Inaugurated in March 2011, in Marseille, the memorial of La Marseillaise traces, in a unique setting, the history of one of the strongest symbols of the Republic of France: La Marseillaise national anthem.

It spread as far as Montpellier, and the song, called "Chant de guerre des armées aux frontières" (war song of frontier-based armies) was sung in Marseille by a delegate of the Club des Amis de la Constitution, François Mireur, a future general. He coordinated the departure of volunteers from the Midi region for the front; he began singing the song during a banquet and it was received with great enthusiasm. The song was published and printed the following day and adopted by the federates of Marseille as a marching song.

These soldiers sang it triumphantly all the way to the Tuileries, on 30th July 1792. Parisians, without a care for the official title, gave the song a name, which would stick: La Marseillaise. This name expresses the unity of the fighting nation, from Strasbourg to the Midi, passing through Paris. On 14th July 1795, although rivalled by another song, "Le Réveil du Peuple" (the awakening of the people), La Marseillaise was declared the "national anthem" by the Convention.

It was banned under the Empire and the Restoration, but was revived and honoured during the 1830 Revolution. The fate of La Marseillaise is thus closely tied with the history of the French Republic. In 1879, Jules Grévy, President of the 3rd Republic, made this well-known and patriotic song the national hymn for France once and for all. The official version was adopted in 1887.

It was banned in the occupied zone in the Second World War, but La Marseillaise was reinstated as the national anthem under the 4th and 5th Republics, and written into article 2 of the Constitution.

Beyond its political posterity, La Marseillaise had a significant musical influence. In 1830, Berlioz composed an orchestral arrangement which he dedicated to Rouget de l'Isle, with the dedication "For everything which has a heart, a voice, and blood in its veins". In 1872, Franz Liszt composed a fantasy for piano to the tune of La Marseillaise. Igor Stravinsky made a transcription for the solo violin and Dimitri Chostakovitch used it for the music of the film, The New Babylon. Pierre Dupont, chief of music of the Republican Guard between 1927 and 1944, composed the official arrangement of the national anthem and it is version which is still in use. A number of artists, from opera singers to variety singers, have given their voice to this song and invented many different interpretations.

By creating a Memorial, the city of Marseille wanted to trace the history of the French national anthem from its origins and recall the active role of the people of Marseille in the French Revolution. The former Club des Jacobins was chosen for the site, as it wasn't far from here that Marseille federates left for Paris, in 1792, singing the revolutionary song.

The site covers an area of 300 m2 and is based on three themes. The Salle des Marseillaises shows visitors some of the different versions or variants of the revolutionary song and its interpretations (there are over 600), from its origin to the present day. In the Salle des Doléances, nine sculptures representing historic or fictional characters come to life one by one in a lively dialogue. Mirabeau, Moisson, La Cayolle, etc., comment, from Marseille, on the French Revolution and the role played by the city's residents during these events. Lastly, in the Salle du Jeu de paume, visitors are plunged into the time of the revolution thanks to multimedia equipment with images and sound. They can experience the march of the federates to Paris, to the rhythm of La Marseillaise.

In December 2013, the town council voted for the Memorial of La Marseillaise to be attached to the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille.

Memorial of La Marseillaise

23-25 rue Thubaneau 13001 Marseille

Tel.: +33 (0)4 91 91 91 96

Open daily from 10 am to 7 pm

 In 2009, Montluc Prison was closed in favour of new facilities built outside Lyon.

On the demand of the prefect for the Rhône-Alpes region, the state services then protected a large part of the Montluc site as historic monuments, responding to the long-standing hope of remembrance and veterans associations and in particular the Montluc survivors association.

In addition to plans to protect the building, discussions were started in order to find ways to use the building to bear witness to the violence of the Nazi regime in Lyon and to open up the site to visitors.

Built in the 1920s, Montluc military prison stands opposite the fort of the same name in an industrial district of Lyon. After the armistice in 1940, the prison welcomed ordinary prisoners, soldiers and perpetrators of “anti-national activities”, essentially Gaullists and Communists. Following the invasion of the southern zone, in November 1942, the German requisitioned the prison and placed it under exclusive control. Montluc then became the place for the internment of resistance fighters, hostages and victims of “racial measures”, awaiting their departure for Drancy and deportation to the concentration and extermination camps. Montluc was managed with daily contact with the Gestapo headquarters on Avenue Bertholet – in the premises of the army medical school, where interrogations took place (currently occupied by the History of Resistance and Deportation Centre).

Close to the prison, a competent military court for the southern zone was set up in 1943. The capital sentences were likely pronounced at the shooting range in Doua (today the national necropolis). Other convicts were shot inside the actual prison, on the covered way at a point now known as the “Wall of the Executed” and still visible today. After the landing in June 1944, a number of massacres of prisoners took place in the towns surrounding Lyon, in retaliation to the Allied advance and resistance actions. Between April and August 1944, over 600 prisoners were executed thus in Saint-Didier de Formans, Toussieu, Bron and Saint-Genis-Laval, the main locations of the exactions. The massacre of Saint-Genis-Lavel on 20 August 1944, where 120 prisoners were murdered in abominable conditions, ignited a vigorous protest of Cardinal Gerlier by the German authorities. At the same time, Yves Farges, commissioner of the republic still living undercover, threatened to execute the same number of German prisons if the massacres continued. On 24 August, the prisoners were released both by the intervention of the resistance and the departure of the jailers, a week before the liberation of Lyon on 3 September.

The Memorial of Montluc Prison, inaugurated by France’s Prime Minister on 21 June 2010, joined the other sites managed by the Ministry of Defence, qualified as a major memorial site, and opened its doors to the public on the occasion of the European Heritage Days in 2010. Since then, the site continues to attract more and more visitors, making it a credible and complementary member in the network of regional places of remembrance alongside the History of Resistance and Deportation Centre in Lyon and the Jean Moulin Caluire Memorial, as well as, on a larger scale, Maison d’Izieu, a memorial to the murdered Jewish children. The Montluc Memorial contributes to the discussions introduced by the problems specific to remembrance sites, both scientifically and historically and in terms of hosting and educating the public.

Memorial to Montluc Prison
1 rue Jeanne Hachette 69003 Lyon

Its sizeable collection brings visitors into close contact with history.

Large numbers of objects, archive documents, materials, photographs and weaponry are displayed in three rooms: Occupation, Resistance, and Liberation and Remembrance.

Midway through the visit, a digital portrait from the Morvan “Digital Gallery” plunges visitors into the world of the maquis rural resistance groups.

The Occupation

The first room, on the Occupation, looks at patriotic feeling and the defence of Morvan from 1940, followed by the impact of the German Occupation: occupied towns and villages, restrictions on freedoms, rationing, requisitioning, Nazi repression, and so on.

The Resistance

In the face of German and Vichyist propaganda, the Resistance organised itself, with underground newspapers and pamphlets, brave acts by local personalities, etc.

This second room presents the first acts of resistance through to the formation of the maquis, through a variety of materials, photographs, weapons and clothing, and the assistance provided by the Allies (parachute drops, containers, letters, mannequins, etc.).

