La Libération de Rouen (1944) – An impressive photo album by French photographer Raymond Jacques, documenting the liberation of Rouen, the capital of Normandy, and the damage it sustained during the Battle of France. Published by a special imprint established at the time of the liberation: Liberté Normande. Extremely rare.
The French photographer Raymond Jacques was present in the combat zones from March to August 1944 during the fierce battles between the Canadian forces of the British Second Army and the Germans. Rouen, a historic city in the Normandy region, was liberated by Allied forces on August 30, 1944, as part of the liberation campaign following the Normandy invasion (D-Day). During the German retreat, the city was bombed and partially burned, and the bridges over the Seine River were also bombed. Many civilians suffered both under the occupation (1940–1944) and from the Allied bombings aimed at pushing out the Germans.
The photographs in the booklet document historic scenes from those months of fighting that ultimately led to the city’s liberation. Among them: the April 19 bombing, which caused, among other damage, destruction in the city’s Jewish quarter; Allied bombings that paved the way for ground forces; corpses of victims killed by German fire; a 5-kilometer radius of chaos with bombed trucks, tanks, and artillery; the Nazi flag in flames; arrests of German war criminals in the streets of Rouen; Canadian journalists gathering information from the local population; public humiliation of collaborators; American airmen who had been shot down and hidden in secret locations emerging from their hiding places; General de Gaulle giving a speech during the liberation of Rouen – and more.
Rouen, a major city in Normandy, was captured by the Germans in June 1940 during the invasion of France. During four years of occupation, the city endured severe restrictions, arrests of Jews and resistance members, and heavy Allied bombings that badly damaged its infrastructure and historic heritage. The liberation of Rouen took place on August 30, 1944, by Canadian forces of the British Second Army, after heavy fighting and the German withdrawal, during which most of the city’s bridges were destroyed. The liberation marked a turning point in the Allied campaign to free northern France.
Extremely rare. The album does not appear in the WorldCat global library catalog.
21 pages. 22 × 16 cm. Good condition.
