New Zealand’s contributionFrom a population of 1.6 million, around 140,000 New Zealanders fought in war, 6000 of whom served in the Royal Air Force. Approximately 16,000 of those who enlisted for service in WWII were Maori. Porokoru Patapu Pohe, also known as John Pohe or Lucky Johnny, was one of the first Maori pilots in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and was the first fully-qualified Maori pilot to leave New Zealand to fight in WWII.&nbsp;Lucky Johny joins the Air ForcePohe was born in Wanganui and grew up near Taipahe, about 200 km north of Wellington on his family’s farm. He spent two years in the army reserves as part of the Manawatu Mountain Rifles regiment before joining the air force. In September 1940 he began training at the Ground Training School in Levin, around 80 kilometers north of Wellington. He completed his training January 1941, graduating from the Woodbourne air force base in Blenheim.Later that year Pohe joined Squadron 51 of the Royal Air Force after undergoing training in England for a number of months. He carried out 22 missions during his time in the RAF, including bombing enemy targets in France, Germany and Italy.In September 1943 his plane was hit during a bombing raid over Hanover, Germany. Lucky Johnny managed to fly as far back as the English Channel before crash landing into the water, and was then taken prisoner by the German forces. He was brought initially to Dulag transit camp before being brought to Stalag Luft VI and then finally to Stalag Luft III in Sagan.&nbsp;The “Great Escape”Stalag Luft III was a Nazi Prisoner-of-war camp for Allied air force prisoners in what is now Żagań, Poland. It is most well-known for the escape of Allied prisoners known colloquially as the “Great Escape”.On the night of March 24th 1944, 220 prisoners attempted to escape from the camp through a tunnel that the prisoners had burrowed. Nicknamed “Harry”, the escape tunnel had been dug too short and the prisoners came up in view of the guards. Only 76 men were able to escape from the camp, the vast majority of whom were recaptured. Only three of the prisoners made it to safety. Upon Hitler’s orders, 50 of the recaptured prisoners were executed, among them Pohe. He was cremated and is buried in the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poland.&nbsp;Evacuation of the campIn January 1945 the camp was evacuated and all prisoners were moved to Stalag VII-A in Bavaria, Germany. The prisoners were finally freed when the US 14th Armored Division liberated the camp in April 1945. Join in the 80th anniversary commemorations. Pay tribute to those who lost their lives and celebrate the liberation of the POW camps by the Allied forces.Check out&nbsp;Europe Remembers&nbsp;for more information about museums, destinations and trips, or follow us on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/EuropeRemembers/">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/europeremembers/">Instagram</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/europeremembers">Twitter</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;Europe Remembers is a campaign of the LRE Foundation to commemorate and celebrate 80 years of freedom in 2023-2025.&nbsp;Sources:<ul><li>Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph. “Porokoru Patapu Pohe.” Accessed March 19, 2019.&nbsp; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C18989">http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C18989</a></li><li>Brickhill, Paul. The Great Escape. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, 1950.</li><li>Carrol, Tim. The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III: The Full Story of How 76 Allied Officers Carried Out World War II’s Most Remarkable Mass Escape. New York: Gallery Books, 2005.</li><li>Lankford, Jim. January 20, 2015. “The 14th Armored Division and the Liberation of Stalag VIIA.” National Museum of the United States Army. Accessed March 19, 2019. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://armyhistory.org/the-14th-armored-division-and-the-liberation-of-stalag-viia/">https://armyhistory.org/the-14th-armored-division-and-the-liberation-of-stalag-viia/</a>.</li><li>New Zealand History. Updated August 5, 2014. “Maori and the Second World War.” Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Accessed March 19, 2019. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-second-world-war">https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-second-world-war</a>.</li><li>New Zealand History. Updated August 5, 2014. “Prisoners of War.” Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Accessed March 19, 2019. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/second-world-war/prisoners-of-war">https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/second-world-war/prisoners-of-war</a>.</li><li>New Zealand History. Updated August 5, 2014. “New Zealand and the Second World War.” Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Accessed March 19, 2019. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-and-the-second-world-war-overview">https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-and-the-second-world-war-overview</a>.</li><li>Royal New Zealand Air Force. “The RNZAF in World War II:1939-41 Empire Defence.” Accessed March 19, 2019. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.airforce.mil.nz/about-us/who-we-are/history/wwii.htm">http://www.airforce.mil.nz/about-us/who-we-are/history/wwii.htm</a>.</li></ul>

