Normandy's D-Day beaches added to UNESCO World Heritage list
Soldiers leaving a landing craft onto Omaha Beach during the Normandy Landings on D Day. June 6, 1944
- Published
Beaches in Normandy in northern France, where thousands of Allied soldiers landed on D-Day in World War Two, have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.
This means they are now recognised as places of special importance and should be protected for future generations.
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What was D-Day and why was it important?
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What was D-Day?
What happened on D-Day?
D-Day happened on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War.
At that time, Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, had taken control of and was occupying many countries in Europe, including France.
Fighting against Nazi Germany were the Allies, a group of countries that included the UK, the United States, Canada and many other countries.
On D-Day, Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel by sea and air to land in Normandy.
Many soldiers came ashore in landing craft, which were special boats designed to carry troops and equipment onto beaches. They often faced heavy gunfire from Nazi German defences as they tried to reach land.
The five beaches where they landed were given code names to help keep the plans secret: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Other troops were dropped by parachute behind enemy lines. In total, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers were involved in the mission.
More than 4,400 Allied troops were killed on D-Day. Around 10,000 Allied troops were killed, wounded, missing or captured.
D-Day: "We just had to get on with it" Mervyn's Story of the Normandy beach landing
The majority of troops who landed on the D-Day beaches were from the UK, Canada and the US.
However, troops from many other countries participated in D-Day, and the Battle of Normandy, including all the different armed services from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland.
A Normandy Beach is shown here during the Allied invasion, June 6, 1944
The landings were very dangerous and had been planned for a long time.
The Allies needed to get soldiers safely onto the beaches in France. From there, they could start moving inland to fight back against the Nazi army.
D-Day did not end the Second World War straight away. But it was a very important moment because it helped the Allies begin to free parts of Europe that were under Nazi control.
What's an UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Pointe du Hoc, one of the two bunkers designed to house Nazi army artillery
UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place judged to have 'outstanding universal value'.
That means it is important not just to one country, but to people everywhere. Famous examples include the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Taj Mahal in India.
The status means there's a duty to protect the beaches, so that people can continue to visit and learn about what happened there.
Today, there are memorials, cemeteries, and museums in Normandy and many reminders of the D-day battle, including Nazi German fortifications, artillery-scarred landscapes, Allied harbour structures and sunken vessels.
As well as the five landing beaches, the World Heritage listing also covers other important D-Day sites. It also includes old Nazi German defences at Longues-sur-Mer, parts of the harbour the Allies built to bring in supplies, wartime remains under the sea and Pointe du Hoc, a high clifftop area between Utah and Omaha beaches where US soldiers climbed steep cliffs during the battle.
