Between Dark Tourism and the Politics of Memory: how websites promoting battlefield tours in Normandy shape public memory and with that, the historical understanding of D-Day

This thesis project explores the complex interplay between memory politics, and dark tourism through a detailed analysis of websites advertising battlefield tours in Normandy, France. This study aims to understand how these websites shape public memory and historical understanding of D-Day and subsequent events. The research is situated within the theoretical frameworks of Critical Military Studies (CMS), dark tourism, and Mälksoo’s (2023) politics of memory, examining how collective memory is influenced by political processes and power dynamics. To achieve this, the study employs a multi-method approach on three well-known websites overlordtour.com, normandybattlefields.com, and battlefieldtours.nu, analyzing their textual and visual content through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This analysis is enriched by placing the data within its broader socio-cultural and historical contexts, considering both the era of World War II and contemporary digital culture. This study reveals...Show moreThis thesis project explores the complex interplay between memory politics, and dark tourism through a detailed analysis of websites advertising battlefield tours in Normandy, France. This study aims to understand how these websites shape public memory and historical understanding of D-Day and subsequent events. The research is situated within the theoretical frameworks of Critical Military Studies (CMS), dark tourism, and Mälksoo’s (2023) politics of memory, examining how collective memory is influenced by political processes and power dynamics. To achieve this, the study employs a multi-method approach on three well-known websites overlordtour.com, normandybattlefields.com, and battlefieldtours.nu, analyzing their textual and visual content through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This analysis is enriched by placing the data within its broader socio-cultural and historical contexts, considering both the era of World War II and contemporary digital culture. This study reveals how these websites construct historical events, by emphasizing certain narratives of heroism, sacrifice, and liberation while marginalizing others. It also shows how these websites represent their Western identities and the identities of their audiences, how they commemorate and memorialize D-Day, and the extent to which commercial interests influence their presentation of historical sites. In sum, the research underscores the power dynamics embedded in the discourse of battlefield tour websites, revealing how specific national identities and affiliations influence the historical portrayal of D-Day.Show less

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Between Dark Tourism and the Politics of Memory: how websites promoting battlefield tours in Normandy shape public memory and with that, the historical understanding of D-Day