(Caen) On June 6, 1944, 200 American rangers climbed the Hoc cliff almost with their bare hands, in order to storm a German position. This act of bravery has been recounted several times in documentaries on the Normandy Landings.
But today, another battle is being played out on this historic site. Within 20 years, maybe 50, the Pointe du Hoc will probably have fallen into the sea, taking with it what remains of the Nazi bunker, conquered hard 80 years ago.
It was predictable that one day or another, the elements would get the better of these emblematic places. The erosion of cliffs and the retreat of beaches are natural phenomena, caused by the combination of strong storms, swell and high tides. But observers did not anticipate that this process would be exacerbated – and therefore accelerated – by climate change.
However, according to scientific estimates, the sea is expected to rise by nearly a meter by the end of the century, with direct repercussions on the D-Day beaches.
Pointe du Hoc is not the only place threatened by erosion, on the 80 kilometers of coastline conquered by allied troops during the famous Operation Overlord. According to the inventory of remains of the Second World War established by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), 91 remains of D-Day are currently “at risk”, some being more emblematic than others.
This is the case of the Longues-sur-Mer battery, located on the edge of a cliff and immortalized in the film The Longest Day. Today it is so close to the precipice that access is partially prohibited to visitors.
As for the Utah Beach Museum, located directly on the beach of the same name, it could be in the water within the next 10 or 20 years, if forecasts are correct.
“This is the meaning of History and the challenge of climate change,” summarizes Régis Leymarie, of the Conservatoire du Littoral, owner of numerous D-Day sites, including the Longues-sur-Mer battery. The historic sites of the Allies are already no longer what they used to be. In 20 or 30 years, they will be even less…”
This sensitive issue has interested scientists since the early 2000s. But the media only recently reported on the subject, causing a certain stir among local elected officials and the population.
This concern is also present in the regional tourism sector, which relies largely on the memory of D-Day. Will the Landing sites have the same appeal if their symbols disappear? Mathilde Lelandais, assistant director of communications at Tourisme Cœur-de-Nacre, recognizes that the issue “concerns industry players,” even if it is not yet a priority subject. “Already, we don’t know how we will have to react when there are no more veterans,” she confides.
The tourism sector is currently “on a crest line,” adds Nathalie Worthington, director of the Juno Beach center, the only museum dedicated to the Canadian soldiers of the D-Day landings. But according to her, “awareness” is not yet total, because there has “not yet been the big catastrophe”.
Not everyone, however, has the same ideas about how to tackle the problem.
Some defend the maintenance of these symbolic places at all costs. This is the case at the Utah Beach Museum, where the beach is regularly replenished with sand in order to slow down the rising waters. But this expensive parade will no longer be authorized after 2028 and the establishment will probably have to review its strategy.
Others advocate “offshoring” when possible.
After attempting to stabilize Pointe du Hoc with concrete in 2011, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), manager of the site, decided to move the Ranger monument which had been erected above the blockhouse in cliff edge. The monument will be moved 360 meters further, “between spring 2025 and fall 2026”, for reasons of “security, safeguarding and accessibility”, confirms the ABMC.
The organization thus prefers to “accompany” the process and accept the gradual disappearance of these places, rather than fighting a losing battle. “These are sites where the breath of history has passed,” concedes Régis Leymarie. But for 80 years, nature has reclaimed its rights. We are facing an inevitable phenomenon, which will not stop,” he says.
The expert thus expects to see the Longues battery in the sea within fifty years, with all the irony that this implies. “The Third Reich had the ambition to last a thousand years. The traces it left are today in the water. This returns us to our true human reality.”
Note that the D-Day beaches could ultimately be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a five-year moratorium, the UN institution seems to have changed its mind about recent war sites. But this classification, essentially symbolic, will undoubtedly have no impact on the preservation of the sites.