Musée de la resistance

It always feels very quiet when our guests leave.

On Tuesday four of them set off on their trips back to the UK. For some they took the motorway, just a four hour trip to Calais. Others like to take the back roads to experience some of the smaller towns and villages.

Two of our guests however were staying another day, so we decided to visit the small village of Mussy which is home to the ‘Musée de la resistance’. It was recently renovated, and houses an interesting collection of artefacts from the period.

Some depict the time of the events with their style and design, although the graphics can be quite disturbing. Seeing the nazi emblems on everyday objects, instead of on a banner in a movie, makes it very real. Other artefacts are more human, and evoke a very different feeling. I do find some of the items quite chilling.

The information boards in the museum are all in french, so a good translation app can be useful. Our French is getting better, but we would not be able to fully understand all the information which is shared, and the detail of the stories that are based in and around the area, without a little help.

This is the translation we were able to perform on our phones using google translate for the poster above, it tells the story of the Maquis Montcalm, a resistance group in our area.

In the forest just near Mussy, where the Maquis Montcalm hid during the war, is this memorial to the resistance, and to the lives that were lost. It makes for a fitting end to the museum visit.