Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, please see films and photos of Lisieux in the summer of 1944. 

Film of the liberation of Lisieux on August 23, 1944.  Note the sign "Saint-Desir," the quarter in which the Benedictine Abbey where Therese studied had been located.  The Abbey and the church where Therese made her First Communion were destroyed that night.  You will also see a sign pointing the wya to the Carmel.  Above the hill on the outside of the town you'll see the Basilica still standing. 

 Below are many images and films to see on their home sites if you make the effort to click the links:

Click for a still photo of St. Jacques Church, substantially destroyed.  It has since been rebuilt but is no longer a church but a municipal exhibit hall.

At this link http://www.jpaventure.com/  click on “Lisieux 1944” for many photos of Lisieux before and after the bombing,  including some of the Benedictine Abbey, St. Desir Church where St. Therese received her First Communion, Les Buissonnets, St. Jacques Church, St. Pierre Cathedral, and other sites.

 At http://www.leveildelisieux.fr/2013/08/23/lisieux-meconnaissable/ see the photo of three nuns standing in front of Les Buissonnets showing a bomb that fell in the garden but never exploded.

A paragraph describing the battle of Lisieux on August 23, 1944, which led to its liberation.  With thanks to www.normandie44lamemoire.com

At http://www.criticalpast.com/products/location_history/Lisieux_France/1940/1944 are two short films with footage of Lisieux in 1944:

• The first, filmed on August 23, 1944, is: "British soldiers fight the Nazis in Lisieux and General Charles De Gaulle visits Chartres en route to Paris liberation," one minute long.  
• The second, "The bomb damaged town of Lisieux, France during World War II," also one minute long, shows the rescue operation.