Liberation and Remembrance

Morvan played a strategic role in the liberation of the region.

The maquis liberated Morvan in September 1944, through acts of sabotage, fighting and pitched battles, represented here by photos, reconstructions and objects.

The visit ends with a look at remembrance and the philosophy of the Resistance, through photographs of expressions of remembrance, steles and monuments (poems, texts, letters, etc.).

Digital Gallery

“The Morvan Maquis” is a new digital portrait from Morvan’s “Digital Gallery”.

Situated at midway point in the permanent exhibition, “The Morvan Maquis” is an immersive projection space presenting daily life in the maquis.

In this space, a film is shown on two screens: one shows documents directly related to maquis life, while the other places events in the national and international context of the war.

The installation immerses the visitor in the world of the Morvan maquis, showing how they were organised on a day-to-day basis, and examining their actions, their camps, the roles played by their leaders, and the hunger, fear and courage involved.

From personal stories to major historical events, the portrait focuses on the people, both men and women, involved in these maquis groups, who ultimately played a key role in the liberation of France.

Educational activities

The museum makes an excellent contribution to curriculum requirements in history, history of art and civic education for schools and colleges. It offers students and teachers a practical approach to various themes specific to the Second World War, as well as the concepts of human rights, freedom, political engagement, tolerance and solidarity. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the values of the French Republic and the founding principles of European unity.

Finally, it offers students a practical insight into civic engagement.

Exhibitions, conferences, film screenings, national events (European Heritage Days, European Museum Night, etc.), ceremonies and more

Click to view

Educational offering (workshops, tailored visits, learning resources, etc.)

Click to view

Source : ©Musée de la Résistance en Morvan

A monument to peace

Located in the Belgian town of Diksmuide, the Yser Tower, erected in memory of the Flemish soldiers killed during the First World War, is the tallest peace monument in Europe. It houses a museum and a chapel.

On 4 August 1914, Belgium was invaded and, despite the resistance of the Belgian army against the German troops, the push was stronger after the Battle of the Marne.

On 10 October, the fall of Antwerp threatened the allied front: it was then decided by the command to establish a front running along the River Yser from Diksmuide all the way to the sea and to hold it.

This flat region of plains was the stage for one of the final confrontations of the “Race to the Sea” period. From 18 to 26 October 1914, the two armies fought and waged battle upon battle. At the end of the month, to avoid a breakthrough in the front, the Allies and King Albert I of Belgium flooded a part of the plain in order to put a definitive stop to the German advancement. This decisive battle in the month of October 1914 would progressively become a key event in Flemish remembrance after the war.

At the very start of the conflict, King Albert of Belgium made a proclamation to the “nation’s army”, urging the Walloon and Flemish populations to come and fight under the united flag of Belgium: “Do you remember, Flemish, of the Battle of the Golden Spurs?” This call to action was interpreted by many soldiers as a tacit affirmation of the Flemish identity and recognition of the Dutch language. But during the four years of war, a split formed between the two communities. Most of the French-speaking officers expressed themselves in French while the Flemish soldiers could not speak the language.
Many paid their inability to understand orders with their lives.

At the end of this conflict, 70% of victims were Flemish. A Front Movement was established among the soldiers who had written an open letter to the king – the Yser Testament – considered as a founding act of the remembrance policy that would be pursued over the following decades. From 1920, to honour the memory of Flemish soldiers killed during the war, pilgrimages were organised each year and a monument was erected: the Yser Tower, surmounted by a cross, and inaugurated on 24 August 1930. It was demolished during a dynamite attack in 1946. Five years later, a gate of peace inscribed with the word “Pax” was built from the remains of the old tower.

It wasn’t until 1965 that a new tower, 84 metres tall, was inaugurated. The initials AVV-VVK are inscribed at the top of the tower, letters that mean “All for Flanders-Flanders for Christ”. The inscription "Never again war" is also written on the tower in Belgium’s four main languages (Dutch, French, English and German). A peace monument, the Yser Tower, is first and foremost a place of commemoration for the Flemish soldiers killed during the First World War, which then became a beacon of the Flemish nationalist movement.

In 1997, the entire structure and the crypt, in which lay nine Flemish soldiers and a Walloon soldier, were restored. On the 10-hectare site, a “Footbridge of Hope”, a reconstruction of a bridge used by the infantrymen to move from the first line to the outpost – is open to visitors. Inside the tower, the 22-storey Ijzertoren or Yser tower museum displays temporary exhibitions as varied as “underground life at the front”, “mud”, “art on the front line” and "animals during wartime”.

The permanent exhibition, meanwhile, retraces the history of the two world wars and the interwar period. Two floors are dedicated to the history of Flanders. On the ground floor, a chapel houses the stained-glass windows designed by Eugeen Yoors and Yan Wouters and a film (Violence Never Brings Peace) is played continuously in the auditorium. Guided tours and educational activities are regularly organised. In the late 1990s, the museum’s work was internationally recognised and it joined the United Nations’ International Network of Museums for Peace. In 2004, the museum extended its focus to ethnic and cultural minorities who make up Flanders today, in response to the soldiers’ wish in 1914: the respect of particularism.

Yser Tower

VZW Ijzertorenmuseum Ijzerdijk 49 8600 Diksmuide (Belgium)

Tel: +32 051 / 50 02 86

Memory Trail in the town This walk is dedicated to the events of the Franco-Prussian War that marked Châteaudun.

Five illustrated markers relate the inhabitants' heroic defence against the Prussians on 18 October. The first three are in Place du 18 Octobre, the fourth on Rue Jean Moulin and the fifth next to the defence monument on the Mall.
On 3 October 1877 a decree entitled the town to add the Legion of Honour cross on its coat of arms in recognition of its bravery. In 1884 Place Royale was renamed Place du 18 Octobre in remembrance of that day. The events On 20 September groups of highly mobile Uhlans blockaded Paris before advancing in Beauce. From 26 September 1870 to 6 January 1871 the Prussian army relentlessly crossed the Eure-et-Loir department in every direction. Since early October Châteaudun had been under the command of General Ernest de Lipowski. On the 28th the besieged town's residents put up barricades in the streets. On 18 October just 1,200 snipers, sedentary national guardsmen and firemen defended Châteaudun. A military force of 12,000 Prussians under the command of General von Wittich, armed with 24 cannons and two howitzers, showed up in the east. Seven cannons fired at the railway station at around noon.
At around 6pm the Rue Galante (Rue de Civry) barricade, which was isolated and too far forward, gave way. The Prussian thrust could no longer be repelled. The snipers retreated to the town centre, despite the darkness. The Prussians tried to overrun the square. A terrible night battle ensued. The defenders pushed the enemy back in the Rues de Chartres (Rue Jean Moulin) and d'Orléans (Rue de la République) three times. They fought by torchlight and bodies literally covered the ground. The painter Philippoteaux immortalised the fighting (the original is in the Châteaudun mayor's office). Despite the last bursts of courage, the defenders had to give up the now-hopeless struggle.
Shells and incendiary rockets rained down on the town at the rate of 10 a minute all day, ripping open roofs and destroying houses. On the night of 18-19 October the Prussians set the town on fire, pillaging, raping and driving out the inhabitants. At the Hôtel du Grand Monarque, where 70 Prussians had just been served an excellent dinner, the owner threw herself at General von Wittich's feet, begging him to spare her business. But the Duke of Saxony set the curtains on fire and the building quickly burned to the ground. Atrocities lasted all night and the next day. A monument to the victims and defenders was erected in Champdé Cemetery in 1873. A national fund-raising drive was launched to build a better monument to Châteaudun's valiant resistance. It was inaugurated on the Mall on 18 October 1897.
Antonin Mercié sculpted the bronze statue of a woman with a wall crown on her head representing the town of Châteaudun. Seriously wounded, she collapses and leans on a sniper from Paris, who, with his rifle on his shoulder, is still holding out and using up his last cartridges.

