Le Chemin de Mémoire

Saint-Raphaël, the site of the Provence landings on August 15, 1944, and a member of the international foundation "The Road to the Liberation of Europe", has set up a trail dedicated to the Second World War.

10 panels, from downtown to Trayas:
The route covers the Resistance, the D-Day landings and the liberation of Saint-Raphaël. Through these 10 panels, from the town center to the Trayas, Saint-Raphaël highlights the specificity of the "Camel" zone, the scene of D-Day operations. The trail is an effective way of raising awareness of this period, making up for the disappearance of eyewitnesses, and helping to pass on this history to younger generations.

In 2021, Saint-Raphaël will rightfully join the "Liberation Route Europe" Foundation, a rapidly expanding international network linking people and organizations dedicated to preserving and promoting the tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to the Second World War, its memory and significance.

The foundation, which brings together 700 sites in a dozen countries, forms an international itinerary linking the main regions crossed during the advance of Allied troops between 1943 and 1945. Since 2019, the European Liberation Route has been recognized as a cultural route by the Council of Europe.
Saint-Raphaël's Chemin de Mémoire is part of this network.

10 emblematic sites have been selected, representative of the D-Day landings and their preparation through acts of war and resistance. Spread throughout the commune, they make up the Chemin de Mémoire.

LIST OF SITES :

1) ESPLANADE DELAYEN
A reminder that Saint-Raphaël was a hotbed of Resistance activity, with numerous networks: Nilo (Mithridate), Cotre, Carte, F2, AS, MLN, FTP-MOI, among others.

2) MONUMENT TO THE AFRICAN ARMY
Commemorative stele in honor of fallen African troops.

3) BOULOURIS NATIONAL NECROPOLIS
The cemetery contains the bodies of 464 soldiers of General de Lattre de Tassigny's 1st French Army, of all origins and denominations, killed during the liberation of Provence in 1944.

4) DRAMONT LANDING BEACH
Barge and commemorative stele in honor of the 36th Texas Infantry Division, which landed here on August 15, 1944.

5) POURROUSSET BEACH
Italian and German blockhouses defending the Bay of Agay and the radars on Dramont hill, still visible.

6) AGAY BEACH
The site of a deadly Allied bombing raid on November 11, 1943, and a beach where troops and equipment were unloaded on August 15, 1944.

7) AGAY-JARDIN DE L'ORATOIRE
Stele in memory of the crew of the American bomber "Miss I Hope" shot down by German flak on May 27, 1944 in Agay Bay.

8) COL DE BELLE BARBE - ESTÉREL
Stele and grave markers in memory of the crew of the American bomber "Lucky Lady" shot down by German flak on May 25, 1944.

9) CALANQUE D'ANTHÉOR
A strategic cove due to its railway viaduct, which was destroyed during the American assault, and its position at the eastern end of the Provence landings.

10) POINTE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE
Numerous German flak pillboxes and blockhouses protecting the Anthéor viaduct can still be seen here.

Services

• Pets welcome