Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

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Adam Carr
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Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#1

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:18

In June 1940, with fighting still going on around the Dunkirk perimeter, Hitler toured the battlefields of Flanders where he had served in World War 1. On 1 June he passed though Ypres (Ieper), where he drove through the town and visited the Menin Gate, the war memorial built by the British in the 1920s. He also visited the German cemetery at Langemark, where a famous battle had taken place in October 1914.

I was in Ypres this week, where I bought a book called Hitler in Vlaanderen (Hitler in Flanders), which gives a detailed account (in Flemish) of his tour. Here I have reproduced some of the photos from that book, and followed them with my own photos of the same localities as they appear today.

Here we see Hitler's car (photographed by a German photographer in ther car behind) in Rijselstraat, about to turn right into the Grote Markt, the main square of Ypres. Ahead is the tower of the Cloth Hall, which was reduced to rubble by German shelling between 1914 and 1917 and rebuilt in stages between the 1920s and the 1950s.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#2

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:19

The same spot today.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#3

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:21

Here we see Hitler's car heading across the Grote Markt, with the Cloth Hall ahead. (This must have been after he left the Menin Gate, I don't think these photos are in chronological order.)
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#4

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:23

The same spot today. The Cloth Hall was extended westwards after World War II, so the Grote Markt is not as big now as it was in 1940.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#5

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:25

German soldiers in the Grote Markt salute Hitler's car (not visible) as it passes. Note the big hole blown in the facade of one of the buildings on the north side of the square (top right). There was some fighting as the British withdrew through Ypres in May 1940.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#6

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:26

The same spot today. The damaged building is now Lloyds Bank and its facade has been extended to fill the gap caused by the destruction in 1940.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#7

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:29

Hitler gets out of his car in Kauwekijnstraat, just around the corner from the Menin Gate. At left, Heinz Linge. At right, Julius Schaub. Behind the wheel, Erich Kempka.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#8

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:30

The same spot today.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#9

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:33

Hitler under the Menin Gate. The Gate records the names of thousands of British, Canadian, Australian, South African and Indian soldiers who were killed at Ypres but who have no known grave. (The New Zealanders are recorded at Polygon Wood.) Hitler gave orders that the Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials in France and Belgium were not to be damaged.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#10

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:34

The same spot today.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#11

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:36

Hitler leaves the Menin Gate, heading back to his car.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#12

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:37

The same spot today. I haven't quite got the angle of this one right, mainly because I was trying to avoid getting run over.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#13

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:41

A few km from Ypres is Langemark, where 40,000 German dead from the 1914 battles are buried in mass graves. These included the famous university cadets who were killed in October 1914 when they charged into British machine guns. This became a highly symbolic event in Germany and Hitler built the Langemark Halle in Berlin in honour of the cadets. Here Hitler (right) is viewing the cemetery.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#14

Post by Adam Carr » 03 Nov 2012, 20:49

The same spot (approximately) today. Since 1940 the cemetery has been further enlarged, and the crosses replaced by flat stone markers. The oak trees have grown to maturity and keep the cemetery in continuous semi-darkness even in summer.
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Re: Hitler in Ypres, 1940: then and now

#15

Post by Crazy_Ivan » 03 Nov 2012, 22:40

Great pics Adam, I went to all those spots including the Graveyard but never realised Hitler had visited them. Thanks for the info.

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