Established in the classrooms of a former school, the French Museum in Chastre, in Belgium was created just after the Second World War to keep alive the memory of the battles fought by the French army in Wallonia in May 1940.

The French Museum comprises two principal rooms. The first provides an overview of the deployment of the French, Belgian and British armed forces to implement the "Dyle manoeuvre" and recounts the battles led by the 4th Army Corps of the First French Army between Wavre and Namur to stop the German offensive in Belgium. Two principal phases of the battle are represented: the cover phase, which was the first great tank battle in history, involving more than a thousand armoured vehicles on the 12th and 13th May; and the arresting battle, a short-lived French tactical victory, that focussed on the small town of Gembloux. Four large maps provide a clearer understanding of the course of the operations of the Battle of the Dyle: the first shows the positioning of the allied armies, whilst the second takes stock of the situation on the 12th, 13th and 14th May 1940. The third is dedicated to the fighting on the 14th May at Gembloux and the last one charts the military situation on the 15th May 1940. These maps are accompanied by a wide range of military objects, some of which were recovered from the battle fields after the end of the fighting: uniforms and various weapons, including a French 20 mm anti-tank canon, ammunition and soldiers' equipment. Posters, historical documents, photographs and models etc. recreate the context and atmosphere of the time.

The museum's other room covers the Belgian and German armies in more detail, by recounting the battles in Belgium and the Netherlands during the month of May 1940. This is complemented by a detailed display of German units and a very rich collection of photographs taken by the enemy for propaganda purposes during the battle, as well as other assorted documents, weapons, models and equipment. One part of the exhibition, entitled "After the Battle" explains how enemy burial teams carried out the burial of the bodies of French soldiers on the battlefields. After the war, the Belgians made a list of the places where soldiers were buried on the battlefields. They also catalogued the objects found there. The bodies were later brought together. Nevertheless, some remains were still being discovered in the 1980's. Lastly, visitors can find out more about life in Belgium under German occupation through several everyday documents such as rationing cards and prisoners' letters etc.

After the war the French authorities wanted to group together the numerous graves of French soldiers killed in 1940 in a single place. It was with this objective in mind that the military cemetery at Chastre was created. Situated seven kilometres from Gembloux, it was opened on the 10th May 1970. It is the property of the French state, where the remains of those soldiers that were not repatriated to France are contained together.

The cemetery covers an area of seven hundred square metres but it does not give an exact idea of the number who died on the field of honour in 1940: indeed, although more than a thousand French servicemen rest in Chastre, including 171 who are unidentified and all the North African servicemen (Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians) killed during the battle, they are mixed in with 192 soldiers killed during the Great War and others who died between 1940 and 1945. There are also commemorative monuments to the Battle of the Dyle in Jandrain, Gembloux, Saint-Gérard, Flavion and Ondaye etc.
 

French Museum in Chastre

rue du Tensoul B1450 Chastre, Belgium

Tel.: + 32 81/61 31 40

E-mail: museemai40@skynet.be

Open on Sundays and Bank Holidays. 2-6 pm, from the 15th May to the 30th September.

Step into the fortress and see what the Resistance fighters' everyday lives were like. A symbolic walk from shadow to light... Vassieux "This is where the land of freedom begins" The history of France's first and biggest maquis. Unlike a museum of objects, the Memorial uses stage sets, images, sound and light. Integrated architecture This citadel embedded in the mountain harmoniously blends into the site's exceptional natural environment, leaving the hollow of a coomb free and intact. The camouflaged, vegetation-covered building recalls the maquisards' underground life. A powerful, highly evocative work The 1,200m2 space recreates the period's moods with a set of codes to decipher. Everything has been designed to help you understand and feel the maquisards' hopes and sorrows.

A universal message of vigilance and solidarity The Memorial is a commemorative monument, a place of remembrance and contemplation. It keeps the memory of the tragic events of July 1944 alive and pays homage to the men and women who fought for freedom. The thought-provoking exhibits feature documentaries and first-hand accounts: an analysis and understanding of human behaviour during acts of grandeur and of barbarism. The goals are to emphasize the universal value of what Vercors stands for and to make the message of resistance, of all resistance, heard by as many people as possible. Not all resistance leads to victory, but it always leads to dignity. Every year 37,000 people visit the Memorial (50% are children).
Become both a player and an onlooker during the visit: From shadow... Live the daily life of the French under the Occupation Feel their fear during the dark years (visual and sound environment). Understand the motives of those who rejected defeat. The sacrificed fortress: Witness the invasion of Vercors Fortress - moving model, original images "This is where the land of freedom begins" Symbolic rise in the Vercors The Corridor of Testimonials : recollections of the maquis veterans and inhabitants of Vercors - audio and video room Daily life in the maquis camps and commitment to the struggle - exhibition "The torn plateau": what meaning can the sacrifices of those who fought in the shadows be given today? - documentary to light... Resisting again! Questions on forms of resistance in today's world - film by Franck Pavloff. The corridor of lead leaves: a silent homage to Vercors' 840 civilian and military victims - a place of contemplation The Belvedere The belvedere, a moment of confrontation between a landscape and its history, offers a sweeping view of the entire range and the magnificent landscapes of Vercors that were battlefields in 1944 "The wind of liberty blows here" - orientation table. In addition to a historical analysis of the history of the Resistance in Vercors, the Memorial recalls two contradictory sides to our humanity, shadow and light. Exhibition updated in 2007 The visit lasts 90 minutes.
The Memorial's plusses For childrenNew! A game called "On Antoine's trail". A historical investigation leading to a young reporter's diploma. Guided tours for all - A cultural mediator at the Belvedere deciphers the visit's codes every Monday at 11am during school holidays - free1 every day by reservation for groups of children and adults (from 15 people) - ask for our group brochure online at www.memorial-vercors.fr) Documents to help you during your visit for French adults and children, tour guide and simultaneous translation into English, German and Dutch for non-French-speaking visitors. Shop The bookshop offers an extremely diversified choice of works on the Vercors, the Second World War and contemporary conflicts - youth, novels, essays, comics, souvenirs, postcards, objects The Memorial's cultural programme delivers a universal message of peace, solidarity, tolerance and commitment to freedom.
Vercors Resistance Memorial Col de La Chau 26420 Vassieux-en-Vercors Tel.: 33 (0)4 75 48 26 00 Fax: 33 (0)4 75 48 28 67 E-mail: info@memorial-vercors.fr Open May to Sept.: 10am-6pm 7/7 non-stop every day Oct.-11 Nov.: 10am-5pm every day School holidays: 10am-5pm every day Closed 12 Nov. to Christmas holidays, 25 Dec. and 1 Jan. Open every day for groups January to April: contact us Admission Adults 5€ Children 8-15 (free for children under 8): 2€50 Reduced price for students, veterans, job-seekers, disabled people, Vertacopass: 4.00 € Family price (2 adults + 2 children): 12€50 (2€/add. child) groups (15p) by reservation. Price: ask us How to get there From Valence by the grands goulets tunnel, col de la bataille, col de la chau From Die by the col de rousset From Grenoble by Villard de Lans Shop, free parking, accessible to people with reduced mobility

