About Liberation Route Europe

Liberation Route Europe is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe that connects people, places, and events to mark Europe’s liberation from occupation during World War II and to reflect on the long-lasting consequences and history of the war through a multi-national, multi-perspective approach.

With hundreds of sites and stories in nine European countries, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945.

In order to make the route a physical part of the European landscape, LREF is developing a network of Liberation Route Europe trails that allows new ways of experience the route by hiking, walking, and cycling.Developed in cooperation with hiking associations across Europe, the trails will form a traceable link between the main regions along the Allied Forces’ advance across Europe, stretching nearly 10.000km. The routes will pass numerous historical locations and tell stories told from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the last phase of World War II.

Renowned architect Daniel Libeskind has designed a symbolic family of trail markers called the ‘Vectors of Memory’ that will honour people, places, and stories found throughout the European landscape.

To complete the experience along the Liberation Route Europe, the LRE Foundation has created so-called ‘audio spots’. The project started in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region in 2008, and currently there are more than 200 audio spots in the Netherlands and in Germany. At each spot, you can read and listen to a moving story in English, Dutch and German. By doing so, you can learn about what happened at a specific location in 1944 and 1945, linking major, well-known events with very impressive personal stories and experiences.

The LRE Foundation is a growing international, inclusive network that connects people and organisations dedicated to preserving and valorising the tangible and intangible cultural heritage related to World War II, its memory and meaning. The organisation’s main objective is to make this history relevant and accessible, especially for the younger generations.

Learn more about the LRE Foundation and its project www.lre-foundation.org

For more information about the national branches of the LRE Foundation visit:

• LRE Italia http://www.lre-italy.org/
• LRE UK https://www.lre-uk.org/
• LRE France https://www.lre-france.org/
• LRE Germany https://www.lre-germany.org/