Lucky Johnny: The Maori Pilot in the Great Escape

Band of Brothers (2001)Band of Brothers is one of the most popular World War II television series of all time. It was a co-production by the famous director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks. The series follows the Easy Company of the 506th&nbsp;Regiment of the&nbsp;101st&nbsp;Airborne Division&nbsp;beginning with their training in 1942 until the end of the Second World War. The Easy Company had an important role during D-Day and took part in the Battle of Carentan,&nbsp;Operation Market Garden&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Battle of the Bulge.The series has ten 60-minutes episodes, each giving a realistic overview of the final phase of the Second World War. The series was nominated for 19 Emmy Awards and won six. It also received a Golden Globe for ‘best Mini-series or Television film’.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zDBUooZQzgA" start="0"></iframe></div>Saving Private Ryan (1998)One of the most famous Second World War films in recent history, Saving Private Ryan has become an instant classic since its release in 1998. Produced by Steven Spielberg, it was the first film to portrayed the&nbsp;D-Day&nbsp;events in a realistic way. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is on a mission to find private Ryan (Matt Damon) because of the death of Ryans’ two brothers, which meant he was allowed to return to the U.S. Yet, Captain Miller faces the problem that Ryan, who was part of the&nbsp;101st&nbsp;Airborne Division&nbsp;paratroopers, was dropped somewhere in&nbsp;France. The movie recounts his heroic journey to find Ryan before it is too late.The movie was well received. It became the inspiration for the Band of Brothers tv-series. The movie won five Academy Awards, two BAFTA awards, two Golden Globes, and many more international awards.&nbsp;<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S1Qj_AVu2pA" start="0"></iframe></div>The Pacific (2010)The Pacific can be viewed as a sequel to Band of Brothers, but the story takes place in the Pacific theater of the war in Asia. The story is based on the memoires of Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie, two American marines who took part in the war against the Japanese Empire. During the course of the film, the 1st&nbsp;Marine Division fights in several battles, such as Guadalcanal, Okinawa and Cape Gloucester.The Pacific is very different from Band of Brothers and focuses more on individual stories of the people who fought in the war. Like Band of Brothers, the film was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. The series won seven Primetime Emmy Awards and was also nominated for a Golden Globe.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o8CWsSFYpNY" start="0"></iframe></div>Downfall (2004)World War II movies are often told from the perspective of the Allied Forces, but in Downfall viewers experience the end of the Second World War from the German perspective during the final&nbsp;Battle of Berlin. Downfall takes place in Hitler’s bunker, where he resided during the final days of Nazi Germany as the Soviet Red Army encircled Berlin. Traudl Junge, the main character, becomes the last private secretary for Adolf Hitler and also moves to the bunker.During the film it becomes clear how loyal people, even children, remained to Hitler and his ideology during the final days. The movie was nominated for an Oscar in ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2dzKgq4zl4E" start="0"></iframe></div>Dunkirk (2017)Released in 2017, Dunkirk has already become a classic World War II film. This film, directed by Christopher Nolan, tells the story of the Dunkirk evacuation (part of Operation Dynamo) during the Second World War. The British-American-French-Dutch co-production raised the most money out of any other film in the World War II genre.The story is told from three points of view: the Dunkirk beach with the infantry, the evacuation by the Navy across the English Channel, and in the air from the perspective of several RAF pilots. Most actors were not well known, except for the singer Harry Styles. The film won several awards including a BAFTA and three Academy Awards.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F-eMt3SrfFU" start="0"></iframe></div>The Longest Day (1962)The longest day is based on the book ‘’The longest Day, June 6, 1944: D-day’’ written by Cornelius Ryan in 1959. The movie is an overview on the first 24 hours after the&nbsp;D-Day landings&nbsp;in Normandy and the story is told from the American, British, French, and German perspectives.The three hour black and white movie depicts the Germans preparing for a possible Allied invasion, the landing of the American and British paratroopers in France, the arrival of the French troops in Ouistreham, and many other events that took place during&nbsp;D-Day. The movie won three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. Before the release of Schindler’s List, it was the most expensive black and white film ever made.&nbsp;<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RW5t1V4xm3M" start="0"></iframe></div>A Bridge Too Far (1976)In 1974, Cornelius Ryan published another book about&nbsp;Operation Market Garden, which he became most famous for. Richard Attenborough adapted the book into a film in 1977. The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden, a military operation led by the British Army to take nine bridges that could have opened a way into Germany for the Allied forces. The story builds to a climax to that battle for the&nbsp;last bridge in Arnhem, which the Allies failed to capture. Although the critics were divided on the movie, it is seen today as a classic in the World War II genre.&nbsp;<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AWL184ZcSxA" start="0"></iframe></div> Interested in visiting some of the iconic locations seen in these films? Check out&nbsp;Europe Remembers&nbsp;for more information about museums, destinations and trips, or follow us on&nbsp;Facebook,&nbsp;Instagram&nbsp;or&nbsp;Twitter.Europe Remembers is a campaign of the LRE Foundation to commemorate and celebrate 80 years of freedom in 2023-2025.

