Christopher Nolan's
World War Two thriller Dunkirk hits the screens in the US and the UK this
month, dramatising the daring rescue of 300,000 Allied troops from the
approaching German army.
But as they escaped
across the English Channel, thousands of civilians were left to fend for
themselves. This is the story of one family.
It was May 1940 and
Eva Zusman, her husband Stanislas and four-year-old daughter Anita had arrived
in the Belgian beach resort of De Panne from their home in Antwerp.
They were joined by
Stanislas's father and close family. It was a holiday arranged at the last
minute to celebrate Eva's return from her hometown of Geneva, where she was
visiting her family.
German advance
De Panne was ideal for
a family summer holiday. White sandy beaches stretched as far as the eye could
see.
But the day after
their arrival on 10 May, Germany invaded Belgium, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands. For Anita - who is now 80 and living in Geneva - the news came
from a local police warden carrying a drum.
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