Originally called the Madeleine fortification, this was the Maginot Line's earliest ouvrage, or defensive work; construction began in 1928. The French government decided to build it after Mussolini's many sabre-rattling statements on the Nice region's Italian origin.

The Alpes-Maritimes General Council later bought the site to turn it into a "place of remembrance". "Les Amis de l'Ouvrage Maginot de la Madeleine", an association formed in early 2008, has begun rehabilitating the inside and outside and opened the site to the public during the 2009 Open Heritage Weekend.
Rimplas does not illustrate the concepts implemented in the later fortifications: it is in a single block surrounded by escarp walls whose blocks all face one way. They are veritable armoured casemates with 20cm-thick steel reinforcing the concrete walls, which extend inside and wrap around the cannon; two armoured shutters close the embrasure. The construction ran into many problems. First, the soil's crumbly nature required the excavated areas to be covered in concrete in several places. Second, there was severe water infiltration; in July 1936 cracks were still observed in the concrete. The fort was officially handed over to the 74th Alpine Fortress Battalion (BAF) in August 1937, before the work was totally completed.
Mission The Rimplas ouvrage has views stretching from the Upper Tinée in the north to Saint-Dalmas and La Colmiane in the west; its searchlights could scan the Upper Tinée road and the road to Saint-Martin-Vésubie. The fort could fire frontally towards the border, which was less than 5km away and ran along the present-day D2565 before the 1947 rectification. The frontier, which ran along the road between Isola, where a casemate stood, and Valabres, at the mouth of Mollières Glen, encircled nearly three-fourths of the town of Saint-Martin-Vésubie.
Composition The Rimplas ouvrage consists of five blocks connected to underground tunnels and indoor and outdoor facilities: Mixed entrance: three machine gun embrasures, mixed door, aerial tram entrance; B1: two 81mm mortar embrasures, two embrasures for twin Reibel machine guns and one grenade-launcher cloche. The mortars could fire frontally northward, but not as far as the border; B2: one machine gun embrasure; B3: one machine gun cloche and one cloche for twin Reibel machine guns; B4: two 1933 model 75mm howitzer embrasures, one 1931 model 75mm howitzer embrasure, one machine gun cloche, one observation cloche; however, the howitzers could not reach Isola, where an SFAM outpost was located. The underground rooms contained all the usual logistical facilities for a fortification of this size, and even an operating room. The tunnels and rooms are on three levels. B5: two 1933 model 75mm howitzer embrasures, one 1931 model 75mm howitzer embrasure, one machine gun cloche and one observation cloche (this block is the same as the previous one, except for the machine gun cloche). The row of howitzers covered the border to Saint-Martin-Vésubie and beyond. An observation post, located outside on the west façade, consists of an underground casemate closed by a concrete mask. The row of howitzers covered the entire border to the northeast. An emergency way out is atop the west cliff near the present telephone tower. A masonry casemate covered with a reinforced concrete slab stands before the curve in the road leading to the esplanade. The security barracks in the village of Rimplas.
The single-cable aerial tram built by Brien-Anzun, whose lower shaft can still be seen beside the Upper Tinée road, was 878m long, rose a total of 602m and could transport 52 tonnes of munitions or supplies every day in 21 cars. It was powered by two internal combustion motors. In 1939 the Rimplas fortification had a big garrison of 334 soldiers and eight officers from the 84th Alpine Fortress Battalion (BAF) and 167th Position Artillery Regiment (RAP).
The fighting In June 1940 the border zone between Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée and Valdeblore was held by four Ski Scout Sections (SES) belonging to the 84th BAF and 55th RIA: I/55 at Mont Raja, II/55 at Collet de la Sagne, III/55 at Bifarquet and that of the 84th BAF at Cabanes de Lenton. They faced off against the Val Elero battalion of the 1st Alpini. Italy declared war on France on 10 June but the actual offensive did not start until the 20th, when units of the Livorno division crossed the border near Isola and came up the Tinée halfway to Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée, trying to reach the road from Roya to Péone by way of Tolondet, certainly knowing the guns of Rimplas could not cover the area. Nevertheless, they were stopped at Pont-Rouge, before Douans. No source reports fighting in the sector in the following days and up to the armistice. Fort Rimplas nevertheless shelled the border to try and keep the Italian troops from coming across. The enemy did not breach the frontier in this sector and never threatened the work.
Present condition After the 24 June 1940 armistice the Italians disarmed and dismantled the fortification, taking away the 75mm guns. Fort de Rimplas was partially rearmed in 1947 and maintained by the army's corps of engineers until being decommissioned in 1972, when it was sold to the town of Rimplas. The municipality rented it to a company that grew mushrooms; the resulting humidity caused further damage. Much of the fort's interior was sold as scrap. Very little is left inside, but the camouflage painting and false embrasures are still quite visible on the escarp walls.
Rimplas ouvrage Les Amis de l'Ouvrage Maginot de la Madeleine 3 Promenade Saint Roch - Hôtel de ville 06420 Rimplas Tel: 06 80 59 09 94 Fax: 04 93 02 89 19 E-mail: contact@la-madeleine.asso.fr Contact the association for tours Contact Milano Nicolas, Président: nicolas@la-madeleine.asso.fr Icardo Laurent, guide: laurent@la-madeleine.asso.fr

The French military cemetery in Gdansk, Poland, contains the bodies of Frenchmen who died on Polish territory during the Second World War.

After the Second World War, France organised the search for, identification and repatriation of prisoners of war and military personnel buried abroad. A “French search mission in Poland” worked in the country until 1950, looking for tombs and drawing up a list of the dead. In 1948, Warsaw granted the French authorities a 99-year right to an 11,500 m² plot of land to the west of the city of Gdansk to gather together the tombs of soldiers who were not repatriated during the repatriation campaigns of 1951, 1953 and 1961 – 2,180 bodies were claimed by the families.

This cemetery holds 1,152 bodies, including 329 that have not been identified. Among them there are prisoners of war, resistance fighters or political deportees, recruits from the Compulsory Work Service (STO - Service du Travail Obligatoire), Alsatians enrolled by force into the German Army and fugitives who had escaped from detention camps and who fought with the Polish resistance. The remains mainly come from the Voivodeships of Olsztyn, Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Kosalin, Szczecin, Upper and Lower Silesia. The site comprises sections adorned with 1,127 funerary emblems marking the tombs, 961 of which are occupied – 25 of them contain several unidentified bodies. Three monumental stylised crosses were erected on a stone podium reached by a flight of stairs.

