.
What was the French civilian experience under occupation and on D-Day?
Getting students to engage with primary sources and soldier research projects.
Other Questions:
Operational Battle history vs. Narrative history?  How much Second World War content is TOO much?
How should the stories of these individual soldiers (like at Beny-sur-Mer) be incorporated as 'primary' research into your classroom practice?
What is the experience of being on the Juno Beaches for the first time for Canadian History teachers - how can we articulate this emotion for our students?

Reflections:
I really appreciate walking on the beach today from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to Berneires-sur-Mer. And that was only about 1/2 the distance Juno covered.  We could see the change in tide just over the time we were there.  We also walked along one of the routes Canadians would have taken out of the town. It really brought home the importance of timing and planning/preparation involved in D-Day.

But possibly more powerful than that was the sharing of stories by the people living around here and the way they so openly shared their stories or the stories of the places around them.  We had the honour of being welcomed into the Canada House - the first house liberated on the Juno Beach June 6, 1944.  It is the house you see pictured in many Canadian photos from D-Day, and they have kept it pretty much the same.  We were told stories about the Canadian soldiers who fought there and came back many years later to tell their stories.  So powerful, the types of stories that are better passed on through oral history - an art that we need to try to  keep alive.

We were also welcomed into the courtyard of a family who are renovating buildings beside a field that was along the route out of town (Berneires-sur-Mer) as the Canadians pushed the Germans back.  We heard about the rose bushes that are still growing that were planted by the family in 1944 to honour the fallen Canadian soldiers, and how the chateau there was used as one of the first field hospitals for Canadians after June 6,1944.

It was simply local history, not "significant" enough to have made it into history books. But stories that have been passed down from person to person.
This is the type of thing that helps make history real for our students.  It is the stories that people can connect to and make history interesting.  We have to continue to find ways of bringing history stories alive for our students.  Not everyone can take a trip here to see it and feel it.  One of the things we are thinking about on tour, is how to do that.
How do you make history come alive for your students?  How do you share the stories that make the history?

JBSI - Day 4

Where: Dieppe
Theme: Explaining Tragedy and Controversy to Students
Questions:
What lessons were learnt at Dieppe? Is it possible to compare the Raid on Dieppe to D-Day? These questions can help students to better appreciate the grey zones in history.
Introducing historiography to students using the Dieppe case.
Other Questions:
What matters more in history teaching: the Memorial or the Battle at Vimy?
Was it right to repatriate an 'unknown soldier' from Cabaret Rouge for the Ottawa Memorial?
Did Canada become a Nation on these battlefields or [is] that historical conceit?
How do we teach 'failure' in our History classes?

The "chert" (large round rocks) really were hard to walk on, no wonder the tanks had trouble on the beach.

Reflections:
I think it is important to teach the downfalls (failures) in Canadian history in our classes.  It is part of what makes it interesting and encourages critical thinking.  I generally spend a period (75 minutes) or 1.5 periods on Dieppe talking about the reasons for the raid, the goals and the realities of the battle.  I leave the decision about how successful or how justifiable it was to my students.  We talk about the ways in which Dieppe was unsuccessful.  Up until now, I've also talked about it in terms of a learning experience.  After today, though I'm going to have to adjust what I say about learning from it.  Some of the things the Allies "learned" they already knew, but the raid was different than an invasion (which I always discuss) and they already knew that.

Hindsight makes us ask, why on earth would anyone think attacking with cliffs on either side of your landing area, controlled by the enemy was a good idea.

I think it is important to teach more than just the victories in our history.  It is life and everyone deals with defeat, it's what you do with it that is important.  It is also important to realize that everything is more obvious in hindsight.  As historians we have that priviledge, but it is important to have the students work within historical perspective as much as possible, thinking about what the people at the time knew or believed.  Marie-Eve mentioned that hindsight makes us ask why not have the Air Force take out the artillery.  But at the time, the planned role of the artillery was to counter the Luftwaffe they were sure was coming. They also didn't want to bomb the French civilians who were still in the town - they were our allies. The planes weren't prepared to take out artillery. The plan was based on smaller raids and simply growing them.

Another interesting question that was asked today that I'd like to address with my students is how medals are awarded.  There were 3 Canadians who received Victoria Crosses at Dieppe, even though it was a failure.  Were they the only ones who deserved it?  Or were others who were brave/courageous simply surrounded by men who were killed in action and therefore unable to tell their stories?  We can't know I guess.  And is it fair that Montgomery and Mountbatten got promoted, while the commander of Canadian 2nd division lost his position and becomes the scapegoat for the failure.  Why?

JBSI - Day 3

Where: Vimy Ridge Memorial  (Arras), tunnels at Wellington Quarry, Cabaret Rouge Canadian Cemetery, German cemetery at Neuville St. Vaast.
Theme: The Notion of Missing During the First Woorld War
Questions:
Why did so many go missing in 1916? How did the war change in 1917?
How Canadian was the Canadian Corps?
How significant was the Vimy Ridge victory and the Canadian contribution?
and Has large-scale memorialization of war sacrifice lost its relevance?

Me in the trenches at Vimy Ridge

Reflections:
If, as someone today said, "World War I change[d] the narrative of war" I think it was the time between the Somme and Vimy Ridge that had the most change.

