:00:10. > :00:22.The sacrifice of the service men and women are remembered in the 70th
:00:23. > :00:27.anniversary of the D-Day landings. World leaders and
:00:28. > :00:28.anniversary of the D-Day landings. point in the
:00:29. > :00:32.anniversary of the D-Day landings. marks the beginning of the end of
:00:33. > :00:41.Hitler. You that whenever the world make you cynical, don't doubt that
:00:42. > :00:52.courage and goodness is possible. On the sidelines of this commemoration,
:00:53. > :00:55.present-day troubles are confronted with the leaders of Russia and
:00:56. > :01:02.Ukraine meeting. There's been a bomb attack
:01:03. > :01:04.on the convoy of the Afghan presidential frontrunner,
:01:05. > :01:06.Abdullah Abdullah, in Kabul. Six people are reported to have been
:01:07. > :01:08.killed There have been clashes
:01:09. > :01:11.in the Golden Temple in Amritsar in northern India, the holiest
:01:12. > :01:14.shrine of the Sikh religion. Several people were injured
:01:15. > :01:34.as rival factions fought with June the sick, 1944, the beaches of
:01:35. > :01:42.Normandy were the scene of much bloodshed. -- six.
:01:43. > :01:46.It was when Allied forces began landing in Normandy in northern
:01:47. > :01:50.France in what was the largest amphibious invasion in history. It
:01:51. > :01:58.was a gamble, but it turned the tide of the Second World War. World
:01:59. > :02:02.leaders and veterans are being -- have been paying tribute to service
:02:03. > :02:09.men and women and the sacrifices they made.
:02:10. > :02:16.The winner the D-Day beaches. -- dawn.
:02:17. > :02:20.Where some of those who survived and grew old remembered the many who did
:02:21. > :02:28.not. At the Commonwealth war cemetery
:02:29. > :02:32.other graves of more than 4000 young men, mostly British, who died on
:02:33. > :02:40.D-Day or in the weeks of fighting that followed. As the Queen arrived
:02:41. > :02:41.to lead the tribute of Britain and the Commonwealth, aircraft from the
:02:42. > :03:00.Second World War through past overhead. Wreaths were laid at the
:03:01. > :03:03.stone of remembrance. We Shell not grow old as those that are left grow
:03:04. > :03:34.old. We will remember them. The veterans had been seated amongst
:03:35. > :03:38.the headstones upon which the inscriptions which have lost none of
:03:39. > :03:44.their emotional impact with the passing of the years. They are the
:03:45. > :03:53.tribute of families, mothers, wives, the men who gave their lives
:03:54. > :03:57.so that a continent might be free. After the service, the Queen joined
:03:58. > :04:01.the veterans, she mingled and chatted, a monarch from the same
:04:02. > :04:07.wartime generation sharing memories with those who have fought in the
:04:08. > :04:13.name of her father. -- had thought. At Omaha Beach lies the huge
:04:14. > :04:19.military Cemetery of the United States of America. There are nearly
:04:20. > :04:22.10,000 graves here, a reminder of the ferocious resistance the
:04:23. > :04:29.Americans faced at Omaha Beach and of a time when the New World
:04:30. > :04:33.sacrificed so much blood for the old. President Obama said that what
:04:34. > :04:38.the Allied troops had achieved on what he called this tiny sliver of
:04:39. > :04:47.sand and determine the course of history. Whenever the world makes
:04:48. > :04:51.you cynical, whenever you doubt that courage and goodness is possible,
:04:52. > :04:58.think of these men along with all of our veterans. If you can stand,
:04:59. > :05:03.please do, if you cannot, please raise your hand, these men waged war
:05:04. > :05:12.so that we might know peace. They sacrificed so that we might be free.
:05:13. > :05:16.We are grateful to them. On Sword Beach, the heads of state
:05:17. > :05:22.and heads of Government assembled for the official commemoration.
