Bayeux 1940-1944: an extraordinary story!
National tour guide, writer and historian specialising in the Second World War, Jean-Charles Stasi has lived in Bayeux since 2013. To share his passion for history and Normandy, he offers tours that are off the beaten track, based mainly on the many books he has written on the D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy.
A tour specially designed for families and young visitors.
From the arrival of the Germans on 18 June 1940 to General de Gaulle’s historic visit on 14 June 1944, join me on a journey through the Bayeux of the Second World War. As you tour the heart of the town, unchanged for eighty years, I’ll tell you about the daily lives of the local population, their relations with the occupying troops, the activities of the Resistance, and not forgetting the rapid and undamaged liberation of the town, which in just a few weeks became the first Allied capital in Europe, a major British headquarters, a hospital town for civilians and soldiers, and an essential logistical hub for the Battle of Normandy.
And in passing, you’ll discover another singular destiny from this turbulent period: that of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which also returned from afar in the summer of 1944, when it was the object of Nazi envy. It’s an extraordinary story that I tell in my book “Le vol de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, l’incroyable projet des nazis” (published by Tallandier, 2018). If you wish, I can sign the book for you at the end of your visit.
Meet in front of the tourist office
Length of visit: 1h30
Mode of transport: On foot