In answer to the first question (part b), the war changed to better address the realities of the new technology.  In 1916, officers held on to old ideas of how to fight a war that were out of date with the reality of trench warfare and machine guns - calvary going in after infantry broke the line no longer a real option.  Chris Evans (our historian on tour) spoke about how scientific fighting became in response to the technology.  There was a science to fighting heavy artillery that was so detailed they were concerned with the rotation of the earth in determining precisely where a shot would land.  And how much each subsequent shot would change due to the change in friction between the shell and the barrel of the gun after each shot.  In terms of teaching this in class - there is potential for some cross-curricular connections, or for independent student research depending on student's interest in science. (Good ideas as I continue to think about instituting a 20% time project in grade 10 Canadian history.)  I need to look up AGL MacNaughton (spelling?) as the person in charge of finding German artillery using science so the Allies could take it out.  What a novel idea - take out the enemies weapons so they can't use them against you!  He apparently becomes a bigger player in World War II.
One interesting detail I learned about the fighing (and scientific approach) at Vimy Ridge was about the rolling barrage.  I understood the basics, but didn't know the particulars.  Did you know the soldiers had to cover 100 yards in 3 minutes because it was after 3 minutes that the barrage would recalculate to hit slightly further?  Would I take my students out to the football field and have them walk it in 3 minutes?  Talk about the importance of the timing?  Too soon and you walk into your own artillery range, too slow and the Germans have a chance to move out of hiding before you get there?  This is often the type of thing I dismiss as a waste of time, but maybe ...?
Something else that was new to me was that Vimy Ridge was actually a small part of a much bigger offensive in this part of the Western Front.  It was actually a distraction to bring Germans away from the bigger attack planned one week later slightly further south on the line.

I sometimes debate with a friend how important (or not) Vimy Ridge is.  I like it because of the sense of birth of a nation.  He thinks the 'birth of a nation' idea came after the monument and the monument was uncalled for.  Marie-Eve (JBC's History Department Manager) made the point at supper that Vimy Ridge was chosen for a Canadian monument because the location was prosperous (mining resources) and they thought that would encourage people to visit.  Based only on success and significance of a battle, somewhere from the 100 Days would have made more sense (maybe you win Jamie). Unfortunately the mining economy in the Artois region went bust after the war and it is no longer a wealthy area.

Other Reflections:
The difference between the Allied and German cemeteries was striking.  The grave markers and the upkeep of the grounds.

Cabaret Rouge Commonwealth Cemetery 

Neuville-St Vaast German war cemetery

In a sea of fairly plain crosses for the German cemeteries, there were a few tombstones for Jewish soldiers.  Never thought about Jews fighting for Germany in World War I.
The sheer number of unnamed graves was staggering.  It was interesting to see that they gave as much information as they could about a falled soldier.  Some men had just nationality and death date, some had divisions and ranks without names.  Isn't that the point of dog tags?
One last learning from today: In World War One (and prior) many countries recruited regionally with brothers, friends, neighbours fighting in the same regiment.  Because of devestating losses in WWI (ie: Beaumont-Hamel) towns lost their whole young male population.  Recruitment policies changed to not have people fight with others from the same area.

Sneak peak for tomorrow - my feet in the water at Dieppe

JBSI - Day 2

Today's theme: The Notion of the Missing During the First World War
Sites: Beaumont-Hamel (part of the Somme Offensive) and the British Monument & Interpretive Centre at Thiepval
Questions:
Why did so many go missing in 1916? How did the war change in 1917?
How Canadian was the Canadian Corps?
How significant was the Vimy Ridgee victory and the Canadian contribution?

Some thoughts or reflections on from the day... (not necessarily directly answering these questions)

• Our tour guide spoke about identities being lost - not just missing people.  Whole towns had to be rebuilt after the war (and again after WWII).  This affects the community identity.  Our tour guide spoke of a soldier who changed his name after the war and became a writer.  (I can't remember more details than that - it was a long flight)  I thought that was an other interesting interpretation of the missing or lost after the war.  Not only those men who were physically missing, but also all the men suffering from PTSD ("shellshock" at the time) who lost a piece of themselves that maybe not everyone could see.
• The memorial sites we visited today were not celebrations of victory, but were about honouring the lost soldiers.  The Beaumont-Hamel guide spoke about it being a place for not only the British (including the Newfoundland regiment) and French, but also a place for Germans to come to remember losses.  Someone (I'm sorry I can't remember who - I'm tired) also pointed out  the losses are different than today.  There were a lot more, and most (all) couldn't get a proper burial.  Many families have no place to go to honour their lost.  Today, we are able to bring home our fallen soldiers and have things like the Highway of  Heroes to honour them as they return to their loved ones.  It reminded me a little about this article from a year ago about the differences in the way countries remember the war.

 At the entrance to Beaumonttt-Hamel site, honouring the Newfoundland Regiment

 Monument to Newfoundland, using material/plants reminiscent of Newfoundland, and the caribou.

Danger Tree 

 The Monument at Thiepval (part of the Somme Offensive), getting ready for 100th Anniversary next year.

Cemetery at Thiepval - French crosses, British tomb stones.

Juno Beach Summer Institute

     I'm in France on a battlefield tour for (history) teachers. We have teachers from across Canada participating and it should be a blast!
     One of the things we are being asked to do is reflect on our experiences as we tour.  "It's not just what [we] are seeing but indeed how [we] are experiencing it that engenders really deep enquiry." (From the "Teachable Thoughts" pages we received, by Neil Orford and Pam Calvert)
     We are being encouraged to focus on the BIG SIX Historical Thinking Concepts and consider these questions throughout the tour:

• How can these ideas facilitate deeper critical thought in your lessons?
• Can youspeculate on where/what you will see on the Tour that can exemplify these ideas?
• Above all, why might Historical Significance be the key to them all?

Each day there are also specific questions/considerations based on what we are visiting.  I'm keeping a notebook of jot notes as I go through  the day, and I will attempt to write some of my thoughts coherently every night.

To follow us on twitter, use hashtag #Juno15

At this point we (I) have been up for about 30 hours and am getting a little slow, but I don't want to lose what I experienced and thought about today, so here goes... See JBSI - Day 2 (Day 1 was flight day)