The beaches in Normandy, where the Allied landings took place on June 6, 1944, have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
As reported by Ukrinform, BFMTV reports.
“These beaches are directly and materially linked to the landing, which played a decisive role in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation,” said a representative of the International Council on Monuments and Sites during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan, South Korea.
According to her, this memorial complex also symbolizes the immense human sacrifices made for the liberation of Europe from Nazism.
The list includes five beaches, known by the code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, as well as the Pointe du Hoc, the German artillery battery at Longues-sur-Mer, and the Mulberry artificial harbor in Arromanches-les-Bains. The area stretches for almost 80 kilometers along the Normandy coast.
It was here on June 6, 1944, that the large-scale Allied operation began, which became a turning point in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation and brought the end of World War II closer.
The President of the Normandy region, Hervé Morin, who attended the UNESCO Committee session in Busan, admitted that the decision evoked strong emotions in him.
“This decision obliges us to preserve this site, protect it, value it even more, and represent it worthily,” Morin emphasized.
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The preparation of the nomination dossier began in 2008. In 2014, the beaches were included in France’s tentative list, in 2018 the application was submitted to UNESCO, and in 2025 it was updated.
As reported, UNESCO kept three sites in Ukraine – the “Saint Sophia Cathedral, adjacent monastic buildings, and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” “Historic Centre of Lviv,” and “Historic Centre of Odesa” – on the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing that Russian aggression poses a direct threat to them.
Photo: Robert F. Sargent, U.S. Coast Guard, wiki