The Galgenberg artillery structure was built starting in 1931. Its mission was to control the Moselle Valley, and it was from its command centre that the surrounding artillery structures received their orders, which is why it was called “the Guardian of the Moselle”. Due to the firepower of the artillery at Galgenberg and the surrounding structures, the Wehrmacht did not launch any massive attacks against the sector.

Its weaponry comprises an infantry casemate (Blocks 1 and 2), a machine gun turret (Block 3) and an 81-mm turret (Block 4). Block 5 houses an observatory and Block 6 has a 135-mm turret. It could house 445 men. Four 125-horse SGCM engines ensured operations.

 

LM SFBC – Maginot Line of the Fortified Sector of the Forest of Cattenom
Allée des Platanes 57570 Cattenom

E-mail : contact@forticat.com

Find opening dates and times and practical information in the “visits” section of the website: www.forticat.com

Website dedicated to the Maginot Line

LM SFBC website

Fortweb website on European fortifications

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Situé dans l’Ain, la Maison d’Izieu perpétue le souvenir des enfants et adultes juifs qui y avaient trouvé refuge entre mai 1943 et le 6 avril 1944.

Attaché au présent et tourné vers l’avenir, le mémorial suscite la réflexion sur le crime contre l’humanité et les circonstances qui l’engendrent.

À travers l’évocation des enfants juifs d’Izieu et de leurs éducateurs, c’est contre toute forme d’intolérance et de racisme qu’il entend lutter.

En mai 1943, Sabine et Miron Zlatin, en lien avec l’Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE), installent une quinzaine d’enfants juifs à Izieu, alors en zone d’occupation italienne, ce qui les met temporairement à l’abri des poursuites antisémites.

Jusqu’en janvier 1944, date de la dernière liste du registre des présences tenu par Miron Zlatin, 105 enfants ont séjourné à la colonie d’Izieu.
Celle-ci est souvent un lieu de passage dans un réseau de sauvetage plus vaste, composé d’autres maisons, de familles d’accueil ou de filières de passage en Suisse.

Au matin du 6 avril 1944, 44 enfants, âgés de 4 à 17 ans, et 7 adultes furent raflés puis déportés sur ordre de Klaus Barbie, parce qu’ils étaient juifs. Le directeur de la colonie, M. Zlatin, ainsi que deux adolescents furent déportés vers des camps de travaux forcés en Estonie. Le reste du groupe fut déporté à Auschwitz. Seule une monitrice, Léa Feldblum, revint.

Traqué et ramené en France par Serge et Beate Klarsfeld, Klaus Barbie fut jugé et condamné à Lyon en 1987, pour crime contre l’humanité.

Au lendemain du procès, une association se crée autour de Mme Zlatin pour l’ouverture du « Musée-Mémorial des enfants d’Izieu ».

Aujourd’hui, deux bâtiments se visitent :

La maison, espace sensible d‘évocation, est dédiée à la mémoire. L'exposition y est volontairement sobre et claire.

La grange, dédiée à l’histoire, accueille une exposition de 530 m2 qui se déploie en trois thèmes : Pourquoi des enfants à Izieu ? fait découvrir au visiteur l’histoire et le parcours des enfants de la colonie . De Nuremberg à La Haye : juger les criminels propose une réflexion sur les jugements des criminels de guerre et sur les crimes contre l’humanité après 1945 . enfin, La mémoire et sa construction invite le visiteur à découvrir les mécanismes de construction de la mémoire à partir de la construction de la mémoire d’Izieu.

Visiter la Maison d’Izieu permet à tous les publics d’aborder le génocide des enfants juifs pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ainsi que l’histoire des réseaux de sauvetage qui ont cherché à soustraire ces enfants aux persécutions antisémites de la France de Vichy et de l’Allemagne nazie.

Le mémorial accueille les enfants à partir de 8 ans. Un livret de visite est remis gratuitement et permet de découvrir l'histoire des enfants d'Izieu et de parcourir le mémorial à son rythme.

Offre pédagogique :

Ateliers pour tous les niveaux scolaires, rencontres de témoins et d'artistes.

Offre tous publics :

Des visites accompagnées de la maison sont proposées tous les jours.

Visites pour les enfants en famille : mercredis des vacances scolaires (zone A), à 14h.

Audioguides en anglais, italien, espagnol et allemand.

Visites en anglais, italien, espagnol et allemand sur réservation.

