Seeking deeper information about the French Resistance in World War Two? Take time to visit one of the incredible museums dedicated to the memory, courage and determination of those who became part of France’s underground, volunteer army. The exhibits in these museums transport visitors back to a surreal time when a ferocious enemy overran France and occupied it. Through regional photographic histories you will learn about the thousands of men, women and sometimes children who fought back. The Resistance teams were known as ‘circuits.’ Their agenda was to handicap and disrupt Hitler’s agenda in France. The French Resistance proved to be a critical link to a successful Allied invasion and eventual liberation. Local circuits, prior to D-day and after, cut enemy communication lines, derailed trains, blocked roads and disabled enemy equipment. Their goal? Members of the French Resistance also aided wounded soldiers, downed pilots and those seeking to escape France because of their ethnicity or religion.
Museums dedicated to the French World War Two Resistance movement are numerous. They can be found in Lyon, Paris, Blois, Nice, and Bordeaux, as well as in smaller villages. Each offers distinct takes on how local circuits fought back. One very special Resistance museum honors just one person— Josephine Baker, an American chanteuse and vaudevillian who lived near Sarlat, in central France. Baker was recruited by the French Resistance, as well as the British and American Secret Services to spy on the enemy. She used her rural property to hide resistance fighters, to send messages to the Allies, and to raise 12 children, most of them orphaned by the war.
The enemy exacted revenge on the Resistance movment as it was driven from France in 1944. One such example is the village of Oradour-sur-Glane. The enemy overwhelmed the village and massacred almost all of its citizens on June 10, 1944. The ruins of that village have been preserved as a timely memorial to the atrocities carried out by Hitler’s armies.
Check out the Resistance Museum websites below, or visit in person. Not to be forgotten is the World War Two Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Past exhibits have highlighted both the work of Josephine Baker and the French Resistance.
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In and near Paris: https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr; https://www.musee-resistance.com
Caen (Normandy): https://www.memorial-caen.fr
Lyon: https://www.chrd.lyon.fr
Blois: https://www.blois.fr/attractive/remarquable/centre-de-la-resistance
Nice: http://www.musee-resistance-azureenne.fr
Lorris: https://www.museelorris.fr
Josephine Baker: https://www.milandes.com
Oradour sur Glane: https://www.culture.gouv.fr/actualites/80-ans-de-memoire-a-preserver-a-oradour-sur-glane