In october 2009 I visited the Normandy battlefields and was awed by the atmosphere surrounding the places. Omaha beach in particular is a place where the horrors of the second world war can be felt. Is it the Colleville -Sur-Mer US war cemetery with it’s perfectly aligned white headstones or the atmosphere surrounding the beach and the hills where the German positions can still be seen? In any case the place seems to have a profound influence on many a visitor as  has been testified by people who went there.

Being a historian by education and a photographer by hobby I decided to combine the two and generate a site with some historical background for future visitors as well as some of the pictures I took on my visits to Normandy. I have returned to Omaha Beach and the other battlefields numerous times since 2009  and every time I learn more  about this fascinating place. This will be very much a work in (slow) progress so check back once in a while!

Latest addition: A gallery of Pointe du Hoc photo’s. Pointe du Hoc – a German battery site –  lies a few miles west of Omaha beach and was a major target for the Rangers that also landed on Omaha beach.

HZ, 2012-2024

Check this video I shot with my phone camera while visiting Omaha beach. In 10 minutes I give a description of what happened here on D-Day: