Overlooking the beach along Courseulles-sur-Mer is a large house. Or rather, two houses twinned to form a larger building! The building was constructed in 1928 in a very Norman style: light-colored walls, dark roof and elegant half-timbering. And with its direct view of the beach, just a few meters away, it offers an exceptional view of the English Channel! Today, however, the house offers another attraction: it was a key strategic position during the Normandy landings.
The Hoffer house
In 1936, the Hoffer family bought the left-hand side of the house, which they lived in until the arrival of the Wehrmacht in 1940. The Germans ordered many of the houses along the coast to be demolished, so as not to obstruct their field of vision in the event of an enemy invasion. Eight houses were demolished in Courseulles-sur-Mer, but the Hoffer family home was miraculously spared. According to family history, they were forced to give the house to a German officer and his subordinates, which might have saved the house. The Hoffers themselves were forced to flee their home to Le Havre during the war.
The house survived the German occupation and Allied bombing raids in 1944, but was the scene of intense fighting during the D-Day landings on June 6. Indeed, due to its size and position, the Hoffer house was the main target of the Allied beachhead.
The Canada House
Company B of the Queen’s Own Rifles landed on Juno Beach at around 8:15 am. According to the regiment’s war diary, the soldiers encountered fierce enemy resistance, but soon succeeded in gaining access to the Hoffman house. Several German soldiers, however, took refuge in the cellar of the imposing building, and it took times to dislodge them for good.
As the former owner of the house described it to the Canadian press years later: “It was they who liberated the house […]. About half an hour later, the French-Canadian soldiers of the Régiment de la Chaudière arrived. Then, in the late afternoon of June 6, came the armoured troops from Fort Garry Horse. After driving out the Germans, the Canadians set up a signal station here.”
Indeed, at 9 a.m. the company set up its command post inside and used it as a base for the rest of the operation.
Conclusion
When the Hoffer family took over the house, they didn’t realize at first that it had become an important symbolic place for Canadian soldiers. Indeed, it was only in 1984, during the commemorations of the fortieth anniversary of the battle and when veterans made a pilgrimage to the house, that the Hoffers realized its significance for them. As its former owner, Hervé Hoffer, explains: “Our parents spoke very little about the D-Day landings […] The first people we opened our doors to were veterans.”
As a result, the house became an important place of remembrance for veterans, who saw it as an important mark of the war they began on the beaches. For French citizens, the house also became a symbol of their liberation and of the sacrifice made by Canadian soldiers, particularly the Queen’s Own Rifles. In return, the owners made it a tradition to light candles on the beaches every June 1st, in honor of the liberators and the fallen.
Even today, the house is a venue for important commemorations, and it was the owners’ great pleasure when 2,500 people gathered to pay their respects at the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Normandy landings in 2024.
Article written by Julien Lehoux for Je Me Souviens.
Sources:
- “Canada House – Handout“, Anciens Combattants Canada/Veterans Affairs Canada.
- “Commémoration du débarquement de Normandie à la maison des Canadiens“, Radio-Canada (in french).
- “La Maison des Canadiens“, L’Encyclopédie canadienne/The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- “Le secret le mieux gardé de la Normandie“, La Presse (in french).
- “Ms. Nicole Hoffer“, La gouverneure générale du Canada/The Governor General of Canada.
This article was published as part of our exhibition on D-Day: When Daylight Comes. Visit our exhibition to learn more about the history of the Canadian who landed in Normandy!
