France June 2016 - World War II Surrender, Reims
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We walked from the Reims Cathedral to the Museum of the Surrender (Musee de la Reddition). The musuem was located in the building which housed the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanding, from February to the end of the war in May 1945. The Germans formally surrendered here to the Americans and British on May 7, 1945.
The headquarters, and now museum, was located in a non-descript brick building that also houses a technical college.
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| It's a pretty big building. The museum only occupies a corner. Students of the technical college can be seen entering the school down the street. |
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| This was the very room where Allied operations were managed. |
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They didn't have computers and HD big screens in those days. The directed the European war in maps on the walls showing troop positions as well as the required logistical information.
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| A photograph of the German surrender that took place in this very room. |
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| In addition to the War Room, there was an interesting little museum with a good uniform exhibit -- pictured here -- plus lots of artifacts and models. |
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| A diorama of a German train carrying elements of a panzer division. |
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So Lynnette and I were looking around the museum when this women came up and asked us if we were American. We said yes. She said, I'm Helen Patton, granddaughter of General George Patton. I dropped to my knees and said "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!" Actually, I don't remember what I said but I did ask if we could get a picture with her. I really enjoyed meeting her.
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| And here is a picture of the great Army general, standing next to another great Army general, Omar Bradley. |
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Leaving the Museum of the Surrender, we stopped by Porte de Mars, the only above-ground monument surviving from ancient Reims (3rd or 4th century). But it was not to be. Renovation!
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| Here is what it looks like. It was an entry gate to the city back in the day. Founded by the Gauls, Reims became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire. |
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| Reims City Hall. |
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There are a bunch of other things to do in Reims that we didn't have time for. For example, Reims is also the capital of the Champagne region and there are many world-famous cellars and caves that can be visited. Or champagne tours. The World War One battle Verdun is not that far away also. But we were headed southwest to the Château de Vaux le Vicomte.
A memorial was raised in 1930 in memory of the city's children killed during the First World War.
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