The first offensive of the Allied against the continent has started between Cherbourg and Le Havre.

Source	« Le pays réel » n°30, the 7th of June 1944, first page
Event referred to	6th June 1944 : D - Day 1944
Technological characteristics	Type of file: Image Extension : pdf Characteristics Dimension of the file: 1074 Ko Availability proposed: pdf document with zoom options
Description of the source	Kind of source: Daily newspaper Origin of the source: Archives of the National Library of Belgium, Brussels Language: French Copyright issues: full availability
Contextualisation of the source	« Le pays réel » was a rexist* daily newspaper of Brussels published from 25th August 1940 till 2nd September 1944. It is thus a collaborative newspaper which reflects the political and military opinions of the German occupant. Its director was Léon Degrelle, the leader of the rexist* movement, voluntarily enlisted in the Waffen SS. * Before the war, the Nazi-inspired rexist movement, had up to 21 deputies at the parliament. During the conflict, numerous rexists served in the ranks of the Waffen SS.
Interpretation of the source	The newspaper titles on its first page : “The first allied offensive against the continent has started between Cherbourg and Le Havre”. The central article speaks about “the powerful airborne forces”, about “violent attacks against the Atlantic wall”, about “massive airborne attacks”. But it also insures that “the whole of the troops landed by sea has been rejected back to the sea, that “the hard fights are extremely deadly for the enemy”, that “the enemy begins to feel the power of the Atlantic wall”. Moreover, the article states that “numerous allied parachutists have been made prisoners” and that the allied forces “have been bled dry”. At the end of the first day, the Anglo-Americans only control a 15 – 20 km long and no more than 1 km deep strip of beach. The collaborator bias of the newspaper « Le pays réel » is evident since it speaks about “our troops”, “our unities” when speaking about the German army whereas it describes the English and American forces as “attackers” or “enemies”. It stresses on the rapidity of the German reaction and on the qualities of the defensive works of the Atlantic wall. Moreover, the quoted sources are almost exclusively German and thus reflect the optimistic point of view of the Berlin staff. Under the title « Promises of liberation », the journalist is delighted about the landing and he hopes that the defeat of the Allied in Normandy will finally put an end to the war. He takes advantage of the opportunity to put the blame on the allied political leaders by analyzing their political motivations. According to him, the Anglo-Saxon responsible persons had to give in under the Soviet pressure which asked for the opening of a second front. Roosevelt wants “to make a hit” before the elections while Churchill wants to “take a step in Europe in order to arrive before the communist influence”. Moreover both are presented as “blood-thirsty” monsters, unscrupulous “demagogues” and responsible of the “air war they have wildly started against all the European countries”. In the article « Future life scenes », the journalist violently puts the blame on the American “barbarism”. Through an anticipated vision, he hopes to show what the consequences of an American occupation in Europe could be. According to him, the “Yankees” only dream to deprive our continent of all that makes its greatness for 2000 years, in the artistic and cultural fields, as well as to destroy all things they can’t take away. He denounces the dangers “of the abominable materialism that has perverted the American people”. In short, the newspaper « Le pays réel » presents the Landing on Normandy as the result of dark political maneuvers of the allied leaders who impose numerous sufferings to the European populations and who finally aim to destroy a two times millenary civilization. In spite of the important means deployed, the newspaper states its trust in the German army which is presented as the valorous defender of our European civilization.
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