:05:23. > :05:27.Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel was greeted with warm applause and
:05:28. > :05:32.then a reminder of today's diplomatic difficulties. Over
:05:33. > :05:35.lunch, Russia's Putin and Obama had their first face-to-face discussion
:05:36. > :05:41.about Ukraine as they watched the men -- and events on Sword Beach,
:05:42. > :05:53.they were cut up side-by-side on screens.
:05:54. > :05:59.Then something else unexpected, a video and dramatic re-enactment of
:06:00. > :06:04.the Second World War compete with explicit reference of the natty
:06:05. > :06:08.brutality and the Holocaust. This is one anniversary where even the most
:06:09. > :06:17.sensitive issues are being dealt with openly. -- Nazi brutality.
:06:18. > :06:22.Above all, this day has been for the veterans, many frail now, it is time
:06:23. > :06:25.to pass the stories of what they did to new generations. So this
:06:26. > :06:32.afternoon Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge joined a group
:06:33. > :06:41.of the dish veterans at a key party. -- British veterans. In the centre
:06:42. > :06:50.of the town of Arromanches, all soldiers paraded for a future king.
:06:51. > :06:52.It was a chance for them to remember so many friends who never made it
:06:53. > :07:12.home. It was a chance for us to express
:07:13. > :07:24.our gratitude for so much sacrifice. The Soviet Union under Stalin played
:07:25. > :07:27.a key role in defeating the Nazis. It provided an opportunity for
:07:28. > :07:32.President Putin to hold direct talks with a newly elected Ukrainian
:07:33. > :07:38.president Petro Poroshenko. That meeting was facilitated by the
:07:39. > :07:42.German chancellor. The Kremlin says the Russian and Ukrainian leaders
:07:43. > :07:46.called for a swift and of the bloodshed and military actions in
:07:47. > :07:50.eastern Ukraine. D-Day was the beginning of the end
:07:51. > :07:56.of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. The defeat of Germany resulted in
:07:57. > :08:03.the spirit of the country into East and West. 70 years on, how is the
:08:04. > :08:08.battle remembered in present-day Germany? Stephen Evans have -- has
:08:09. > :08:13.been speaking to one German soldier about being on the other side of the
:08:14. > :08:18.D-Day landings. He was the first German soldier to
:08:19. > :08:23.face the D-Day invasion. He was at the bridge when the first airborne
:08:24. > :08:27.British troops landed in gliders. Pegasus Bridge was crucial, Allied
:08:28. > :08:33.planners wanted it captured to stop German reinforcements arriving when
:08:34. > :08:44.the landings happened. He was on guard. TRANSLATION: I was the first
:08:45. > :08:53.to notice when the gliders and troops landed. I fired a flare. This
:08:54. > :09:02.was how the invasion started. It was all I did. D-Day was the big step in
:09:03. > :09:07.the defeat of Nazi Germany. If you want to know how total that defeat
:09:08. > :09:09.was, coming here to the Nazi nerve centre, Hitler's bunker, flattened
:09:10. > :09:26.today. Nothing more than a car park. At the time, Berliners read about
:09:27. > :09:30.D-Day, Hitler slept late, but that was not in the papers and then
:09:31. > :09:36.welcomed the invasion because it's brought the enemy closer. Today,
:09:37. > :09:41.D-Day is not marked much in Germany. According to the military's chief
:09:42. > :09:46.historian. It never had the same significance
:09:47. > :09:54.which it had in Britain or the US or even in France. Because it did
:09:55. > :10:02.indeed remind us not only of a defeat, but of war crimes. There is
:10:03. > :10:04.a footnote. The captured German soldier is grateful to
:10:05. > :10:09.a footnote. The captured German and Canadians for his time in a
:10:10. > :10:18.prisoner of war camp. He was taught English and entertained, he said it
:10:19. > :10:22.was like a holiday camp. As those ceremonies were taking
:10:23. > :10:26.place, many of those taking part said how much they hoped that the
:10:27. > :10:30.Second World War would never be forgotten by their children and
:10:31. > :10:33.grandchildren. We have been finding out what the pupils of one school in
:10:34. > :10:48.Staffordshire made of D-Day. In the heart of Staffordshire, among
:10:49. > :10:53.the trees, 300 miles from the Normandy beaches, a service of
:10:54. > :10:58.commemoration. Some came to the national memorial to remember, some
:10:59. > :11:02.to learn of the sacrifice of a number generation. That sacrifice is
:11:03. > :11:07.something pupils of this school were discussing today. I want to talk
:11:08. > :11:15.about why it is still important today. White is still important to
:11:16. > :11:19.remember the veterans who fought. It is extraordinary to think that the
:11:20. > :11:23.youngest known British casualty of the Second World War was a boil on a
:11:24. > :11:33.Merchant Navy ship who was 14 years old, the same age as some of its
:11:34. > :11:37.class. -- a boy on a. Today's society would not have that
:11:38. > :11:51.courage, because people think of teenagers as being on the racks box,
:11:52. > :11:57.but they went out. -- X box. If someone said there is a war going
:11:58. > :12:02.on, can you come and help? I would just be thinking, what is going on?
