You may have read J.G. Ballard's "Architecture of Death" or Paul Virilio's Bunker Archaeology, or perhaps you stumbled across this BLDGBLOG post or the work of Jane and Louise Wilson (Seelander) published in Whitechapel's Documents of Contemporary Art (2011). All of these works focus on the Atlantic Wall in Normandy. They have driven me to plan a journey to the bunkers lining the coast of northwestern France.
Have you made a journey to this field of points of interest? Do you have any recommendations—logistical, literary, artistic, geospecific or otherwise—to help me constitute a plan of action?
Two literary references, not specific to Normandy but about personal experience. Both are humanizing in ways that the war is never presented in and might help round out your perspective.
The Boy's Crusade by Paul Fussell. From the point of view of a young American soldier.
The End by Hans Nossack. An essay from a witness to the firebombing of Hamburg.
You might want to visit the Submarine Pens in St. Nazaire, France.
Some film references:
Das Boot, based on a novel by German war correspondent by Lothar-Günther Buchheim who did a tour on a U-Boat. The novel is also excellent. And there is a book of photos (U-Boat War) that he took on the tour that is astounding and the basis for the visuals in the film.
Also the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, where the land on Omaha Beach.
May 16, 13 10:42 am ·
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Visiting the Atlantic Wall in Normandy
You may have read J.G. Ballard's "Architecture of Death" or Paul Virilio's Bunker Archaeology, or perhaps you stumbled across this BLDGBLOG post or the work of Jane and Louise Wilson (Seelander) published in Whitechapel's Documents of Contemporary Art (2011). All of these works focus on the Atlantic Wall in Normandy. They have driven me to plan a journey to the bunkers lining the coast of northwestern France.
Have you made a journey to this field of points of interest? Do you have any recommendations—logistical, literary, artistic, geospecific or otherwise—to help me constitute a plan of action?
Two literary references, not specific to Normandy but about personal experience. Both are humanizing in ways that the war is never presented in and might help round out your perspective.
The Boy's Crusade by Paul Fussell. From the point of view of a young American soldier.
The End by Hans Nossack. An essay from a witness to the firebombing of Hamburg.
Thanks for the references. I'll definitely have a look at them.
It appears my French geography is a bit lacking, and I was mostly thinking of Bretagne. However, the Atlantic Wall does span several countries.
You might want to visit the Submarine Pens in St. Nazaire, France.
Some film references:
Das Boot, based on a novel by German war correspondent by Lothar-Günther Buchheim who did a tour on a U-Boat. The novel is also excellent. And there is a book of photos (U-Boat War) that he took on the tour that is astounding and the basis for the visuals in the film.
Also the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, where the land on Omaha Beach.
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