The consular services at the French Embassy in Warsaw ensure maintenance and management for the site based on a budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Defence.

French Embassy in Warsaw 1, rue Piekna 00-477 Warsaw

Tel.: + 48 (22) 529 30 00

www.ambafrance-pl.org

Gammarth Cemetery in Tunis holds most of the bodies of the French soldiers who died in Tunisia from 1905 to 1954 and were not brought home to France.

Gammarth Cemetery in Tunisia is located 15 km north-east of Tunis, outside Carthage, on a hill overlooking the sea between La Marsa and Sidi Bou Said.

The Department of Veterans and War Victims at the French Embassy in Tunisia manages and maintains this 8.5-hectare (21.25-acre) commemorative site.

This necropolis was created on 5 January 1944 for the graves of the soldiers of the Army of Africa who fell during the Tunisia Campaign (1 December 1942 – 13 May 1943). It was renovated in the 1950s, and then again between 1965 and 1971, during operations to gather together the bodies of the 2,268 soldiers buried in Tunisian cemeteries at Bab el-Khadra, Bizerte, Djerba, El-Assel, Gabès, Gafsa, Kairouan, Le Kef, Mahdia, Medenine, Sfax, Sidi Yahia, Sousse and Tataouine.

The Gammarth site was set up following the plans drawn up by Mr. Zehrfuss, inspector general of civilian buildings and national palaces, and Mr. Acérès, architect. The Gammarth cemetery contains 4,289 soldiers’ bodies: 1,976 individual tombs of soldiers who died for France during operations, mainly during the Tunisia Campaign (December 1942 to May 1943), 1,214 bodies of unidentified soldiers (1914-1918 and 1942-1943) placed in an ossuary and 1,099 bodies of soldiers who died at their garrisons outside periods of war, in a columbarium.

Gammarth also holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Tunisia Campaign, the Memorial and the mass grave of the crew of the submarine “Morse”, which sank on 17 June 1940 off Sfax, as well as commemorative monuments and plaques formerly located at other cemeteries such as the monuments to the dead in Bizerte and Hammamet. It also contains the monument to the volunteers of the Africa “Corps Francs”, originally located in Bizerte.

Department of Veterans and War Victims

8, rue Moussa Ibn Noussair 1002 Tunis Belvédère

Tel.: (00 216) 71 799 057

Fax: (00 216)) 71 799 624

e-mail: acvg.tunisie@planet.tn

The Senegal contains the military graves of 3360 men who died during the French colonial venture in Africa.

These graves are spread between Dakar (2249 graves), Fatik (3), Koalack (93), Saint-Louis (721), Tambacounda (111), Thiès (178) and Zinguinchor (5). The Bel-Air mixed cemetery (military and civilian) in Dakar contains the graves of 1707 French metropolitan soldiers and Senegalese tirailleurs who died between 1927 and1963. At the end of the First World war, a statue, depicting a French infantryman (a "Poilu") and a Tirailleur side by side, was erected "to Demba and Dupont - in memory of their brotherhood in arms". Initially located in one of the town squares, it was moved following independence to the military plot in the Bel-Air cemetery. On the 23rd August 2004, the sculpture, relocated to a public square known as "Place des tirailleurs Senegalais" (Square of the Senegalese Tirailleurs), was inaugurated on the occasion of the "Journée des tirailleurs Senegalais" (Senegalese Tirailleurs' Day). The management of the cemetery is paid for through funds allocated by the Department of Defence to the consular services of the French Embassy. The French forces in Senegal (23rd battalion of marine infantry) take part in the maintenance of the grounds, thanks to funds allocated by the Department of Defence and the French Souvenir association.
French Embassy in Senegal 1, rue El Hadji Amadou Assane Ndoye Dakar Tel.: +221 839 51 00 Fax: +221 839 51 81 E-mail: webmestre.dakar-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr E-mail: [email=Dakar.fslt@diplomatie

The French necropolis in Dmeir, Syria, was created in 1960 to gather the bodies of soldiers who died during the French mandate over the region and their brothers who fell in the Second World War.

Bearing witness to France’s history in the Middle East, the Military Cemetery in Dmeir, Syria, contains the graves of more than 4,000 French and foreign soldiers, whether Muslim or Christian, as well as a few civilian tombs. In 1920, the League of Nations entrusted mandates over Syria and Lebanon to France after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War (Treaty of Sèvres and the Sykes-Picot Agreement).

The French mandate over Syria was organised into four States: the Sanjaks of Damascus and Aleppo, the Alawite State (1920), and the Jabal Druze State (1921). Clashes (intervention in Cilicia) due to tribal rivalries and opposition to the French presence led to the dissociation of the Sanjak of Alexandrette and the Sanjak of Aleppo in March of 1923. General Gouraud founded the Syrian Federation made up of Damascus, Aleppo and the Alawite State – dismantled in 1924.

From 1925 to 1927, General Sarrail was in charge of restoring order in the Jabal Druze.

The Second World War delayed the Syrian independence called for by the Viénot accords (1936). In 1940, the Vichy regime appointed a new high commissioner, General Dentz. He carried out a policy of neutrality toward the United Kingdom, while allowing German aircraft to transit through Syrian airports to support the revolt in Iraq in 1941.

A German garrison moved into the airport at Neirab, giving rise to resistance by the Franco-British forces. The Germans were pushed back, with the help of Syrian troops, and independence was proclaimed by Free France in 1941: General Catroux had promised independence to the States under the mandate. This was achieved at the end of the war.

The last French troops left the region in 1946. At the time, the tombs of French soldiers who had died in 1914-1918, 1920-1921, 1924-1925 and 1939-1945 were located in five main necropolises: Mezzeh, Aleppo, Lattaquieh, Deir-ez-Zor and Tartus.

Between 1985 and 1998, the necropolis was expanded with the transfer of the tombs in Lattaquieh and Aleppo.

In the 1950s, the decision was taken to group them together at a single site. Some 16,000 m² of land was chosen on the road leading from Damascus to Baghdad, 35 km from the Syrian capital. The bodies began to be gathered at the site in 1960 with the transfer of tombs from the cemetery in Mezzeh, in a rapidly expanding suburb of Damascus, and progressively continued, being completed in 1998 with the closing of the cemetery in Aleppo.

Located on the Route de Palmyre, this memorial site is particularly visited by French tourists. Each year on 11 November, a commemorative Franco-Syrian ceremony is held in memory of this shared history.

French Embassy in Syria

Rue Ata-al-Ayyoubi POB 769 - Damascus

Tel.: (963) 11 332 79 92

Fax: (963) 11 331 06 44

e-mail: ambassade@ambafrance-sy.org

Website: www.ambafrance-sy.org

Access

The necropolis is open to the public every day (except Sundays)

The cemetery covers an area of 7.5 acres and the US was granted perpetual use of this land free of charges and taxation by the French government.

