The D-Day Museum in Arromanches, created in the aftermath of the Second World War, was the first museum to commemorate the Landings. As early as 1945, local councils in the area of the Landings were meeting regularly to coordinate the necessary reconstruction: the Prefect of Normandy was presented with their proposals for urban and regional planning and development, signal monuments and commemorative plaques, and the organisation of anniversary ceremonies. The D-Day Commemoration Committee, founded in 1945, was tasked with the commemoration of 6 June 1945.
It was against this backdrop that the idea of building a museum in Arromanches to commemorate the Landings was first raised. The initiative came from former Resistance fighter Raymond Triboulet, Free France's first sub-prefect, in Bayeux (Calvados) in 1944, later a minister under General de Gaulle. The D-Day Museum in Arromanches was inaugurated on 5 June 1954 by René Coty, President of the French Republic. By the time of its closure, in November 2022, the original Arromanches museum building had welcomed over xx million visitors.
A major cultural asset for Calvados and the wider Normandy region, the D-Day Museum exists to present its collections to as wide an audience as possible, to bring to life the history of the Landings and, in particular, the construction of the Mulberry B artificial harbour, the remains of which can still be seen outside the museum.
The inauguration of a new building in 2023, designed by the Projectiles agency, marks the start of a new chapter in the history of the museum.
La Seconde Guerre mondiale débute le 1er septembre 1939 avec l'invasion de la Pologne par l’armée allemande. Les forces du Reich submergent toute l'Europe. Seul bastion de défense, la Grande Bretagne, est la première à stopper les forces du Reich dans une terrible bataille qui se joue dans les airs. A la fin de l’année 1941, les Etats Unis entrent en guerre. L’année 1942 marque un tournant dans le conflit suite aux premières défaites allemandes en Afrique du Nord. Dès 1943, les allemands font retraite sur tous les fronts. Au début de l'année 1944 la situation semble bloquée : les Russes attendent le printemps pour reprendre leur offensive et les Anglo-américains progressent avec d'énormes difficultés en Italie. Le seul moyen de changer le cours de la guerre afin de remporter une victoire rapide et décisive passe par un débarquement sur les côtes nord de l'Europe où l'ennemi possède la meilleure défense : le mur de l’Atlantique, gigantesques ouvrages de défenses érigés sur les ordres de Hitler.
L’échec du Raid de Dieppe du 19 août 1942 en a montré toute la puissance. Les forces alliées apprennent au prix de lourdes pertes que les fortifications rendent impossible la capture d'un port existant, condition pourtant sine qua non au ravitaillement d'un débarquement de plus grande ampleur.
Les stratèges alliés ébauchent un plan ambitieux sous le nom de code Overlord qui est accepté lors de la conférence Quadrant en août 1943 par Winston CHURCHILL et Franklin ROOSEVELT à Québec. Il s'agit de débarquer en Normandie avec 30 divisions. Pierre angulaire de ce plan, la construction de ports préfabriqués sous le nom de code Mulberry garantira le ravitaillement des troupes débarquées.
On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy; the longest day had begun.
The success of Operation Overlord was reliant on the ability of the allied armies to get men, provisions and equipment into Normandy as quickly as possible. The rapid capture of a deepwater port, such as those found in Le Havre or Cherbourg, capable of handling high-tonnage vessels, was vital for ensuring the survival of the planned bridgeheads.
The failure of the Dieppe Raid in August 1942 made the Allies realise that they could not rely on taking a port quickly after the beach assaults, as the German defences were too robust. The Allies forecast that the Battle of Normandy would require a minimum of 2,500 vehicles and 12,000 tons of supplies to be landed daily via port installations. Aware of this issue, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill resurrected an idea that he had originally proposed during World War One: the creation of an artificial harbour. In December 1940, military and civil engineers began to develop plans for the creation of artificial jetties. On 30 May 1942, Churchill requested proposals for the creation of floating piers that would enable allied supplies to be unloaded continuously, day and night, irrespective of tidal movements. And so the challenge was issued: it would take 600 businesses, 50,000 people and millions of tons of materials to successfully deliver this enormous project, all in the utmost secrecy.
