Discover the museum

In June 1940, after being defeated by Germany, France withdrew from World War II. While the armistice was being signed, some — like General de Gaulle — refused to accept defeat. From London, he founded Free France, a political and military organization dedicated to continuing the fight alongside the Allies and freeing the country. Explore the various theaters of operation and the journeys of the Companions of the Liberation in Free France between 1940 and 1945.

In June 1940, after being defeated by Nazi Germany, France withdrew from World War II and signed an armistice. But a small number of individuals in France chose to keep fighting—this time in secret against both the German occupiers and the French regime in power. This was the beginning of the internal Resistance. In the museum gallery, explore the many forms their struggle took (sabotage, espionage, rescue missions, armed struggle…) carried out by the Companions of the Liberation.

Racial deportation was a tool used by the Nazis to exterminate Jewish populations across Europe, sending them to death camps. Repressive deportation targeted political opponents and resistance fighters—over 70,000 of them were sent to concentration camps in Germany. There, they were subjected to forced labor under brutal conditions, and many did not survive. Upstairs in the gallery, you can explore objects along with drawings created by deportees in the camps.