:12:03. > :12:05.But they did not have much detail and they just went and did what they
:12:06. > :12:15.had to do and hats off to them, they get it. -- hatss off to them.
:12:16. > :12:18.Whatever the doubts of their own generation's courage, these
:12:19. > :12:26.youngsters are proof that the sacrifice made by so many 70 years
:12:27. > :12:28.ago will be remembered. I have been joined here in the
:12:29. > :12:32.studio to With me is Thomas Kielinger ,
:12:33. > :12:35.the London correspondent And joining us from the BBC's studio
:12:36. > :12:40.in Oxford is Gary Sheffield, a professor of war studies
:12:41. > :12:49.from Wolverhampton University. we now know that D-Day was a turning
:12:50. > :12:53.point in the Second World War, but actually it was a bit of a gamble
:12:54. > :12:59.and a costly endeavour in both lives and money.
:13:00. > :13:06.Yes, it was. It was certainly not a given that D-Day would succeed.
:13:07. > :13:08.Anything as risky as that, a huge amphibious operation with supporting
:13:09. > :13:17.aircraft, things could have gone wrong. In the end, I think it was a
:13:18. > :13:23.measure of luck, superiority in terms of material, and the sheer
:13:24. > :13:31.courage of the people involved which made sure that D-Day was successful.
:13:32. > :13:41.Thomas, we look back at it as a success. But you don't look at it in
:13:42. > :13:44.the same way in Germany. It is something that Germans wants to
:13:45. > :13:53.forget as they were fighting on the wrong side, as it were? Absolutely.
:13:54. > :14:01.But don't forget that we have been going through World War I recently,
:14:02. > :14:09.there have been new books on who was guilty for the start of the war on
:14:10. > :14:14.Germany has been, to some extent, not only the only force that started
:14:15. > :14:21.it. We haven't quite got and onto the Second World War. That'll come
:14:22. > :14:24.in September when the 75 year anniversary comes. Altogether,
:14:25. > :14:32.Germany is not too happy looking back at war events. We didn't cover
:14:33. > :14:37.ourselves in glory, to put it mildly, and we were the vanquished.
:14:38. > :14:42.Although our soldiers fought and it is generally recognised with great
:14:43. > :14:45.valour, they spent all their virtues on the wrong side and the wrong
:14:46. > :14:58.course, which is a terrible heritage. Professor Sheffield, it
:14:59. > :15:03.helps shape the modern day as we know it, World War II, and even in a
:15:04. > :15:09.country like Britain, it ushered in the world Betamax welfare state, so
:15:10. > :15:17.it had a massive impact. -- ushered in the welfare state. But the
:15:18. > :15:23.younger population as a whole are aware of what World War II means, do
:15:24. > :15:26.you think? I would like to pick up on what you think? I would like to
:15:27. > :15:29.pick up on what your other contributors said. The idea that
:15:30. > :15:33.Germany was not responsible for the outbreak of the First World War is
:15:34. > :15:39.certainly true, Austria Hungary was to a great extent, but the idea that
:15:40. > :15:43.Germany was not the primary mover in the First World War is something I
:15:44. > :15:48.would slightly disagree with. We can't go down that line too much.