Sources : ©Maison d’Izieu, mémorial des enfants juifs exterminés

Constructed between 1930 and 1935, the Immerhof is situated within the limits of the town of Hettange-Grande, 7 km to the north of Thionville. The only completely open-air fort to have been constructed on the Line, it forms part of the fortified Thionville sector, in the Fortified Region of Metz, the most powerful part of the Maginot system. It was named A10, "the Tiburce", in reference to Saint Tiburtius and also Immerhof after the name of a nearby farm. In addition to its purpose of providing fire cover with its two neighbours, Molvange and Soetrich, its role was to protect the Hettange to Grande Dudelange road and the Thionville to Luxembourg railway line. It is a fort built in four blocks, including two machine gun towers, a mixed block with infantry casemate and an 81 mm mortar tower and entrance block. At the fort's core are the living quarters required for the 198 strong company to resist a siege of up to three months: kitchen, infirmary and bedrooms etc. Its armaments consisted of two machine gun towers, Blocks 2 and 3, and an 81 mm tower, as well as an infantry casemate. It could accommodate 200 men.

Ouvrage A10 Immerhof Association "Le Tiburce" 5, rue des Sorbiers 57330 Hettange-Grande Contacts Chairman of the association sapeur@neuf.fr Webmaster of the site and member of the association richardjm@neuf.fr The fort can be visited from April to November with groups welcome all year round. Charges Individuals Adults 3.50 € Children (up to 14 years old) 1.50 € Groups (more than 10 people) Adults 3 € School groups 1.50 € Free for ex-servicemen

The history of the Aube Resistance abounds with personalities and stories. Immediately following Liberation, associations of former Resistance fighters were set up, which introduced commemorations and erected memorials to the fighting that took place in the Aube.

One such organisation, the association “Le Musée de la Résistance” was founded in 1967. Its object was to create a remembrance site for those who fought in June 1944 in the maquis of Mussy-Grancey, known as the “Montcalm maquis”, based in the forested massif between the Seine and Ource valleys. Placed under the command of Émile Alagiraude (whose code name in the Armée Secrète was Montcalm), the Montcalm maquis comprised 220 members of the FFI (French Forces of the Interior) in June 1944, at the time of the D-Day Landings, and nearly 1 200 by late July. The Resistance museum set up in Mussy-sur-Seine has its roots in the initiative of Colonel Poirier and Commander Hubert Danesini, veterans of the Armée Secrète, together with that of Gildas Bernard, Director of the Aube Departmental Archives.

Back in 1964, a touring exhibition on the Aube Resistance had been created, which presented local collections largely linked to the Mussy-Grancey maquis. Following the founding of the museum association by members of the Amicale des Combattants Volontaires de l’Armée Secrète and the Comité du Souvenir du Maquis de Mussy-Grancey, in 1967, the museum itself came into existence in 1971, in a building converted by the departmental architect, Mr Morisseau. The premises, adjoining the former gendarmerie of Mussy-sur-Seine, were loaned to the association. It was officially opened by Robert Galley on 23 May 1971, in the presence of the prefect of the Aube and the departmental councillors for Mussy and Bar-sur-Seine. After passing into the hands of the municipality in 1974, the museum became a “Musée de France” in 2002.

Today it is called the Musée de la Résistance de l’Aube. It is currently undergoing major renovation and restoration work to its building, its displays and its collections, which include equipment and clothing used by members of the maquis, deportees’ clothing, photographs, and posters linked to the Occupation or Liberation. The goal of the museum is to showcase objects and memories of the Resistance in the Aube, including other maquis (e.g. BOA, Commandos M, Libération Nord), other forms of resistance (women’s resistance, resistance outside the maquis, etc.) and other collections arising from donations or local bequests.

It is scheduled to reopen in 2021 for the general public and school visits, either as part of a cultural programme or for guided tours or unguided visits.

Website: https://museeresistanceaube.fr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/museeresistanceaube/

Instagram: @museeresistanceaube

The Atlantic Wall Museum is housed in one of the German army's seven large forts and its construction was carried out by the Todt organisation in Audinghen Cap Gris-Nez, in the Pas-de-Calais region. The history of the fort On 10 February 1942 and with great pomp, the offensive battery with casemates containing four 380 mm cannons was opened. Known initially as the Siegfried Battery, it was given the name "Todt Battery" in memory of the German construction engineer killed the previous day in an aircraft accident. Two days later on 12 February, this battery entered active service providing counter-battery fire to enable the passage of the battleships "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" and the heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" along the coast. This battery was positioned to the south of Gris-Nez, at a place called Haringzelle and constituted a formidable complex. It could fire rocket and percussion shells up to 42 kilometres. Situated at an altitude of 60 to 70 metres, depending on the position of the cannons, it could easily reach the English coast. The battery was protected by reinforced concrete boulders and defended by nine 75-barrel cannons to provide anti-aircraft cover with searchlight batteries. The personnel of the batteries (18 men and 4 officers per 380 cannon), that of the coastal and civil defence, of the two command posts set up at Le Cran Mademoiselle and the Le Cran Poulet protection Battery was 600 men. Action at the battery was heavy throughout 1942, quieter in 1943 and then considerable after 6 June 1944.

