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A Bunker Mentality

A visitor to the beaches of Normandy in France will no doubt be aware of its historical evidence. It was

only two generations ago that thousands of soldiers arrived here in the most dire of consequences.

Nothing less than the fate of the free world was at stake.

As the Allied troops stormed the beach, waiting for them were thousands of Axis troops. Hitlers army

sat poised in bunkers, plotting and planning their next move. And those bunkers, in a myriad of shapes

and sizes, still stand on Normandys beaches long after the fighting has ceased, but still serving as

reminders of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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edifices.

From a design standpoint, the bunkers are firmly in the Modernist school. In fact, the noted Britishauthor JG Ballard points to the bunkers on the French coast as a sort of last gasp of particular type of

Modernism where functioned defined form, and some of the bunkers recall the work of Le Corbusier.

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When looking over one of the bunkers it is easy to forget that in these tiny blockhouses Hitlers world

view was defended, attacked and defeated. They represented a world view which its occupants felt was

worth defending to the deathwhich is often how confrontations ended.

Visiting the Normandy region can be a somber experience. There are plenty of informative, organized

tours that are worth your time. The Caen War Memorial is well worth your time. And if you wish to go

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further back in history, the Bayeux Tapestry is a must-see. But an impromptu visit to a string of

Normandys bunkers can be stirring also. While you are admiring the durability and resonance of the

architecture you can let your mind drift to what may have taken place on the hallowed ground where

you now you stand.

A visit to the coastline of Normandy reminds us that history is all around. Often, specific locales are

memorials with a plaque or a stone. Visitors can read about the great event that took place at or near

this very spot. But in the case of many of the bunkers along the Atlantic coast of France no such

explanations are needed.

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