:15:49. > :15:57.But we need to see the two world wars as effectively a single
:15:58. > :16:01.conflict with a 20 year truce. I am not telling a story on what to
:16:02. > :16:06.think, but at the end of World War I the conditions in Germany gave rise
:16:07. > :16:09.to fascism because of the way that Germany was dealt with after the
:16:10. > :16:13.First World War, treated very differently after the end of the
:16:14. > :16:22.Second World War, lots of money going into West Germany, in
:16:23. > :16:26.particular. At the end of the Second World War, Germany was treated far
:16:27. > :16:29.more harshly. The Nazi state was completely destroyed and two more
:16:30. > :16:32.states built on the remains. The end of the First World War, there is
:16:33. > :16:36.absolutely no reason why the Treaty of Versailles couldn't have been
:16:37. > :16:40.made to stick. Let's bring this a bit more towards today. The point I
:16:41. > :16:43.was making, after World War II, a lot of money of course went into
:16:44. > :16:49.Germany, which was devastated and so on, but it is what West Germany
:16:50. > :16:54.built its subsequent economic miracle success on. This is the
:16:55. > :16:57.point that we like to look at with a certain amount of pride, Angela
:16:58. > :17:01.Merkel and the group session of world leaders reminds us of the way
:17:02. > :17:07.we have come since 1945 and how we have rebuilt our country with due
:17:08. > :17:13.process and liberty and justice for all, which has become a recognised
:17:14. > :17:18.and valued member, Germany, in the community of nations. Because your
:17:19. > :17:21.institutions were all reformed after the Second World War, land reform,
:17:22. > :17:25.trade unions and that sort of thing. Yes, we called it re-education but
:17:26. > :17:29.it was really reinvigoration of the idea of Western liberty that really
:17:30. > :17:33.rescued Germany and put it on the path to recovery. That picture of
:17:34. > :17:38.world leaders now, with Germany stood on the other side of that, is
:17:39. > :17:41.a very reassuring sort of re-imagination for the modern day.
:17:42. > :17:44.That is the aspect we rather like about this commemoration. The war
:17:45. > :17:51.itself does not fill us with any pride, obviously, and we try not to
:17:52. > :17:54.think about that too much. Professor Sheffield, your reflection on the
:17:55. > :17:58.commemorations in Normandy, what is your take on that? I think it is a
:17:59. > :18:04.very timely reminder of the sheer sacrifice made by men and women to
:18:05. > :18:11.liberate Europe, and also, I think it is worth bearing in mind what
:18:12. > :18:15.that impact has on the world today. I absolutely agree, Germany has been
:18:16. > :18:23.rebuilt into a new model, and of course, it is now firmly locked into
:18:24. > :18:27.the European community of nations. But it is easy for us to reflect on
:18:28. > :18:30.what might have been. Personally, I actually think that if D-Day had
:18:31. > :18:36.failed, Germany would still have been defeated, but pretty much
:18:37. > :18:39.solely by the soviet union. Moving away from Germany, the
:18:40. > :18:44.commemorations, you think they are striking the right chord? In your
:18:45. > :18:48.view, what are we remembering 70 years later, this tremendous
:18:49. > :18:52.sacrifice by service men and women? I think we are remembering the way
:18:53. > :18:57.in which Europe was diverted from a very dark path indeed into something
:18:58. > :19:00.which, for all the faults of the world since 1945, has been much
:19:01. > :19:07.better. We should actually remember those men and women who made that
:19:08. > :19:12.happen. Thomas, yes. The commemoration of the heroism and the
:19:13. > :19:15.courage to land in the face of machine gun fire from on high is
:19:16. > :19:19.absolutely almost unconscionable. It is very hard to imagine how a modern
:19:20. > :19:23.generation would deal with it. Although I think that the parallels
:19:24. > :19:27.would be quite wrong, you cannot compare then and now. If there were
:19:28. > :19:31.a situation which could ask for the ultimate sacrifice, the modern
:19:32. > :19:34.generation would also find in themselves the courage and virtue to
:19:35. > :19:39.apply themselves and commit themselves if it is worth fighting.
