Occupation Stories 2020

NEW BOOK RELEASE! 50 small towns and 70 World War II museums in western Europe commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. On May 10, 1940, the countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and northern France were all invaded by Nazi Germany. 50 small towns in these four countries tell their stories about the Nazi invasion, life during the Nazi occupation, the heroism of local resistance fighters, and finally, the liberation of their towns by the Allies. As a testament to their recovery, each small town also presents text and recent photographs describing their town and the many local opportunities for visitors today. This is indeed the land of castles . . . and many thousands of years of history.

The 70 World War II museums in these four countries are represented by full page pictorial museum advertisements describing the details of each museum, each with text about the museum and an average of 10 photos of the museum and exhibits. These free advertisements have been included in this commemorative book to encourage the post-pandemic visitation at these many fine museums. You will be amazed at the exceptional quality of these many lovingly-maintained museums and monuments.

A main feature of this commemorative book is the use of specific formats to present the information for each town and museum. For the towns, each two-page entry includes Siting & Heritage, Our Town's Occupation Story, A Special Local Story, Liberation & Recovery and Our Town Today. More than 1,200 WWII and current photos accompany the text. A preview of the book interior can be viewed at occupationstories2020.com.

The book begins and ends with the story of Capt. Lester Steinke, a decorated US Army Air Corps P-51 fighter pilot who survived flying 58 combat missions over Europe during the war. Capt. Steinke's German ancestry forms a story of shared courage and determination between two men who never knew each other.

Life in the thousands of small towns of western Europe was horrific during the Nazi occupation. During those four years, executions, home invasions, disappearing friends and relatives, reprisals, hunger, deportations, suspicion and destruction were a part of daily life. As it would be in any small town, the people often knew those being persecuted but were forced to look the other way. These book is dedicated to telling the stories of those who suffered and those who helped liberate the small towns in these four countries from a dreaded occupier.