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 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?