Up to 29 September 1944 There was much firing on 6 June 1944, the day of the landings. The 3rd Division of Canadian Infantry coming along the coast from Normandy, after having liberated Boulogne and surrounded Calais, finally came to attack the Todt battery, under the command of Ship of the Line ensign Klaus Momber. On 26 September 1944 the R.A.F. launched 532 bombers on Gris-Nez, followed by 302 on 28 September, dropping 855 tonnes of bombs. The attack was carried out on 29 September 1944. First, at 6.35 am there was heavy artillery fire. Then the 9th brigade of the 3rd Canadian ID attacked. The North Nova Scotia Highlanders had the task of taking the Todt battery. At 10.30 am, it was all over, with white flags appearing just about everywhere. Brigadier Rockingam sent the white flag that had floated above the Todt Battery to the mayor of Dover. The museum Dedicated to military history, the museum offers the opportunity to see several thousand collection pieces in its ten halls. Weapons, uniforms, posters, and other militaria illustrate various aspects of the Atlantic Wall. Outside a German K 5 280 mm cannon on an iron track, the only one in Europe, stands alongside military vehicles and tanks.

During World War II, Grenoble was part of the free zone until November 1942, when it was first occupied by the Italians until November 1943, then by the Germans until its liberation in August 1944. Isère is one of the French departments where movements, networks and underground Resistance maquis were particularly active.

From 1940, individual initiatives came together to form more structured movements and networks. Close to Grenoble, wide valleys surrounded by mountains and forests were a favourable geographical location for the growth of the maquis: originally maquis refuges, they would soon become combatant maquis.

The most prominent, the maquis of Vercors, should not eclipse the others in Oisans, Chartreuse, Belledonne, and Grésivaudan. The men and women who stood up to the occupiers paid a heavy price for their courageous engagement, and many of them encountered the tragic fate of deportation.

Due to the sheer number and effectiveness of the wide-ranging operations led against the enemy, Grenoble was the second of five cities honoured by the title of 'Compagnon de la Libération' in General De Gaulle's decree of 4 May 1944.

Under the tutelage of the Isère departmental council since the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Liberation, the Museum of Resistance and Deportation of Isère highlights the specific nature of the Resistance in this department of France. As well as the temporary exhibits and special events that are organised from time to time, the museum houses a permanent exhibit that offers the visitor a chronological presentation of events, developed according to themes aiming to situate Isère in the historical context of the era.

The museum tour is based on five themes: the beginning of the Resistance, the maquis, repression, the restoration of the Republic and the values of the Resistance. More than five thousand items, objects and documents from the archives illustrating daily life and the stuggle against the occupiers, reconstituting places and ambience. The visitor is invited to conclude this emotional journey with a moment's reflection on the values of the Resistance.

The museum's documentation centre is open to researchers and students as well as the general public. The computerised inventory of collections has led to the development of a library containing more than a thousand works, sound archives, and a photo and film library. The museum also offers a teaching area set aside for educators and their students before or after visiting the museum. It can be used for presentations and workshops on World War II, and offers a multimedia room and a resource and information centre for students to prepare their work on the period. Texts specifically directed at younger generations and school groups are present thoughout the museum visit. They are designed to help the youngest visitors understand the themes addressed by emphasising the links between the different elements on show in the museum and the major issues and concepts covered (especially in the context of the school curriculum).

Museum of Resistance and Deportation of Isère

14 rue Hébert - 38000 Grenoble 

Tél. 04 76 42 38 53 - Fax : 04 76 42 55 89
 

musee.mdr@cg38.fr

www.resistance-en-isere.fr

Getting there By motorway: - Motorways Lyon-Grenoble, Valence-Grenoble: Grenoble-Bastille exit - Motorway Chambéry-Grenoble: Grenoble-Centre-ville exit - Tramway: line A / Bus: Verdun bus stop - Car park: Place de Verdun or rue Hébert Opening times:

The museum is open every day except Tuesdays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. - From 1 September to 30 June, 9:00-18:00; - From 1 July to 31 August, 10:00-19:00. Visits: Free guided visits for individual visitors on the first Sunday of every month starting at 14:30. Group guided visits by appointment only.

