People of Western Europe speech

The "People of Western Europe" speech was made by Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the run-up to the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

A British, American and Canadian Allied Expeditionary Force landed in northern France on June 6, 1944 to begin the liberation of Western Europe from occupation by Nazi Germany.

Eisenhower promises that those who collaborated with Nazi Germany will be removed from power and states that Frenchmen, selected by the populace, will be placed in charge of the civil government of France after liberation.

However, Robert E. Sherwood of the psychological warfare division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) raised concerns with the wording of one section of the recorded speech.

Rives considers that the frustration and fatigue that Eisenhower was experiencing at this time can be discerned in his speech, which is notably different from the upbeat tone of the order of the day recording.

This event began with the American landings at around 6.30am Central European Summer Time (CEST) and was confirmed to SHAEF headquarters by a radioman broadcasting the codeword "TOPFLIGHT".

[8] German radio stations in Berlin had been broadcasting the news of the invasion since 6.33 am (12.33 am Eastern War Time in New York) but American media could not confirm this and warned that the messages could be false.