7 World War II Classics that you must see…

This fascinating sound experience, via sound installations scattered across the cemetery, takes the visitor out of the daily reality at Ysselsteyn. In doing so, composer duo Strijbos &amp; Van Rijswijk create a moment in which visitors can remember, question and reinterpret their relationship with history. Strijbos &amp; Van Rijswijk withdraw the landscape from everyday reality by 'covering' it with sound. The meaning of Panorama Ysselsteyn is created by an enchanting sound experience that lets the visitor experience the military cemetery in a different way. With Panorama Ysselsteyn, the public is invited to enter an experience where there is room for their own interpretation in a collective experience.

The Netherlands

Panorama Ysselsteyn 

Many of the prisoners detained in the house prison were politically persecuted persons, from whose interrogation the Gestapo hoped to gain special insight. Among these individuals were numerous figures of the German resistance, as well as foreign opponents of the Nazi regime. During the interrogations, many prisoners were tortured. Some committed suicide.It is estimated that several thousand prisoners were held in the house prison between 1933 and 1945. For most inmates, the prison represented just one, often the first, stage of a long journey of suffering in detention centres and concentration camps.The exhibition will be presented in the Special Exhibitions Space as well as on the outdoor area of ​​the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre.

Germany

“A Special Kind of Police Custody”

“In war, truth is the first casualty.” This ancient wisdom has not lost its meaning. Betrayal played a crucial part in World War II. Secret services utilised wartime misinformation to their benefit, using a network of defected secret agents (or double agents). The Freedom Museum’s temporary exposition Double Agent explains how this was done, starting on Friday, April 27th, 2023.The stories are spectacular. You’ll meet the man who inspired the character James Bond, as well as a man who single-handedly fooled German intelligence services. You’ll learn how the Enigma was cracked, how the attack on Pearl Harbor could have been prevented, and how double agents caused the Normandy landings to become historical successes. Pictures, videos and authentic objects bring the stories to life, with a real Enigma machine as the crown jewel.Double Agent is an exciting, experience-oriented exposition full of adventure and history. Visitors wander through the 1940s, discovering new stories and uncovering new mysteries behind each door. You’ll crack a code in a prison cell, gamble at the casino and learn how to fool enemies at a military headquarters. This journey through the history of betrayal leads to the present: are there still real double agents today? How does misinformation work? Would you recognise fake news?The temporary exposition Double Agent is a meaningful and unmissable experience. It runs from April 27th, 2023 up to and including January 7th, 2024 at the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek.

