André Heintz, Resistance fighter, Caen, France ©
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Read this introduction to André Heintz's story, then listen to him describe his experiences, using the links at the foot of this page.

André Heintz was a French Resistance member in Caen, a city that was one of the main targets of the D-Day landings. From 1940 to 1944, when the city was liberated, Heintz gathered information to give to the Allied forces about German positions.

He learned about the proposed landings in Normandy on 5 June, through a coded message broadcast by radio. On D-Day, he recalls, Caen underwent a terrible bombardment, and he was part of the emergency teams that helped the many people wounded by the exhaustive shelling.

On the following days, most of Caen was destroyed in the fighting between the Allies and the German troops stationed in the city. Thousands of people took shelter at the Abbey, where William the Conqueror is buried - one of the few major buildings that remained unharmed by the fighting. Heintz says that, in those days, people told each other that if the steeple or the church were hit, it would be the end of the English Crown.

In the night before the landing, several Resistance members in a prison were killed by German troops. Among them were several of Heintz's friends.

	'Protected by the Conqueror' Play audio Read transcript

	'Massacre in the jail' Play audio Read transcript

	'Long live the Allies' Play audio Read transcript
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