Jean Garcin 39-45 History Museum

The museum focuses on the daily lives of the local people under Nazi occupation, the Resistance in Vaucluse and the commitment of many poets, writers and artists.

In 1981, Jean Garcin, who was known as 'Colonel Bayard' during the Resistance, persuaded the department of Vaucluse to purchase the private collection (or 'Museum of Restrictions') belonging to Raymond Granier. This was a unique collection comprising over 10,000 objects, documents, photographs and other archives illustrating daily life under Nazi occupation. The museology was partially entrusted to Willy Holt, the famous cinema production designer and art director. Inaugurated in July 1990, the museum bases its policy on an interdisciplinary approach, combining history, literature and art.

As you browse the many exhibits that remind us of all the restrictions in place between 1939 and 1949, try to imagine what daily life must have been like for the people of Vaucluse living under the Nazis. The museum is set out in such a way as to recreate the different spaces where the locals spent their time (the school, the town hall, the grocery shop and the library) and the implementation of collaboration, in contrast to the drive for freedom and the work done in the shadows by the Resistance. Original manuscripts and editions by René Char, Max Jacob, Georges Rouault and Paul Eluard make notable reference to this aspect.

Let us remember the trials and tribulations of life under the Nazis in Vaucluse and strive for a better world.

Opening periods

Picture gallery

Musée d'Histoire Jean Garcin : 1939-1945, l'Appel de La Liberté
271 Chemin du Gouffre
84800 Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
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Dernière mise à jour 29/03/2024


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