The part of the blockhouse that you can see is only 10% of its surface area. Almost entirely underground, the command post of the Graf Spee battery is one of the largest bunkers in the region. 

Set over five floors and with 500 sqm of exhibitions, the one-way circuit begins beneath the reception, in the quarters of the 25 soldiers who defended the position.  In rooms restored to exactly how they were then, discover what everyday life was like on the Atlantic Wall, through captivatingly realistic decors.

The subsequent levels immerse you in the atmosphere of the war years in Brittany: blitzkrieg, Stalags, occupation, Free France, collaboration, Resistance, fighting for Brest, liberation, and so on. Numerous anecdotes make this a moving encounter with the men and women who experienced the war, right here.

Return to the daylight on the level of the observation stations and panoramic viewpoint, offering unique views of the entrance to Brest harbour, from the Presqu’île de Crozon to Ouessant.

The tour ends with a walk around the site, where visitors can see the other short-range defence blockhouses, together with a variety of impressive equipment.

Sources: ©Musée Mémoires 39-45

Tourist office: Boulevard de la Mer, Plougonvelin - Tel.: +33 (0)2 98 48 25 94

The new visitor circuit presents the important strategic issues for the department of the Ain in the Second World War, situating them within the regional, national and European context.

Interspersed with personal accounts, the exhibition also reflects on the engagement of local men and women, charting their struggle against the German occupiers and Vichy regime to restore the Republic and freedom. It also sheds new light on the repression and persecution of civilians, Resistance members and Jews in the Ain.

Imbued with the spirits of its Resistance and deportee founders, the museum questions the construction of remembrance post-1945 and its contemporary uses. Through the history of the Ain, it is the France of the years 1939-45 that is revealed.

Sources : ©Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l’Ain - ©Agathe GAUBERT

Office de Tourisme Haut-Bugey, Nantua - Tel.: +33 (0)4 74 12 11 57

 Founded in 1992 by former members of the Resistance, eager to pass on the memory of all those who fought for liberation and for victory over Nazi barbarity, the museum takes visitors on a journey through the history of the Second World War in the department. Drawing on rich archives, the exhibition sheds light on specific features of the Ardèche Resistance: underground presses, pamphlet distribution, parachute drops and acts of sabotage. The museum’s founding organisation defines its purpose as follows: “Our museum is not dedicated to any unit, movement or leader in particular, but to the Resistance, which was a collective effort.”

 Located in the commune of Le Teil, the museum tells the story of the Resistance across the department. It is therefore not a local history museum, although the local Resistance is mentioned. Similarly, although references are made to links with other departments, the museum is devoted above all to the particularities of the Ardèche Resistance, and its role in the liberation of the department.

The archive put together by the museum’s founding organisation was registered with the departmental archives, then, in 1996, donated to the department. Catalogued under number 70J, it can be consulted by anyone wishing to research the history of the Second World War in the Ardèche. The archive continues to grow as a result of regular donations and collections.   

The museum has been run since 2010 by the Rhône-Helvie community of communes which, in 2017, became the Ardèche Rhône Coiron community of communes. It is maintained by the Ardèche departmental authority and the commune of Le Teil. It offers a varied cultural programme and a learning programme for schools.

2017 programmation

- Learning programme: workshops, self-guided tours with a specially designed questionnaire, help with preparing for the Concours national de la Résistance et de la Déportation (a competition for middle- and high-school students) and the loan of touring exhibitions. All activities for school students are free (regardless of age group or the geographical location of the educational establishment concerned).

Sources : © Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation en Ardèche

Office de tourisme - Place Pierre Semard, 07400 Le Teil - Tél.: 04 75 49 10 46

The museum charts the history of the French volunteers who, thanks to Kieffer’s tenacity, were able to join the British commandos and take part in a number of operations alongside them. It focuses in particular on their training at the Achnacarry camp in Scotland and how they landed on the beach of Colleville-sur-Orne (present-day Colleville-Montgomery) with No 4 Commando, captured Ouistreham casino and liberated the town, joined up with British paratroopers at Pegasus Bridge, Bénouville, then installed themselves in Amfreville, all in the same day, 6 June 1944. They went on to fight in the Battle of Normandy until late August 1944, then in Belgium and the Netherlands.

All the pieces displayed in the museum are authentic, and most of the equipment and uniforms were donated by the families of the British and French commandos.

A scale model measuring 3.60 m x 1.10 m helps visitors to picture the landing at Colleville-sur-Orne and the capture of Ouistreham casino.