Established in 1917 by the Graves Registration Service, part of the army’s quartermaster corps, it was intended to shelter the remains of soldiers who fell during the First World War. Many of them died of their wounds or illness in the hospitals in Paris or were victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918- 1919. 

At the end of the Second World War, it was decided that this cemetery would be dedicated to victims of both world wars. Consequently, an additional plot of graves was reserved to hold the remains of 24 unknown soldiers killed during World War II.

Loggias and memorial rooms were added either side of the original chapel. The graveyard comprises four plots of burial places: three for victims of the First World War with a total of 1,541 graves, and a fourth plot where 24 soldiers, marines and pilots lie, all unknown and killed during the Second World War.

The exterior surface is limestone from Val d'Arion and the four peristyle columns are monolithic. Inside the chapel, the walls and columns are made from Rocheret limestone. The ceiling is oak panelled. Four bronze plaques bear the names of the 974 men buried or lost at sea during the First World War.

The door in the left-hand wall of the chapel leads to the First World War loggia, a covered walkway with a side opening through which visitors can see the graveyards further down and, in the distance, Paris. The walls are limestone. The door in the right-hand wall of the chapel leads to the Second World War loggia, similar to that dedicated to the First World War, with the exception of the inscriptions on the walls. The original chapel, designed by the architect Charles A. Platt from New York was completed in 1932. William and Geoffrey Platt, sons of Charles A. Platt, created the loggias and memorial rooms added to the chapel in 1952. The original cemetery was inaugurated in 1919, on Memorial Day. The inauguration of the Second World War cemetery was held on 13 September 1952.

American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), founded by United States Congress in 1923, is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government. Its mission is to preserve the memory of the sacrifices and deeds of the American military forces wherever they have served since 6 April 1917, the date the United States entered the First World War.

Visits Open every day (except 25 December and 1 January) from 9 am to 5 pm.

Admission and guided tours are free of charge.

Information is available from the visitor information centre.

Getting there

By train (SNCF): From Paris Saint-Lazare or La Défense, take the train to Suresnes Mont Valérien.

By bus: take the 160, 241 or 360 (Stop: Cluseret Hôpital Foch)

By road: From Pont de Suresnes (bridge), follow the blue signs: American Military Cemetery and Memorial

Suresnes American Cemetery

123 bd Washington 92150 Suresnes - France

Tel: +33 (0)1 46 25 01 70

Fax: +33 (0)1 46 25 01 71

E-mail: suresnes@abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel: +33 (0)1 47 01 37 49

American Battle Monuments Commission

Four permanent displays and a temporary exhibition at the Mémorial de Caen give visitors a broad understanding of 20th century history.

Permanent spaces:

• Berlin at the heart of the Cold War
• Taches d'Opinions – Global current affairs through press cartoons
• World War, Total War
• The Normandy Landings and the Battle of Normandy

The Mémorial de Caen offers visitors a comprehensive multi-language audioguide service in addition to its guided tours.

The Mémorial de Caen

Esplanade Eisenhower B.P. 55026 - 14050 Caen Cedex 4

Tél : +33 (0)2 31 06 06 45

Fax : +33 (0)2 31 06 01 66

Email : contact@memorial-caen.fr

Opening times

 Prices

Site of the Caen Musée de la Paix memorial

Memory of Normandy

Site of the Calvados tourist board

Website of Normandy's regional tourist committee

This 21-hectare cemetery is situated at the foot of the hill on which Belleau Wood stands. Many of those buried in the cemetery lost their lives in the wood.

The cemetery's official name, Aisne-Marne, refers to the Aisne-Marne offensive which took place between May and October 1918, mainly in the south of the Aisne department and the west of the Marne department. Of the 2,289 graves in the cemetery, 250 contain the bodies of unidentified service personnel. The servicepeople who lie here originated from the 48 American states which existed at the time and the District of Columbia. Most of them died during the second battle of the Marne.

The Chapel

The chapel was built above the trenches on the front line dug by the 2nd American Division to defend Belleau Wood after it was captured on 25 June 1918. The chapel, a fine example of French Romanesque architecture, is more than 24 metres high. The exterior steps, the walls and the terrace are built of limestone from St. Maximin, Savonnières and Massangis. The sculptures around the entrance depict trench scenes from the First World War. The names of the 1,060 personnel who lost their lives are written on the walls of the chapel.

The Memorial is the work of architects Cram and Ferguson from Boston, Massachusetts. The décor in the chapel was designed by William F. Ross and Co., East Cambridge, Massachusetts and crafted by Alfred Bottiau from Paris. In 1934, the President of the United States allocated responsibility for the management of the cemetery, which was inaugurated on Memorial day (30 May) 1937, to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The Bois Belleau

The Bois (wood), a site covering 81 hectares bordering the cemetery behind the chapel, is a memorial dedicated to all the Americans who fought during the First World War. It features the remains of trenches, shell holes and artefacts from the war found in the surrounding area.

On an island in the road through the clearing in the middle of the wood lies a monument erected by the Marines and a flag pole. The monument is a black granite stele to which is attached a bronze bas-relief by Felix de Weldon depicting a life-sized Marine attacking with a rifle and bayonet.

This monument commemorates the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division Marines who were primarily responsible for the capture of the wood. On 30 June 1918 the wood was officially renamed "Marine Brigade Wood" by the Commander General of the 6th French Army.

American Battle Monuments Commission

This American government agency manages 24 American cemeteries and 25 commemorative monuments, war memorials and other remembrance sites in 15 countries. The Commission plays a part in achieving the vision of its first president, General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing. General Pershing, Commander in Chief of the American expeditionary corps during the First World War, vowed that "Time will not dim the glory of their deeds".

Visits

Open every day (except 25 December and 1 January) from 9am to 5pm.

Entrance is free and guided visits, also free, are organised on reservation. Information is available from the visitor information centre.

Access

Take exit 19 from the A4 motorway then follow the N3 to Belleau.

Aisne Marne American Cemetery

02400 Belleau - France

E-mail : aisne-marne@abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel: +33 (0)1 47 01 37 46

American Battle Monuments Commission

This 28-acre cemetery was established on a temporary cemetery set up just after the region was liberated by the 8^th Infantry Division (US) on 2 August 1944.

After the war, when the temporary cemeteries were closed down by the American identification and interment services, the remains of American soldiers killed at war and whose families had request a burial abroad, were transferred from the temporary cemeteries to 14 permanent cemeteries.

The French government granted perpetual use of the land free of charges and taxes to the American government, in recognition of the sacrifices made to liberate Europe. The majority of the soldiers buried here were killed during the liberation of Brittany, the fall of A ranches and the violent battles around Saint Lô and Mortain.

The cemetery holds the remains of 4,410 soldiers. They account for 43% of burials made in the region.

The graves are divided into 16 plots, set out in concentric rows spreading out from the central lawn. These dead soldiers, who laid down their lives for their homeland, came from every State of the Union, the District of Colombia, Hawaii, Alaska and also Canada. Some 95 steles bear the inscription “Unknown Soldier” and shelter the remains of soldiers who could not be identified. Two of these graves contain the bodies of two soldiers who could not be separately identified. In 20 cases, two brothers lie side by side, and two others are buried in neighbouring plots.

