It is the memory of a painful period in the history of France. Opened in September 2019, the Centre for Resistance, Deportation and Memory of Blois retraces the history of the Second World War as seen from Loir-et-Cher. “All periods of the war are represented, from the occupation to the Liberation”summarizes Marie-Hélène James, receptionist and manager of the place.
While this year is celebrating the 80the anniversary of the Landing and the Liberation, several parts of the Resistance Center look back on the events of the summer of 1944. Visitors can notably discover the set of keys which allowed the resistance to free 183 people detained at the Blois prison, the August 10, (re)discover the episode of the crash of an American plane near Chambord on June 22, or even relive moments of daily life from the time thanks to a touch screen.
An exhibition and workshops with the Maison de la BD
While the year is marked by changes at the museum – Caroline Cholet, currently HR management assistant for the City of Blois, Agglopolys and the CIAS, will officially replace Clément Even as director on 1is July – an event has been planned for the 80th anniversary of the summer of 1944. A grand Liberation ball will be organized on August 30, Place Louis-XII, as part of the Des Lyres d’été festivities, after a fashion show from the 1940s, in the presence of light Liberation vehicles.
The Resistance Center will also host the exhibition from July 2 to September 9 « War photographers », named after the comic strip by Raynal Pellicer and the illustrator from Tours, Titwane, in which they retrace the story of two German journalists, Hans Namuth and Georg Reisner, present in Barcelona for the Popular Olympics in 1936, organized in response to the Berlin Olympics, before covering the Spanish Civil War.
This exhibition, composed of different drawings, is also visible at the Maison de la BD until August 31. Free workshops (from 10 years old), linked to the exhibition, are also planned for July 10 and 24, and August 7 and 21, at 2 p.m (1), during which participants will create posters linked to the 1936 Popular Olympics.
The air raid shelter, the highlight of the visit
People who enter the Resistance Center this summer will also be able to discover the permanent exhibitions. The museum has, of course, explanatory panels, posters, maps and other documents. But also many objects obtained thanks to donations from Loir-et-Chériens, some of whom were resistance fighters or deportees: everyday objects (clothing, ration coupons, radios, bicycles), weapons or other parachutes.
Without forgetting the air raid shelter, in which residents came to hide during the war, and located at the entrance to an underground area leading to the castle. If access to the tunnel is blocked by a gate, visitors can access this shelter during their visit.
” This is the icing on the cake “says Marie-Hélène James, who particularly impresses the students and college students, who are part of the approximately 5,000 annual visitors with whom the Center of the Resistance continues its essential work of memory.
(1) Reservations at 02.54.44.67.40.
