Organized in 1937 under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions, the International Exposition of Arts and Techniques Applied to Modern Life took place against a backdrop of particularly tense European politics. More than a cultural event, it became the stage for an ideological confrontation, notably through the monumental pavilions of the Third Reich and the USSR, erected facing each other in Paris. Between architectural demonstration and a showcase of industrial progress, the exposition reflected the rivalries and ambitions of the regimes of the time.

Operation Neptune, launched on June 6, 1944, constituted the naval and land phase of the Normandy landings as part of Operation Overlord. Nearly a million Allied soldiers participated in this decisive offensive. Among them was the young Scotsman Bill Millin, nicknamed "Piper Bill," who landed on Sword Beach playing the bagpipes, encouraged by Lord Lovat despite the official prohibition against playing them on the front lines. After the beach was secured, his brigade joined the British airborne troops at Pegasus Bridge, marking one of the most symbolic and unique episodes of D-Day.