In Landrethun-le-nord, in a place called "Mimoyecques", a secret base was built underground. It was intended to launch hundreds of V3 missiles per day on London. It was destroyed on 6 July 1944 with Tallboy bombs.

Excavations have uncovered an entrance, and some of the shafts can be visited. The V-3 (Vergeltungswaffen) was planned to bombard England, and more precisely London, its only target. But the lack of mobility of this kind of weapon made it extremely vulnerable to bombarding and air raids. This is why it had to be contained in a fortified system.

Five of these shafts were constructed in Mimoyecques, in the commune of Marquise in the Pas-de-Calais, along with an entire network of service shafts, tunnels and rooms on several levels, essential for troops staying there and for the many technical departments. An interior railway line was even built to provide transport from one end to the other. On the surface, a particularly vulnerable zone, angled drifts opened onto a reinforced concrete slab 5.5 metres thick. The openings in the slab were protected by 20 cm thick steel plate.

The site was chosen due to its proximity to the target (168 km from London), and also to it being set back from the coastline, to avoid any naval attacks. The site also had to be near to a railway line to transport the gun's spare parts and the heavy material necessary for it to work, to evacuate rubble and to provide munitions and explosives, and also had to be near a power line to supply this underground city. The Germans requested 5,000 kilowatts from the North-West electrical power station. 5,000 workers and 120,000 m3 were required for this installation.

Fortress of Mimoyecques

Landrethum-le-Nord 62250 Marquise

Tel.: +33 3.21.87.10.34

Fax: +33 3.21.83.33.10

E-mail: Mimoyecques@wanadoo.fr

Opening times From 18 April to 18 October, from 9 am to 6 pm. In July and August, from 10 am to 7 pm. Groups can visit from 9 am to 7 pm subject to booking.

Prices Adults: €5.50. Children: €4.00. Group of at least 15 persons - Adults: €4.50. Children: €3.35. School groups: €3.35

The site is south of Calais on the D249 between Leubringhen and Landrethum le Nord.

Sound projection in 3 languages: French, English and Dutch. The visit lasts around one hour. It is chilly inside, so bring a warm item of clothing. Constant temperature around 8°C

Base V3 - Mimoyecques

Quizz : Forts and citadels

[align=center]Sénans who chose Free France 22 - 26 June 1940[/align] June 1940: following defeat and the signature of the armistice, not all Frenchmen gave up. Gradually, individual or collective acts of resistance developed, the most famous being the "18th June Appeal", broadcast from London by General De Gaulle, an appeal repeated several times in the days that followed. The inhabitants of Sein were among the first to respond; they were among the earliest of the "Free French". Sein is a small island off the south-west tip of Brittany, facing the Pointe du Raz, with a population of around a thousand. In June 1940, most of the men were mobilised or called to work on the mainland. A garrison of 24 men was also stationed there. The island received information from the few ships that docked or the rare wireless sets. This communication became increasingly difficult until only scraps of news arrived, rumours of an ever-deteriorating situation. Residents of the island (Sénans) learned that Rennes and Brest had fallen and saw the first soldiers pushed back by the German advance. Many ships sailed via the island, such as the Zénith which, via Ouessant and Sein, took a small troop of Chasseurs alpins to Great Britain. The threat was getting closer, with German gunfire and shelling increasing.

Warned by a keeper of the Ar-Men lighthouse that an appeal by a French General was to be broadcast that evening on the BBC, the islanders and those present on the island assembled on 22nd June around one of the radios to listen to the speech. After listening to the message the choice was quickly made. Five ships were available right away. They sailed on 24th and 26th June. The first, the Velleda, left with the garrison and the first Sénans aboard, followed by the Rouanez ar Mor, then the Corbeau des mers, the Maris Stella and the Rouanez ar Péoc'h. Some islanders followed on smaller craft. 128 Sénans finally assembled in England. Some of them would not see their island or their families again until 1944. Initially, the Sénans were assigned to the Courbet, which had the job of protecting the port of Plymouth before most of them were dispersed to serve in the Free French Navy. The Germans occupied the Ile de Sein from the beginning of July, laying mines and barbed wire. Severe restrictions were applied to movement both on the island and the surrounding seas. Physical conditions were difficult, even after the mobilised men returned. In spite of this, assistance was raised for the families of the islanders who had gone to England.

A Sénan native stands before a granite Cross of Lorraine.

