TRAVEL SPECIAL - WORLD WAR II SITES IN EUROPE

TRAVEL - WORLD WAR II  SITES IN EUROPE   The 76th anniversary of the beginning of World War II is the perfect  time for a historical tour of the cities that bore the brunt of Nazi invasion September 1, 1939, is generally considered to be the start of World War II in  Europe; it began with the German in vasion of Poland; Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. With an estimated 50-85 million  fatalities, World War II is often described as the deadliest conflict in human history. This year is the 76th anniversary of the beginning of World War II. Here's a walk through six World War II sites in Europe. KRAKOW-AUSCHWITZ At Auschwitz concentration camp, the atrocities against deported Jews changed  the definition of human monstrosity forever. Millions of Jews were gassed to death. The railway tracks, barbed wires, personal belongings of the victims (there's fabric made of human hair!) all narrate horrifying tales of Nazi cruelty.  In Krakow, synagogues were destroyed, Jews rounded up. But one man rekindled faith in humanity ­ Oskar Schindler. He saved nearly 1,200 Jews by  providing them employment in his factory (remember, Steven Spielberg's  Schindler's List?). Must see: Take a guided tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration  camp (check with the hotel concierge in Krakow; they plan day tours). Go to Oskar Schindler's factory in Krakow. AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS Initially, The Netherlands stayed neutral in the war but it was invaded by Germany on May 10, 1940. Five days later, it surrendered to the Germans.  During the four-day campaign, about 2,300 Dutch soldiers were killed and  7,000 wounded. Anne Frank was born in Amsterdam. During World War II,  she hid from the Nazis with her family in a secret annexe in a canal house  which is now a museum. Frank did not survive the war but her diary is one of the most poignant accounts of the war. Must see: Anne Frank's house; Auschwitz Memorial; De Dokwerker (in honour of Amsterdammers who stood up against the violence on Jews); Monument of Jewish Resistance; Monument to the Women of Ravensbrück  (to commemorate the women in the Ravensbrück Nazi concentration camp);  Verzets Museum (about the resistance against the German occupation  during World War II). WARSAW, POLAND Warsaw was completely bombed and destroyed during World War II. On Black Monday (September 25, 1939), 500 tons of high explosive bombs  and 72 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped, and there was heavy artillery shelling. Jews were rounded up and forced into a ghetto.Overall, Warsaw suffered approximately 25,800 civilian deaths. The Warsaw of today is an exact restoration of what it was before the War. Must see: Warsaw Uprising Museum; Gestapo Museum; Fragments of Ghetto Wall (look for a wall in 55 Siena Street and 62 Zlota Street); Little Insurgent Monument (a child wearing an oversized helmet,  representing heroic children who fought against the occupiers in the 1944  Warsaw Uprising). BERLIN, GERMANY Berlin was the capital of Nazi Germany and was air-raided 363 times during World War II. The Americans dropped 23,000 tons of bombs, and the British,  45,517 tons. Bombings continued relentlessly. By May 1945, nearly 14 per cent of Berliners had fled the city. Must see: Anti-War Museum (has an original air raid shelter from World War II); Anne Frank Center; Book Burning Memo rial; Marianfelde Refugees Centre Museum;  Sachsenhausen (one of the largest concentration camps of the Reich between 1936 and 1945); Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. NORMANDY, FRANCE On June 6, 1944 (called D-Day), more than 156,000 Ameri can, Canadian and  British forces and 20,000 vehicles mustered their might, landed on a 50-mile stretch of beaches to push the Nazis out of Western Europe. Codenamed  Operation Over lord, the Battle of Normandy was one of the largest amphibi ous attacks in history and is often called the beginning of the end of World War II. Must see: Caen Memorial (history of the 20th century with video footage); Centre Juno Beach (only museum along the land ing beaches dedicated to  Canadian forces); Arromanches 360 (built to commemorate 50 years of D-Day landings); Montormel Memorial; Merville Battery Museum; Airborne Museum; American Cemetery. LONDON, ENGLAND London was in the eye of the war storm and history will never forget the Blitz. German bombers appeared in London's skies on Sep tember 7, 1940, and for 57 consecutive days London was bombed. During the Blitz, 18,000 tons of  high explosives were dropped on England killing a to tal of 18,629 men, 16,201 women, and 5,028 children. Must see: The Imperial War Museum; Merchant Seamen's Memorial Garden; Kindertransport (bears 16 milestones, each in the name of a city from where some 10,000 Jewish children fled Nazi persecution for refuge in Britain from 1938 to 1940); Monument to the Women of Word War II; Cabinet War Rooms (where Winston Churchill and his government operated  during the War); War Museum in Southwark (depicts what it was like to live  in Britain during the War).

Preeti Verma Lal