Left: The Germans in front of the memorial stone
(picture: Heinrich Hoffmann, 1940)
Right: The stone has been replaced by a new one.
(picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
Left: Hitler arrives at the Glade of the Armistice. (picture: Heinrich Hoffmann, 1940) Centre: The statue of the fallen German eagle (picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009) Right: The path to the memorial(picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
Left: Hitler walks towards the wagon
(picture: Heinrich Hoffmann, 1940)
Right: The same location today
(picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
A replica of the French wagon is inside this building. Below: the same building from the side
(pictures: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
The monument behind the Führer was covered with the German flag. (central picture: Heinrich Hoffmann, 1940) The reason why is obvious when you look at the picture on the left: the monument shows a dead bird, symbolising Germany. (picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009) On the right: Almost the same picture today. It seems like the location of the pillars with the chains on them has changed to make room for the road. (picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
Left: Here Hitler and his company are posing in front of the location where the German train had been in 1918. (picture: Heinrich Hoffmann, 1940) Centre: The same location. (picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009) Right: The location of the German train is marked by a stone, just like the location where the French wagon stood. (picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
The statue of Foch is the only thing at this memorial that is completely original.
(picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
The path towards the statue of the fallen bird
(picture: the Hitlerpages, 2009)
COMPIÈGNE
Compiègne
On November 11, 1918 German generals surrendered in Compiègne in the railroad car of the French marshal Foch. The site was turned into a memorial park with an avenue of 250 yards and a granite block on the spot were the train wagons had been. On June 21, 1940 the French signed to surrender to the German at the exact same spot and in the same railroad car, in the presence of Adolf Hitler. The park was destroyed during the war, but it has been rebuilt. Only the statue of marshal Foch is original. The railroad car you can see here today is a reproduction. It is kept in a shed where the original wagon was kept. The original wagon was taken to Berlin in the war, where it was bombed.
1. Statue of the fallen German eagle
2. Path to the memorial
3. Location of the French wagon in 1918 and 1940 4. Location of the German Wagon in 1918
5. Memorial stone
6. Shed where the French wagon stood
7. Statue of marshall Foch
8. Cathedral, Soissons
9. Urcel
10. Rue de la Herse, Laon
11. Cathedral, Reims
12. Airfield, Reims
Belgium and France, June 21, 1940 weergeven op een grotere kaart
WOLFSSCHLUCHT 1 (BELGIUM) -
SOISSONS (FRANCE)
URCEL (FRANCE)
Hitler inspecting a French tank near Urcel (Mathot, 2001)
LAON (FRANCE)
Hitler on the Rue de la Herse in Laon
REIMS (FRANCE)