:19:40. > :19:44.But those were horrible days, and only a huge effort and sacrifice,
:19:45. > :19:50.through heroism and dedication, made this possible. We can only bow our
:19:51. > :19:54.heads before them. Thomas, I want to ask you, because I asked Professor
:19:55. > :19:57.Sheffield about the younger generation. Out of younger
:19:58. > :20:00.generation of Germans see this? Popular culture has kept the
:20:01. > :20:04.nastiness, the evil of the Nazis very much alive, through films we
:20:05. > :20:10.have of the Second World War and so on. Do they feel in some way that
:20:11. > :20:14.that has led to a kind of current demonisation of Germans today? Not
:20:15. > :20:19.really, but the thing is, we are very much aware of the past. It has
:20:20. > :20:23.been expunged from our system, as it were. Germany has very valiantly
:20:24. > :20:27.looked it in the face and read itself of it, but it is still with
:20:28. > :20:31.us. On certain days, when we commemorate what was done by Hitler
:20:32. > :20:36.to the Jews and two other minorities in Germany and so on. That casts a
:20:37. > :20:40.shadow over the attempt of young generations to rebuild a natural,
:20:41. > :20:43.unselfconscious patriotism, which is still very difficult to rebuild in
:20:44. > :20:50.Germany because of the weight of the past and what went RIA in our
:20:51. > :20:55.history. We are a country of disk annuity, and while we have rebuilt
:20:56. > :21:00.the country, we cannot escape the horror of what happened in our name.
:21:01. > :21:06.Thomas Kielinger and Gary Sheffield, thank you very much indeed.
:21:07. > :21:09.In other news, the frontrunner in Afghanistan's presidential election,
:21:10. > :21:13.Abdullah Abdullah, has survived a bomb attack in trouble. Six people
:21:14. > :21:17.are reported killed and more than a dozen injured. Mr Abdullah said two
:21:18. > :21:24.explosions struck his convoy as it was leading a campaign event in the
:21:25. > :21:28.capital. Our reporter has this. The attack happened as Doctor
:21:29. > :21:33.Abdullah left an election rally. A suicide attacker drove his vehicle,
:21:34. > :21:38.packed with explosives, at the armoured convoy belonging to Doctor
:21:39. > :21:42.Abdullah and his presidential running mate. The blast was so
:21:43. > :21:48.powerful it destroyed vehicles, and shattered windows in nearby shops
:21:49. > :21:53.and houses. Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital. Most of those
:21:54. > :21:55.killed were civilians. A police man and one of Doctor Abdullah's
:21:56. > :22:04.bodyguards were also among the casualties. TRANSLATION: The convoy
:22:05. > :22:07.of Doctor Abdullah Abdullah and his deputy was attacked by a suicide
:22:08. > :22:15.bomber. Fortunately, they were not harmed. Despite the attack, Doctor
:22:16. > :22:16.Abdullah has continued with a full schedule of election rallies across
:22:17. > :22:28.Coble. -- Campbell. There have been violent clashes at
:22:29. > :22:31.the Golden Temple in Amritsar in northern India, the holiest shrine
:22:32. > :22:35.of the Sikh religion. Several people were injured as rival factions
:22:36. > :22:38.fought with ceremonial swords. This comes on the 30th anniversary of the
:22:39. > :22:46.storming of the temple by the Indian army, as Andrew North reports.