Double Agent

During the Militracks weekend, there are German motorcycles, passenger cars, trucks, half-tracks and armoured vehicles on display that were predominantly in service of the Wehrmacht. German vehicle technology at that time was in many cases qualitatively better than that of the Allies. At Militracks, it is demonstrated – and in some cases literally – how that technology worked. The vehicles are also not just set up in static displays, but driven around on the special, kilometre-and-a-half trail on the museum grounds. It is also possible to ride along. You can buy tickets on the ground itself. The ticketsale for Militracks 2024 has not started yet, when the ticketsale starts the tickets&nbsp;can&nbsp;be ordered online <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://shop.eventix.io/c05c1449-2a39-4a46-8b4f-d919dd87ce8d/tickets">here</a>.

Militracks 2024

This is accompanied by the awareness that individual local and national experiences still lead to tensions despite the foundation of shared European values. Heterogeneity in the culture of memory exists not only between European countries but also within them as different social groups represent divergent historical narratives. Diverse outlooks on the past shape the perception of the present and influence political actions across Europe. The politics of memory of any given country is not always identical with the memory policy of civil society. Occasionally even the discourse about a common European past that began at the turn of the millennium, serving as the foundation of a European community able to act in unison, seems to be called into question. Given such diversity of experiences, is a common memory possible at all? Can national interests and international solidarity be reconciled? And last but not least: what challenges do European practices of remembrance and historical education face in the light of the migratory movements of recent years? The Berlin event aims to showcase the diversity of perspectives that serve as a basis for discussing the current challenges for history teaching in public spaces and historical education. During the forum, we wish to focus on a shared conversation about the past and its importance for seeking the truth, peace, democracy, freedom and tolerance, as well as for a remembrance that respects differences, looks for connections and strengthens understanding and solidarity in Europe. The forum will be attended by politicians and representatives of cultural educational institutions, as well as actors in the field of historical and political education. Admission is free. Please find the full program via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://enrs.eu/project/what-s-the-point-of-history-if-we-never-learn">this link</a>.

“What’s the point of history… if we never learn?” Dialogue, Remembrance and Solidarity in Europe. New Challenges for Public History and Historical Education

The Shoah has been present in Polish visual culture since the 1940s—initially in films, paintings, graphic works, and sculpture, and later in installations, videos, and performances. Such works result from a variety of creative processes—documentation, commemoration, and expressions of sorrow and anger, but also those focused on ritual, the politicized representation of events and individuals, and the manipulation of collective memory.The artists Zuzanna Hertzberg, Paweł Kowalewski, Agnieszka Mastalerz, Natalia Romik, Wilhelm Sasnal, and Zofia Wiślicka &amp; Artur Żmijewski address the multitude of gaps and voids, both material and immaterial, created by the loss of almost the entire Jewish population of Poland. The title of this exhibition refers both to the process of confronting the material evidence of past crimes and to that of identifying the traces of life that no one can any longer embrace.

Materializing: Contemporary Art and the Shoah in Poland

This family-friendly show is centered around Norwegian and international military music - everything from marches to classical music and rhythmic entertainment music. The participants present their own show elements coordinated into a march and drill display. The show is rounded off with a triumphant finale with all the actors on stage in Oslo Spektrum.The Norwegian Military Tattoo is organized by the Norwegian Armed Forces to promote military music, and to show the Armed Forces' music as a living cultural institution as well as an important carrier of tradition.

Norway

Norwegian Military Tattoo

France

80th Anniversary of D-Day at Normandy American Cemetery

Sicily Landings: Interview with Sir Edward Llewellyn   

This event, part of the many commemorative events hosted in Sicily 🇮🇹 throughout the month of July 2023, beautifully intertwined music, art, and history.

Commemorate the end of WWII – 80 years later

Featured events

Panorama Ysselsteyn

“A Special Kind of Police Custody”

Double Agent

Militracks 2024

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Panorama Ysselsteyn

“What’s the point of history… if we never learn?” Dialogue, Remembrance and Solidarity in Europe. New Challenges for Public History and Historical Education

Materializing: Contemporary Art and the Shoah in Poland

Norwegian Military Tattoo

Militracks 2024

80th Anniversary of D-Day at Normandy American Cemetery

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Sicily Landings: Interview with Sir Edward Llewellyn

Commemoration Concert, Catania, Sicily

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Lucky Johnny: The Maori Pilot in the Great Escape

7 World War II Classics that you must see…

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