France is also ready to celebrate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In the next few days, towns on the coast will host many ceremonies and leaders from all around the world will attend the commemorations. CGTN's Stefan de Vries reports from Normandy.

It's hard to imagine that 75 years ago, these peaceful beaches in Normandy, France, were the scene of the Second World War's biggest battle. Even today, the remains of the enormous defense works built by the Nazis are still visible.

STEFAN DE VRIES NORMANDY "5,000 kilometers of bunkers, batteries and thousands and thousands of German troops were supposed to prevent an allied invasion. They called it the Atlantik Wall. Hitler was convinced that the enemy would arrive in the North of France. He neglected Normandy, so when the enemy finally arrived, it took them just a few hours to break the most important defenses."

A couple of hours before the Allies landed on the nearby beaches, American Paratroopers liberated Sainte-Mère-Eglise. It became the first free village of the French mainland. It was the beginning of the Liberation of Europe from Nazi Occupation.

JEAN QUETIER MAYOR OF SAINTE-MERE-EGLISE "At four o'clock in the morning, the American flag with its 48 stars was flying on the building behind us."

One of the American paratroopers got stuck at the local bell tower.

JEAN QUETIER MAYOR OF SAINTE-MERE-EGLISE "That night, not all jumps were very precise. Some parachutists arrived on the square of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. And two landed on the church. One of them was John Steele. His parachute got stuck on the spire. He was captured by Rudolf Mai, a German soldier who saved his life."

The movie The Longest Day made John Steele world famous. Today, a doll on top of the church honors him, and has become a major tourist attraction. Wednesday, paratroopers reenacted the massive landing that took place in the night of June 5th, 1944. Visitors from all over the world are flocking to Normandy these days. Seventy-five years after the Liberation, the number of tourists visiting the sites of D-Day is increasing. The Mayor thinks there is a link to the current geopolitical situation in the world.

JEAN QUETIER MAYOR OF SAINTE-MERE-EGLISE "When I was 20, I thought peace was forever. Now when you're 20, you don't think like that anymore, because of terrorism, because of the tense geopolitical relations, because of the complicated economic situation. Anything can happen, and the best way to preserve the future is to look at our past."

STEFAN DE VRIES NORMANDY "The 75th Anniversary of D-Day is not only a celebration of the heroes of the Liberation. It is also sending a message to the world: These horrors should never happen again. This is Stefan de Vries on the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France, for CGTN."