The chapel, made from La Pirye granite from the Hanglé region in Brittany, comprises a vestibule, tower, memorial room and chapel. At its east end stands a sculpture representing “Youth Triumphing over Evil” made in Chauvigny limestone.

The Wall of the Missing, slightly curved, supports the terrace and bears the names, grades, units and home states of 498 unknown soldiers. They gave their life for their homeland yet there bodies were never found or formally identified. A bronze rosette marks those whose bodies were found.

The architect of the cemetery and memorial was William T. Aldrich from Boston, Massachusetts. Shurcliff & Shurcliff, also from Boston, landscaped the grounds. Lee Lawrie, from Easton, Maryland, designed the sculpture group “Youth Triumphing Over Evil” and the sculpture above the chapel’s entrance.

The cemetery’s inauguration ceremony took place after its completion on 20 July 1956.

American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), founded by United States Congress in 1923, is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government. Its mission is to preserve the memory of the sacrifices and deeds of the American military forces wherever they have served since 6 April 1917, the date the United States entered the First World War.

Brittany American Cemetery

50240 Saint-James - France

Tel: +33 (0)2 33 89 24 90

Fax: +33 (0)2 33 89 24 91

E-mail: brittany@abmc.gov

Tours

Open from 9 am to 5 pm. Admission and guided tours are free of charge. Information is available from the visitor information centre.

Closed on 25 December and 1 January.

Getting there

South of Avranches via the A84, one mile from the village of Saint James.

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel: +33 (0)1 47 01 37

American Battle Monuments Commission

This 52-heactare (130-acre) cemetery was established on 14 October, 1918, by the US Army on land taken by the 32^nd Infantry Division. This land was ceded to the United States in perpetuity by the French Government to establish a permanent, tax-free burial site.

This cemetery contains the remains of 14,246 soldiers, most of whom fell during the US First Army’s operations of 26 September to 11 November, 1918. In 1922, the bodies buried in temporary cemeteries around the region, but also in the Vosges and in Occupied Germany, were brought here to their final resting place. Many of those who died at Arkhangelsk, Russia, were also buried in this cemetery. Among the tombs, 486 hold the remains of unidentified soldiers.

The Memorial, a typical example of Romanesque architecture, faces north at the top of a hill that slopes down to the tombs. It comprises a chapel flanked by two loggias, inside which is the Wall of the Missing. The outside walls and the columns are in Euville Coquillier stone, while the interior walls are in Salamandre Travertine.

The names of the 954 missing soldiers who gave their lives for their country and whose bodies were never found or identified are engraved on the Wall of the Missing. This necropolis was built by the architects York and Sawyer of New York. The infrastructures, as we can see them today, were completed in 1932. The cemetery was inaugurated on Memorial Day, 1937, for the twentieth anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War One.

This monument rises nearly 60 metres above the ruins of the former village of Montfaucon, built at the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. Before it was taken by the US 37^th and 79^th Divisions on 27 September, 1918, this site provided the German troops with a remarkable observation point.

The monument commemorates the victory of the US First Army in the Meuse - Argonne offensive of 26 September to 11 November, 1918, and honours the heroism of the French Army on the front before this period.

American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)

This US government agency operates 24 American cemeteries and 25 commemorative monuments, war monuments and other memorials in 15 countries. The Commission works to fulfil the vision of its first chairman, General of the Armies John J. Pershing. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, promised that “time will not dim the glory of their deeds”.

Meuse - Argonne American Cemetery

55110 Romagne sous Montfaucon - France

Tel.: 03 29 85 14 18

Fax: 03 29 58 13 96

e-mail: meuse-argonne@abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 Janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel.: 01 47 01 37

American Battle Monuments Commission

The Diego Suarez Military Cemetery in Madagascar contains the tombs of 921 French, European and local soldiers, who were buried there between the end of the 19^th century and the 1960s.

The French National Necropolis in Diego Suarez, Madagascar, bears witness to sixty-five years of shared Franco-Malagasy history between 1895, date of the island’s colonisation, and 1960, date of its independence.

It is located on the edge of the town, at the centre of the municipal cemetery, along Boulevard Dupleix. It contains 921 graves of soldiers in three sections: French, European and local. These men died between the end of the 19^th century and the 1960s.

One hundred and forty-nine graves were added to the local section, alongside the civilian cemetery. Furthermore, there is a burial vault where Legionnaires are buried. A monument to the dead – “A la mémoire glorieuse des enfants de Diégo-Suarez morts pour la France” (To the glorious memory of the children of Diego Suarez who died for France) welcomes visitors at the entrance to the military section. Another, in the form of an arch, is a reminder of the fighting to liberate the island during WWII.

Within a 35-km radius around Diego Suarez, 1,664 more military tombs have been laid out at the cemeteries of Cap Diego (1,411 tombs), Anjianema (157), Joffreville (51) and Sakaramy (25). A project for grouping together the French graves in the region at a single site is under study.
The Consulate General of France in Diego Suarez manages and maintains the site thanks to an annual budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Defence.

French Embassy in Antananarivo

3, rue Jean-Jaurès Ambatomena - BP 204

Tel.: (261) (20) 22 398 98

Fax: (261) (20) 22 399 27

Website: www.ambafrance-mada.org

Consulate General of France in Antananarivo

3, rue Jean-Jaurès Ambatomena - BP 897

Tel.: (261) (20) 22 398 50

Fax: (261) (20) 22 399 84

Website: www.consulfrance-tananarive.org

Department of Cooperation and Cultural Actions

BO 834 Antananarivo

Tel.: (20) 22 397 97

Fax: (20) 22 398 97

e-mail: coopfran@dts.mg

Consul General of France in Diego Suarez

Rue Benyowski - BP 220

Tel.: (261) (20) (82) 213 39 - 210 43

Fax: (261) (20) (82) 293 54

General de Gaulle created the Order of the Lib In 1965, General de Gaulle, the President of the Republic, decided that the Order of the Liberation would be located in the Invalides, an important place of national military remembrance. Five years later, the Museum of the Order of the Liberation opened to the public.

