The American Lee Miller photographed the liberation of Saint-Malo, a retrospective is dedicated to her

As part of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Saint-Malo, an exhibition event has just opened at the Victory Chapel located within the walls. It presents 54 exceptional photographic prints made by Lee Miller (1907-1977). A fashion photographer in the United States from 1939 to 1944, who became a war correspondent for Vogue magazine, she arrived at Omaha Beach, in Normandy, on August 12, 1944, accredited by the American army. Lee Miller arrives in Saint-Malo on August 13 in a besieged city. The Nazis still hold Intra-Muros, Grand Bé, the island of Cézembre as well as the city of Alet, one of the most fortified fortresses of the Atlantic Wall.

Equipped with a Rolleiflex

While the fighting is violent, she is the only reporter on site. “The only photographer for miles around, I now owned my personal war“, said Lee Miller. The American will serve as an interpreter with the civilian populations, because she speaks French well after having lived in Paris for several years. With the help of the GIs, she will follow the evolution of the American troops who liberate the city district by district and the fate of the refugees leaving a devastated city. So many moments of History that she immortalized with her Rolleiflex, the first compact and lightweight cameras. Her photographs were published in British Vogue. number is presented in the exhibition.

Testimonies for History

Whether you are from Saint-Malo or a visitor, this exhibition allows you to realize the scale of the siege of Saint-Malo and the deep scars that he provoked in the population. The human toll was heavy with more than 500 dead and more than 85% of the city was destroyed. The reconstruction will be long. The cathedral did not regain its spire until 1972. As for Lee Miller, she continued to produce war photo reports, particularly during the liberation of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps. After the war, she worked for another six years for Vogue, mainly for the fashion and celebrity pages. Suffering from post-traumatic stress linked to the violent scenes she witnessed, Lee Miller died in 1977 at her home in England.

The exhibition “Lee Miller, Saint-Malo under siege August 13-17, 1944” lasts until September 29, 2024 at the Victory Chapel every day from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Full price: six euros, free for under 26s.