Verlaine Message Museum

The Verlaine Message Museum or Museum of 5 June 1944 is a historical museum founded in 1991 in Tourcoing, France, near Lille. It is named after the message sent by the BBC's Radio Londres at 9:15 pm on June 5, 1944 announcing the imminent invasion of Normandy. The museum consists of the concrete bunker where the German Wehrmacht intercepted the message.
History
Following the Battle of France, the German 15th Army established its headquarters at Tourcoing. The 15th Army was deployed in Normandy and the Netherlands. The headquarters consisted of thirteen concrete blockhouses. These protected the occupiers against air strikes and chemical weapons. German soldiers with small arms and machine guns controlled physical access to the bunkers. During Allied planning for Operation Overlord, the actual date of D-Day needed to be kept secret, but the Allies depended on cooperation with the French Resistance. On 1 June 1944, a message was broadcast over...