A monument dedicated to the Free French Forces was erected at Men-Neï. Sculpted by Quillivic, in clear view of the lighthouse overlooking it, it bears two inscriptions: "Kentoc'h Mervel" (I’d rather die) & “Le soldat qui ne se reconnaît pas vaincu a toujours raison” (The soldier who does not recognise defeat is always right).

On 7 September 1960, General de Gaulle, President of the Republic, paid an official visit to the Île de Sein to inaugurate this monument of remembrance and gratitude. It was a solemn moment, with the huge aircraft carrier Clemenceau just off the island and a helicopter landing. The giant of a man stepped off. The Sénan people were all there to welcome “their” General. The women were wearing their Sunday best, even the Mayor, Mrs Kerloc'h, who was also wearing a jibilinenn bonnet. A chorus of Sénan singers, vibrant with contained emotion, sang “Le Libéra”. Everyone was singing and, with their voices they sang the trials and tribulations they had suffered twenty years earlier, their dedication, their loyalty, death, hunger, injuries and especially their thirst for victory.

General de Gaulle was touched by the sight and understood the message of these simple people, so strong, so natural and so spontaneous. On the rostrum set up in his honour, he thanked the men and woman standing there with their proud, handsome faces looking up at him. “Here is the sea, in perpetual motion. Here is the sky, constantly changing. And here is the granite of Brittany, which never changes. When the time came, the Île de Sein was an example for us all. The movement at the time was natural and spontaneous, because it was for the island and its children, and because over the centuries, you have been confronted with struggles and because it was a question of you and your courage. With the “Le Libéra” that you sang earlier, I understood your sacrifice back in 1940. That remains in Sein and it remains in the spirit of all of France. France has been through many misfortunes, but thanks to its efforts, thanks to yours, it has undergone rebirth. In our dreams, France is what we have always wanted it to be: great, prosperous and fraternal. I have come here in the name of France to pay tribute to the Île de Sein, to this land of courage and exemplarity, to my companion, the Île de Sein. For the rest of my life, I will carry an imperishable memory of this ceremony.”

Then, to the population’s emotional applause, President de Gaulle raised his arms in an immense V for victory. He then visited the town hall and wrote in the registry, “To the Île de Sein, my companion, I offer my best wishes, with all my heart”. General de Gaulle held the Île de Sein and its residents in high esteem. For example, in his office in rue Solferino in Paris, he always kept nearby a gift that the people of the island had given him on 12 June 1949. It was a statue of a Breton woman made of Quimper faience, a work by R. Micheau-Vemez. He had placed it on a pedestal table, in full view, and the face on the ceramic constantly reminded him of his companion, a single word representing the entire Sénan community for him.

Sein is still in the news and is linked to the memory of the illustrious general. In 2002, a copy of the Mouez Enez Sun from November 2000 was given to the Charles de Gaulle Museum, located in the house where he was born in Lille. This monthly is the local paper on the Île de Sein. This issue of the Mouez Enez Sun reported on the ceremonies organised in the General’s memory upon his death in 1970, thirty years earlier.

Site internet

http://www.mairie-iledesein.com/a_visiter.htm

"Fort de la Crèche" is a former coastal battery set up on the site of a former Napoleonic fort, Fort de Terlincthun, built in 1806 and dismantled in 1864. This coastal battery was built in 1879 following the principles of Séré de Rivières to defend the port of Boulogne.
It comprised the northern defences, supplemented southward by the Tour d'Odre (still occupied by the French National Navy today), Mont de Couppe and Cap d'Alprech Batteries, built during the same period. Demilitarised in 2002, "Fort de la Crèche" is now owned by the Conservatoire de l'Espace Littoral et des Rivages Lacustres (French Coastal Protection Agency).

The “Fort de la Crèche” Association, under contract, has taken on the mission of preserving, restoring and animating this built heritage. From the month of April through the month of September, it organises guided tours hosted by volunteers. It welcomes groups year round by reservation. Along with the building from 1879, the site also presents the modernisation carried out on the military facilities – occupied by the French Army and then the French Navy – from 1930 to 1940.

 

The Germans then occupied the site, building bunkers on top of the old French platforms and integrating it into the “Atlantic Wall".

The tour itinerary that is being set up will be a 200-year journey through Time with a "reading" of the landscapes and buildings.


Fort de la Crèche
Association Fort de la Crèche (AFLC) BP 25 62930 Wimereux

Entrance to the Fort on the D 96 road between the La Crèche roundabout and Terlincthun at Wimereux. Guided tours only.

Quizz : Forts et citadels