I took advantage of a short stay in Normandy this weekend to make a detour through Caen and visit a must-see place in the region for anyone interested in the history of WWII: the Peace Memorial.
From the outset, the building built above the bunker of the German Wehrmacht, General Richter impresses with its size and solemnity. This place is not a WWII Disneyland but it is a place of memory.
The museum is presented in the form of a chronological route explaining the origins of the 2nd world war since the catastrophic Treaty of Versailles of 1919 making Germany responsible for the 1st world war and the consequences of which will provide the necessary breeding ground for its development. of German nationalism. and the election of Hitler.
The route alternates explanatory panels, photos, films and period objects. The richness of the collections is truly impressive: it ranges from weapons to posters or everyday objects for soldiers or civilians.
The lighting sets the scene very well for this heavy and suspicious atmosphere that reigned before the war: governments in search of a fantasized internal enemy. This propaganda was aimed at strengthening the nationalist feeling of the population towards the Germans.
Of course, this anxiety-provoking atmosphere was maintained in the population by some of the objects linked to the tragic memories of the use of combat gases.
- Here, a protective suit against toxic gases for infants *
France having been quickly defeated during the Battle of France in 1940, the museum dwells at length on the difficulties of the daily life of the population in a country: in the north occupied by the German army and in the south living in freedom. very relative. The emergence of traffic permits must have been traumatic for many separated families.
Confiscations and the census of the property of the population which can be used by the occupier to surprise. Here, the bicycle census.
The government propaganda extolling the merits of the occupier and presenting him as a protector against Bolshevism is puzzling, isn't it?
The deprivations of the population are very well explained since the war effort once the French army was defeated was made for the benefit of the German army: ersatz replaced certain basic products and the population had to show 'limitless ingenuity to maintain a minimum of comfort. of life when many products were rationed.
Of course, part of the population did not accept this state of affairs and acts of opposition or resistance were very severely punished.
End of the first part.
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