Museum Of The Liberation Of Paris – A Tripartite World War II Museum

It was on August 25, 1944 that French and Allied troops rolled into Paris, ending four years of Nazi occupation of the City of Light. On the 75th anniversary of that event — known as the Liberation of Paris — a revamped World War II museum was inaugurated with a fabulous new look and in a much-improved location. Here, at the Musée de la Liberation de Paris, discover pivotal events leading to that freedom and, eventually, to the end of World War II.

A New, Improved Museum

Museum Of The Liberation Of Paris, photo from Ville de Paris

Inside the revitalized museum the visitor is immersed in the dramatic events leading to the eviction of the German troops in August 1944; you become caught up in the lives of the extraordinary men and women who sacrificed so much. The museum also celebrates the life of Resistance hero Jean Moulin and of Philippe de Hauteclocque, better known as General Leclerc. Let's take a look at the museum, its history, and what you will find there.

Paris in World War II

Nazi troops marching down the Champs-Elysées

World War II began when Germany invaded Poland (with Russian compliance) on September 1, 1939. But it wasn't until eight months later that the German army invaded and defeated France. In just a few short weeks during May and June 1940 France suffered a collapse that shook its people and much of the world. It the months and years to follow, French citizens like Philippe de Hauteclocque and Jean Moulin would do whatever they could to defend their homeland — some in the military, some with the Resistance.

Fast forward four years to Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th Arrondissement and imagine General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division coming in from Porte d'Orléans on the perimeter of Paris on the way to establish a command post at Gare Montparnasse, helping to liberate the city.

Fast forward another seventy-five years to Place Denfert-Rochereau to visit the new museum that celebrates these events and these people.

Foundation of the Museum

The garden of the Museum of the Liberation of Paris, photo by Mark Craft

The museum was founded in 1994 with two donations. The first from a former Resistance-fighter friend of Jean Moulin, the man who came to symbolize the French Resistance; the second from the foundation established to honor the actions and memory of the general. To those two themes a third purpose of the museum was appended — to remember and celebrate the Liberation of Paris at the end of the war.

This tripartite museum was first housed in an awkward and hard-to-access location on the roof of the mammoth and sprawling Gare Montparnasse (train station) at the border of the 14th and 15th Arrondissements. (In fact, half of the museum was in the 14th and half in the 15th.) Lack of visibility and accessibility hampered the museum, and visitors were few.

Eventually the Paris city council decided to move the museum to a location that made more historic sense, was easily accessible, and could better present its themes. In a multi-year twenty-million-euro renovation, two heritage buildings were restored and refitted.

Today, the dynamic, chronological museum begins by setting up World War II in an historic context and then follows the events from the June 1940 Occupation up to the August 1944 Liberation (each always capitalized). The new museum makes the past come alive with hundreds of historic documents, photographs, uniforms, posters, newspapers, and audiovisual testimonies.

Discover the Paris of World War II

A display in the, photo by Mark Craft

We spent an enjoyable long afternoon at the Musée de la Liberation de Paris and learned a lot. There is just enough English translation to make it easy to follow the story and the timeline. The museum is divided into a dozen themed spaces, all housed in an 18th-century pavilion that was originally a gatehouse in the city wall. Let's examine what we discovered as we moved from room to room.

Who was Jean Moulin?

Jean Moulin during the Resistance years

Born in Provence in 1899, Jean Moulin holds near-legendary status leader and central hero of the French Resistance. Before World War II, he worked as prefect (an appointed administrator) of various departments of France. During the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Moulin secretly supplied the Republicans with weapons. Moulin was prefect in the Loire region at the time of the 1940 invasion and collapse of the government; from there he witnessed the mass exodus of refugees crowding the roads.

On June 17, 1940, he was the official who met the victorious German army in the cathedral city of Chartres. Moulin was dismissed as prefect by Vichy on November 2, 1940 and then arrested by the Nazis. While being tortured Moulin attempted suicide by cutting his throat with a piece of broken glass. He survived, but was left with a scar that he would later hide with a scarf, which is the image of him most remembered today.

Released from prison, Moulin went to Marseille, traveled through Portugal, and arrived in England where he met with General de Gaulle in late 1941. As head of the Free French, de Gaulle chose Moulin as his personal representative in France and entrusted him with the mission of organizing the Resistance.

On June 21, 1943, Moulin and other Resistance members meeting near Lyons were arrested. Moulin was again tortured by the Gestapo. He died on a train sending him to Germany. In 1964, Moulin's ashes were moved from Pere Lachaise Cemetery to the Pantheon, where France inters its greatest citizens. Today in France, Jean Moulin is the fifth most popular name for a school and the third most popular street name.