:22:47. > :22:52.Seeks fighting each other inside their holiest place, the Golden
:22:53. > :23:00.Temple. Swords and polls meant for ceremony became weapons once more.
:23:01. > :23:06.They had gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of an Indian army
:23:07. > :23:09.assault on separatist Sikhs who took control of the complex, but today's
:23:10. > :23:13.mourners ended up battling each other over competing visions of
:23:14. > :23:18.their future. The violence was triggered by a group calling for
:23:19. > :23:21.independence for Sikhs, who were prevented from talking. It was that
:23:22. > :23:24.independence for Sikhs, who were demand that underpinned the turmoil
:23:25. > :23:30.30 years ago, leading to some of India's worst violence since
:23:31. > :23:33.independence. India's then Prime Minister in direct and he was
:23:34. > :23:38.assassinated in revenge for ordering the attack on the Golden Temple. But
:23:39. > :23:42.thousands of Sikhs were in turn massacred, with members of Mrs
:23:43. > :23:48.Gandhi's Congress party widely accused of complicity. This latest
:23:49. > :23:55.clash is a sign that winds of 30 years ago have still not healed.
:23:56. > :24:01.And now, some of the day's the news in brief. Thousands of mourners had
:24:02. > :24:07.gathered in the northern Nigerian city of Khan over the funeral of the
:24:08. > :24:11.in ear who died earlier today. The 83-year-old ruler was an outspoken
:24:12. > :24:14.critic of the militant group Boko Haram, and one of Nigeria's most
:24:15. > :24:17.prominent and revered Muslim leaders.
:24:18. > :24:20.prominent and revered Muslim The head of the International
:24:21. > :24:24.Monetary Fund has said she is not a candidate for the presidency of the
:24:25. > :24:27.European Union. Christine Lagard says she intends to complete her
:24:28. > :24:30.term at the IMF. Her comments come amid divisions over who should get
:24:31. > :24:33.the commission post. Police in Canada have arrested a man
:24:34. > :24:39.suspected of shooting dead three police officers and wounding three
:24:40. > :24:45.others in the city of Monkton. Officers say he was arrested without
:24:46. > :24:48.incident, unarmed, but with weapons nearby. During the manhunt, police
:24:49. > :24:54.warned residents to stay Upper Street.
:24:55. > :24:58.From the church choir to international pop stardom, a none
:24:59. > :25:07.has won Italy's version of the TV talent contest the voice.
:25:08. > :25:16.For the 25-year-old, she has won a record contract with Universal Moral
:25:17. > :25:23.Trouble After Becoming A Global Internet Sensation. The Sicilian
:25:24. > :25:27.Racks Up Thousands Of Use Youtube She Stunned The Judges With Their
:25:28. > :25:31.Version Of The Alicia Keys Song No one. She has thanked God for his
:25:32. > :25:37.victory, saying she entered the contest after following Pope
:25:38. > :25:42.Francis' appeal to bring the church closed to ordinary people. I think
:25:43. > :25:48.she has certainly done that! Now, to the Ely is a palace in Paris, and
:25:49. > :25:54.that is at the scene we are waiting for the Queen. She will arrive there
:25:55. > :26:01.for a dinner marking those commemorations of the D-Day
:26:02. > :26:06.landings. That should be happening quite soon. We will bring you more
:26:07. > :26:14.on that. I wonder if that is a car bearing a significant person.
:26:15. > :26:18.Anyway, that is the scene live at the Ely say Palace in Paris, on the
:26:19. > :26:21.day that the world paid tribute to the men and women who took part in
:26:22. > :26:48.one of the greatest events in modern times.
:26:49. > :27:07.Once again, dramatic changes afoot across the next few hours, with a
:27:08. > :27:10.combination of moisture from the Atlantic, humid air piling in from
:27:11. > :27:14.the near continent where the two come together. That is where we are
:27:15. > :27:15.likely to see some really heavy thundery downpours of