DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIGIOUS SITE
DESCRIPTION The "cimetière américain de Colleville-sur-Mer", or Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, is an American military cemetery, located just above the beach known as Omaha Beach which was one of the five beaches of the Normandy landing, assigned to US troops, it is the one where the Allies lost the most troops, which earned him the nickname "Bloody Omaha". The cemetery is located near the French town of Colleville-sur-Mer in the department of Calvados, on one of the sites of the Allied landings of June 6, 1944. Located between the towns of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent- On the sea, the cemetery is oriented from east to west and overlooks Omaha Beach and the entire length of the Channel about 1 km for an area of 70 hectares.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE From June 08, 1944, a temporary cemetery is created, said of "Saint-Laurent". Subsequently, the current cemetery was designed by architects Harbeson, Hough, Livingston and Larson and the landscape architect is Markley Stevenson. It was not until 1956 that the first US war cemetery of the Second World War was inaugurated with its memorial, this cemetery honors American soldiers who died during the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War and is one of 25 US permanent burial sites on foreign soil. This cemetery has a real value not only patriotic but especially historical, because it is the first American military cemetery of the Second World War, it represents the involvement of American military forces on the European front during the Second World War.
INTER-RELIGIOUS RELEVANCE Of the 500,000 soldiers engaged on June 96, 1944, 5,000 were Jewish. Thus, the American cemetery of Colleville sur Mer denotes a true testimony of fraternity between individuals regardless of their religious denominations, in the face of liberation, and especially freedom, undermined at the time by the totalitarian regime of Germany Nazi. It is possible to see among the rows of graves of this cemetery of Colleville sur Mer, between the Christian crosses, many stars of David with, engraved on it, the name of a American fighter, of Jewish confession, died for the liberation of France.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE This place has an important religious influence. In fact, this cemetery is the largest American cemetery in the world. Then, the cemetery gathers and pays tribute to many soldiers not only killed during the D-Day, but also many soldiers killed during the Battle of Normandy. The most interesant and important is that the tombs of fallen soldiers are installed next to each other, regardless of the religious confession of the soldier. It is therefore possible to see that the most important is the tribute to the memory of each soldier regardless of whether they are Christian or still Jewish. They are all mixed, as they were during the fights.
HOW TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS The students could enjoy the visit of the the american cimetery of Colleville-sur-mer, because beyond the value and the historical importance of this cemetery for the allies, this cemetery represents a true dialogue and interreligious sharing. They can make a direct visit, but also a classeroom activity, by visiting the museum and statues into the cimetery, with a special guide.
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