Nazi obsession with the Bayeux Tapestry revealed by lost fragments in Germany

ladepeche.fr (French)

Two fragments of the Bayeux Tapestry, cut by Nazi scientists in 1941, have been discovered in German archives in Schleswig-Holstein, shedding new light on a little-known WWII episode. The Nazis, particularly SS chief Heinrich Himmler, studied the 11th-century masterpiece to support their Aryan supremacy ideology, linking the Norman invasion ships to Viking drakkars and Nordic heritage. The fragments were taken during "Operation Bayeux" in June 1941. In August 1944, Himmler ordered the tapestry's transfer to Berlin, but Allied advances thwarted the plan. Bayeux museums were unaware of the cuttings, calling the discovery unexpected.


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Nazi obsession with the Bayeux Tapestry revealed by lost fragments in Germany | News Minimalist