A 26-minute film (with English subtitles), comprised of documents and footage from the time, shows in particular the troops training at Achnacarry.

Exhibited in large display cases are many uniforms and weapons used in the conflict, including some very rare pieces.

Most of the objects and photographs are labelled in French, English and German.

This museum was founded in order to:

• explain what the commandos were and what they accomplished; and

• make sure their memory and example live on.

This poem says it all:

Tribute to the Kieffer Commando
(to the 177 commandos and their comrades-in-arms)
Commandos, an emblem of hope
flapping in the wind toward the sky of France,
You begin a hymn of deliverance
that echoes through the villages of France.
(...)

Claude Blin

The complete poem by Claude Blin is available at the No 4 Commando Museum

Sources : ©Musée N° 4 Commando

After visiting the battlefield of Verdun, whose scars still visible 100 years on remind us of the horrors of war, a visit to the World Centre for Peace is a must. A symbol of the Great War, Verdun as the “Capital of Peace” offers a better understanding of how a regional crisis can deteriorate into a major conflict, how Franco-German relations have succeeded in overcoming the horror and the hatred born of the conflicts, how day after day the protection of human rights and freedoms is the best defence against a crazy world capable of the worst acts of destruction and madness.

Visitors will appreciate the outstanding charm of Verdun’s Episcopal Palace, a listed building from the 18th century, which for the past 30 years has been home to the Centre Mondial de la Paix, des Libertés et des Droits de l’Homme. In the 18th-century gardens, which can be visited free of charge, you can see a section of the Berlin Wall and discover its history, as well as enjoy one of the finest views of the town of Verdun.

The Centre presents a number of permanent exhibitions, on such varied themes as the First World War, Franco-German relations, contemporary conflicts and human rights.

Schoolchildren will enjoy the activity packs and workshops prepared by the education team and Canopé Meuse, while the scientifically inclined will be fascinated by the centre of excellence in First World War and Franco-German remembrance, which is the result of close cooperation between the different organisations housed in the Centre. 

Visitors will love the shop, with its more than 500 books to suit all ages.

Intended from the outset as a meeting place, the Centre Mondial de la Paix, founded in the presence of the UN Secretary-General, hosts a large number of events in its function rooms (which seat 20 to 300 people and include a film room). Conferences, film club, book fair... Not a week goes by without an event, usually with free admission to the public.

Since mid-April 2016, a group accommodation capacity of 56 beds means that parties visiting Verdun have somewhere to stay.

Sources: ©Centre Mondial de la Paix, des libertés et des droits de l’Homme

Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, entre Haute-Loire et Ardèche, le Chambon-sur-Lignon et les villages alentours ont accueilli et aidé de nombreux réfugiés, la plupart juifs pourchassés dans une Europe sous le joug nazi. C’est pour transmettre les valeurs d’humanité et d’engagement qui ont permis ce sauvetage à grande échelle que le Lieu de Mémoire a ouvert en juin 2013.

Un Lieu de mémoire, d’histoire et d’éducation :

Le parcours historique s’organise autour des différentes formes de résistances : civile, spirituelle et armée. Il est complété par une salle mémorielle où des écrans tactiles permettent de visionner des témoignages de sauveteurs, réfugiés et résistants. Les outils multimédias facilitent la compréhension des événements, même pour les plus jeunes.

Le Service éducatif du Lieu de Mémoire propose toute l’année des visites et des ateliers pédagogiques adaptés aux différents niveaux scolaires. Pour les élèves, c’est l’occasion d’aborder la Seconde Guerre mondiale sous un angle différent. ?Catalogue pédagogique en lien

Sources : ©Lieu de Mémoire au Chambon-sur-Lignon - ©Luc Olivier – MDDT43

* A slice of history

Devoted to the regional Resistance, the Musée de la Résistance in Bondues aspires to pass on the intellectual and moral heritage of Resistance fighters in the Nord region, and to recall the universal scope of their struggle.

The permanent exhibition, devised by a team of former Resistance members and teachers, aims to be as educational as possible. Comprising five rooms, structured around the Resistance values of memory, refusal, courage, engagement and sacrifice,

it introduces visitors to the motives, methods and organisation of the regional Resistance in 1940-44.

The museum also offers specific activities and temporary exhibitions exploring other aspects of the Resistance and occupation (e.g. war caricatures, virtual exhibition on racial persecution, exhibition on resistance during the First World War).

