Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation

As soon as I came home after our visit to the Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, I made up my mind to write a quick article on it because :

-          I found it really interesting in terms of subject and scenography

-      It is another new subject to deal with in terms of cultural mediation, history as I explained in a previous article on the Musée Gadagne.

I/ The Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation and the story of the building

The museum is located in a former Ecole de Service de Santé Militaire (ESSM) which was a project of the mayor André Gailleton - a former doctor - in order to assert the status of Lyon as "hospital" metropolis. Constructed between 1889 and 1894, the ESSM was closed during First World War but reopened after it.

However, it was the Second World War that shaped the future of this building. Indeed, the section IV of the Gestapo led by Klaus Barbie, occupied the ESSM. Many member of the Resistance and Jewish were interrogated and tortured in this building. Jean Moulin, most famous resistance fighter passed by this place on June 21^st 1943. Allied bombardments put an end to the occupation and severely damaged building. Unfortunately it did not stop the Gestapo which simply relocated in another building situated on the corner of the Place Bellecour. 

Two major events led to the establishment of the Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation in the ESSM :

-     In 1965, to celebrate the 20^th birthday of the Liberation, members of the Resistance wanted to create a museum on the Second World War and the Resistance. This museum was first installed in the Natural History Museum but the Association asked for the creation of a municipal museum in the ESSM because they needed more space to share their story, their side of the story.

-     In 1987, the Barbie trial was the first trial for crimes against humanity in France, and was an important moment in history and for the remembrance of the Occupation years, sharing in the awakening of the Lyon's collective memory and prefiguring the creation of the Resistance and Deportation History Centre.

Finally, the Centre d’Histoire de la résistance et de la déportation opened its doors on the 15^th October 1992. As I will explain in a second and third part, testimonies are an important part of the museum through photographies and videos. Besides, the museum relays exclusive extracts of the trial by special permission of the Paris High Court. Putting the accent on eyewitness statements, this film gives an idea of the debates and the emotion surrounding the trial; each witness statement contributing to the reinforcement of the idea of crime against humanity. 

II/ The scenography

The permanent exhibition offers a concrete experience of the major moments of the Second World War.

I am sure I am not going to surprise you by saying that the museum is divided into two parts ;

- One is (logically) dedicated to the Resistance  and deals with the period of the Entre-Deux-Guerres (Between-Two-Wars, Lyon in time of war and the civil and military Resistance which began to be organised to fight against the Nazis in spite of the danger and the repression.

- The second part is (logically again) dedicated to the imprisonment in a concentration camp of Jewish people but also of members of the Resistance in Lyon.

III/ What I thought of this museum ?

            I found this permanent exhibition really interesting and complete. I liked the way it focused on the history of Lyon and still re-situated this history into the national and international context of this planetary conflict.

            What is also very attractive in this exhibition is the fact that in addition to the documents purely historical such as boards with so many important dates or objects, testimonies through the numerous videos and photographies make history so real (I mean of course it was real, I mean actual), so vivid.

            I was also really surprised to step in a 1940s dark street and then enter in a house that seemed full of life with this radio turned on as if people had just left the house, willingly or not. I did not expect something like that, and I felt simply transported to another time and place. I really liked it.

Finally, at the end of the tour, the giant slide show that lets us re-situate the local and national events of remembrance into the planetary scale of the conflict, by placing them in their historical context as really useful as it was a good sum up of what we’ve just seen.

I warmly recommend this museum. Honestly, I was expecting something very dull and depressing and like I said in class I thought that going to this museum would be as depressing as wathning the Schindler's list. But is wasn’t. I mean, it was a bit depressing to realize how many people had died or lost members of their family during this war but showing the cruelty of the Nazis was not the main focus of this place. Their main focus is to share with us the experience of people who had lived through it and who give us their side of the story, a very personal side sometimes.