May 8 commemorates the end of World War II.

On this occasion, Europe 1 takes you to the discovery of some of the most imposing vestiges of this time: the blockhouses, built at the time by Nazi Germany.

These remains of the "Atlantic Wall" can be visited free of charge and bear witness to a not so distant history. 

REPORTAGE

A large mass of concrete that seems to come out of the sand.

If you have ever walked on the Atlantic coast, near Saint-Nazaire, you have undoubtedly noticed them without necessarily daring to enter them.

They are blockhouses, witnesses of an important part of history.

Built by Nazi Germany all along the coast, they formed what was called the "Atlantic Wall". 

While a documentary entitled "

To Each His Blockhaus

" will be broadcast Monday evening on France 3 Pays de la Loire, Europe 1 takes you, on the occasion of May 8, to discover these vestiges of the Second World War, freely and freely visitable.

"A welcoming committee for the boats"

Barely on a path that runs along the beach, the first of them appear.

"There is a whole series of them. It was a bit of the welcoming committee for any boat that wanted to enter the port of Saint-Nazaire", explains Christophe François, journalist for France 3 Pays de la Loire and author of the documentary .

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This true enthusiast, who travels through the remains of the famous "Atlantic wall", knows how to unearth the few surprises stuck between a dune and trees, such as "an armored turret which made it possible to monitor without taking projectiles".

And for good reason, "it is made of armored steel and is several tens of centimeters thick," he explains.

An unknown number of blockhouses

A rather rare object as confirmed by Christophe François.

"Usually you can't find them anymore because at the end of the war there was a need for a lot of steel and scrap metal, so there wasn't much left, including the armored doors that were cut up."

In total, hundreds, and even thousands of blockhouses - the block house in French - line the entire coastline. It is impossible to say how many exactly because no inventory has yet been officially carried out at the national level. These gigantic buildings, more or less accessible, on condition of contorting themselves a little, offer a plunge into History, in the educational mode or simply that of the stroll.