* A duty of care

For museum staff, preserving and respecting the spirit of these Resistance fighters also means perceiving the resonances with the contemporary world.   This duty of care is all the more important because, ever since its founding, the Musée de la Résistance has worked in partnership with Lille education authority and carries out educational outreach work with schoolchildren across the region. In this context, each year the museum receives more than 3 000 pupils, 70% of them from middle schools (ages 11 to 15).

* A concern for scientific rigour

The partnership with the education department found concrete expression in 1998, with the setting up of an education service run by a history teacher, which was assigned the task of helping middle and high-school pupils prepare for the Concours National de la Résistance et de la Déportation competition. The museum also works regularly with the IRHiS (Institute of Historical Research of the North - University of Lille III), organising biennial symposia on an agreed theme: Representations and memories of the Resistance (2012), The purge following the Second World War (2014), Culture, occupation and resistance in Belgium and northern France (2016).

The museum collections

* The paper archives:

These comprise posters (Vichy propaganda and orders of the regional authorities, notices of execution and prohibition issued by the German authorities), magazines and publications, letters from the German command, underground newspapers and pamphlets, identity papers, family photographs and personal documents of Resistance members, letters and certificates of Resistance membership.

* The objects:

The preserved objects include German, British, American and French weapons from the two world wars, German uniforms, wirelesses, printing equipment for underground newspapers, armbands of Resistance groups, everyday objects belonging to deportees, medals and flags.

The archive collection is open by arrangement to students, researchers and any individual visitors wishing to view it.

The museum also has a documentary collection comprising video footage and memoirs of people who lived through the war, and books and historical research published after the war. It is expanded every year with new acquisitions.

A large part of our collections is promoted via the website www.memoire14-45.eu

Sources: ©Musée de la Résistance de Bondues

The organisation

Founded in 1997, the organisation behind the project to set up an Arles and Area Resistance and Deportation Centre (CRDA) has three aims:

- Promote the research, collection and conservation of any documents concerning the period 1939-45 in the Arles area, and collect personal accounts from Resistance fighters and/or deportees.

- Share local history of the Second World War, through educational activities for school groups and cultural events for the general public.

- Through that history, encourage people to think about the republican values championed by the Resistance: liberty, democracy and human rights.

The project

Made accessible to the young by the very way it is presented, the project of the Arles Area Resistance and Deportation Centre demonstrates a desire to establish a link between past and present, by recalling that democracy should never be taken for granted and citizenship and human rights must be defended everywhere, every day.

The centre’s goal is to encourage people to reflect on the ideologies and ways of thinking that can lead to dictatorship, fascism and the stigmatisation of certain groups.

The future CRDA’s permanent exhibition will be structured around five themes, in addition to an introduction and conclusion: the Vichy regime and occupation; resistance; repression and deportation; liberation; and the legacy of the Resistance.

Resource centre

The CRDA’s collections comprise:

- over 3 000 books, classified by theme;

- archives (pamphlets, posters, administrative reports, extracts of correspondence, etc.) and a photographic collection obtained from private sources, which are concerned with the history of the Second World War in the Arles area (36 communes);

- documentation;

- audiovisual documents (eyewitness accounts, papers, songs, etc.);

- collections of objects relating to daily life (wireless sets, school materials, etc.), the Resistance (underground printers, radio equipment, containers for parachute drops, weapons), occupation (Nazi armbands, German helmets) and the battles of liberation (weapons, clothing, etc.).

Learning activities

Approved by the education ministry, the organisation offers a series of educational activities about the Second World War in the Arles area, for primary, middle and high-school students.

These activities mostly involve a local perspective and use a range of media (living eyewitnesses, collections and archives, guided tours, educational workshops).

Cultural programme

The future centre’s cultural programme is already structured around two main events:

- The Journées de la Mémoire. In February and March each year, the organisation puts on a temporary exhibition on the themes of resistance and deportation. This involves carrying out new research into local history, and enriching and developing the organisation’s collections.  The ‘Remembrance Days’ are brought to life by a whole series of cultural events (concerts, films, conferences, talks, etc.) for a varied audience, organised in partnership with the town’s different cultural organisations.

- The Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie. Since 2013, in the summer season, the future CRDA’s exhibition spaces have hosted photographic displays on themes relating to peace, freedom and human rights, with the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie.

Sources: © Centre de la Résistance et de la Déportation d’Arles et du pays d’Arles