In thirty years the unquestionable prestige of the Order has allowed a great wealth of collections to be assembled in a single place. Its magnificence owes much to the diversity of the 1,061 Companions of the Liberation, which unites all sectors of the active resistance movement, bringing together teachers and military chaplains, African tirailleurs and Army Generals, students and workers, as well as 18 fighting units and 5 French towns. These collections - comprising mainly of personal objects and documents donated by the companions and their families - bear witness to their commitment and the ordeals they endured. A veritable showcase of the Order, the museum has more than 4,000 items in its permanent collection which, covering three areas (the France libre, the Resistance movement on the home front and the Deportation), illustrate the companions' journeys. Although several objects are remarkable because of their rarity, they are equally so because of the people to whom they are linked. Of particular note are Jean Moulin's civilian clothes and sub-prefect uniform, the would-be Commander General Leclerc's jacket, pennants taken from the enemy on the battlefields of Africa and Europe, Pierre-Henri Clostermann's flying jacket, the first flags of the France Libre's navy, original drawings made in the concentration camps and secret pamphlets, diaries and radio sets etc.
The museum's main hall is devoted to General de Gaulle, the founder and Grand Master of the Order. It houses personal objects, all of his French and foreign decorations, his only surviving full uniform and some of his most important war manuscripts, amongst which is the original text for the "A tous les Français" (calling all French people) poster, which was given UNESCO status in 2005. As a museum of objects, the Museum of the Order of the Liberation is an obvious complement to the renovated Museum of the Army and the Charles de Gaulle History Museum, a thoroughly modern concept, based uniquely on images and sound. A place of remembrance and history As the companions gradually die, the museum has become the focus for the Order of the Liberation's remembrance work. Because of its good position in the Invalides, it receives an average of 100,000 visitors a year and has developed several educational programmes (preparing for the national competition of the Resistance movement and the Deportation, commentated tours for 3rd, 1st and final year pupils and questionnaires for primary school pupils etc.). A place of remembrance and history, the museum is also a research and documentation centre, managing the Order's archives and the companions of the Liberation's files, a library (4,000 titles) and a photographic library (10,000 photographs). The Museum is also on the internet, thanks to the Order's website, where of particular interest is a biographical note on each Companion of the Liberation as well as a selection of some of the most significant objects and documents from the Museum's collections
Museum of the Order of the Liberation Visitor reception and tickets through the Museum of the Army Hôtel national des Invalides 129, rue de Grenelle (northern entrance) or Place Vauban (southern entrance) Telephone & fax: + 33 (0)1 47 05 04 10 Email: musee@ordredelaliberation.fr Opening times (cash desks close I hour earlier) From the 1st April to the 30th September: Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10 am to 6.30 pm From the 1st October to the 31st March: Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10 am to 5.30 pm Closed: the first Monday of each month (except in July, August and September) and the 1st January, 1st May, 1st November and the 25th December Entrance charges Full rate: 8.5 € - Reduced rate: 6.5 € (students - under 26 years old, ex-servicemen and large families). The Paris Museum Pass is accepted. Free entry: under 18's, young people between 18 and 25 years old resident or born in the European Union, job seekers and those on benefits (on production of proof dated within three months), the disabled, students of history and Art history from the School of the Louvre, and ministry of defence personnel. Tickets provide entry to the Museum of the Army, the tomb of Napoleon the First, temporary exhibitions, the Museum of Relief Maps and the Museum of the Order of the Liberation. Guided tours available by appointment only (maximum 25 people). Access RER: Line C (Invalides station) Underground: Invalides, Varenne, Latour-Maubourg Bus: 28, 49, 63, 69, 82, 83, 92, 93 Centre of documentation Photographic library 18,000 photographs (reproduction on request) Library 4,000 works (by appointment only from Monday to Friday) Postal address : Museum of the Order of the Liberation 51 bis bd de Latour-Maubourg 75700 PARIS cedex 07

The Musée de la Grande Guerre was officially opened on 11 November 2011 by the Pays de Meaux combined area council. The furthest point of the German advance and the site of the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Meaux and its neighbouring communes possess historic heritage which, until then, had been undervalued and was little known to the general public, since the Great War is not generally associated with the Île-de-France region. First off, then, the museum serves as a reminder that the front came right up to the edge of Paris, and that the “miracle of the Marne”, just one month after the outbreak of hostilities, was the victory that was to decide the course of the conflict. Besides its historical legitimacy, the museum, like any major structure, plays the role of a lever of development for the region. It contributes to shaping a new image while mobilising different actors around a shared project that can benefit everyone, both in terms of culture and tourism and in terms of networks.

Origins

The Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux has its origins in a meeting between Jean-Pierre Verney, a passionate, self-taught historian who, over more than 45 years, collected 50 000 objects and documents on the First World War – one of the largest private collections in Europe – and Jean-François Copé, chairman of the Pays de Meaux combined area council. Copé took the decision to buy the collection in 2005 and founded a museum on the First World War, at a time when Verney was preparing to sell overseas, having found no local authority willing to take it. It was an obvious choice, given the sheer scale of the Pays de Meaux area (18 communes with a total population of 85 000) and the fact that a number of its villages still bear visible traces of the Battle of the Marne (memorials, cemeteries, etc.), including the grave of French poet Charles Péguy, killed on 5 September 1914.

A museum on a human scale

From the outset, the Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux was intended to be for all visitors. Its bold design and contemporary layout, at once educational, sensitive and immersive, contribute to making it as accessible as possible.  This proximity to visitors can be explained in part by the desire to approach the conflict from a human perspective, through the everyday lives not only of the soldiers, but of women and children, continually switching between the front and the home front. All the nations that took part in the war are represented here, namely through the collection of uniforms, the overall intention being to present the universality of suffering and violence, whatever side of no man’s land your camp happens to be on

The object at the heart of the display

The exhibition is deliberately open and unconstrained, in order to allow each visitor to choose their own route, and thus build their own history. The main display, which presents the First Battle of the Marne (1914) alongside the Second Battle of the Marne (1918), clearly presents to visitors the passage from the 19th to the 20th century. Between these two key mobile battles at the beginning and end of the war, the presentation of the static war with its front comprised of trenches offers an insight into the notion of stalemate. Laid out in the main body of the museum, here is where the big hardware (lorries, aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces, etc.) is on show, making the museum a unique place where visitors can see the full range of objects and documents bearing witness to the conflict. This main display is complemented by a themed display: eight spaces look at topics that cut across the conflict (A New War, Bodies and Suffering, Globalisation, A Mobilised Society, etc.), adding new ways into the subject. The presentation is different for each of the spaces, thereby breaking up the monotony of the experience, as each new setting renews visitors’ interest. Obviously, the objects in the collection are at the heart of the display: they lend and take on meaning in their relationship with the space and in the dialogue they establish with the museum resources, and ultimately move visitors to ask questions about their own memories. By arousing interest and curiosity, the museum encourages visitors to interrogate their own personal history.

An innovative interaction

If visitors are greeted by ambient sounds even before they set foot in the museum, once inside, they find a whole series of objects to touch in the displays. Known as “martyr objects”, they belong to the collections and offer the public an opportunity to handle materials and shapes. There is also a wealth of interactive tools that aim to put the visitor in the driving seat: wearing special glasses to experience 3D stereoscopic views, feeling the weight of soldiers’ kit bags or coils of barbed wire, guessing what objects are in the archaeological niches, educational games to grasp the economic impact of the war or discover the different belligerent nations, interactive terminals to offer a deeper insight into the collection. All of this makes for an attractive and dynamic visitor experience, involving the different senses, thereby aiding the immersion in what is a complex subject.

The Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux is today an essential site for discovering the history of the First World War, and the area has become a remembrance tourism destination. The years of the centenary commemorations contributed to that process, which is sure to continue as the museum celebrates its tenth anniversary with a special season in 2021-22.

Sources : © Musée de la Grande Guerre