Resist!: Thank you for Musée Jean Moulin, MaineGG
 

Recently, a few brave souls hung a banner from a crane in Washington DC. My husband looked at the picture on his smartphone, turned to me and said, "Was your insistence that we visit the Musée Jean Moulin over Xmas related to this?"*

Actually, no. MaineGG had posted in 2015 his/her tour of the place, and I was interested. We were visiting at Xmas, most of us had been to Paris over 15 times since 1998, and it would be something we'd never done.

Yes, I had to drag my kids (adults!) to the museum; yes, my husband was less than thrilled, but we all learned a lot. I'd like to say that this museum is 5-stars, but the fact is that it is a) hard to find and b) not really easy in which to maneuver.

But it is SO worth the visit, because we all forget our individual responsibility in maintaining a democracy.

http://museesleclercmoulin.paris.fr/le-musee

Takeaways--
Freedom is not easy.
The people whom we follow to keep freedom are not always obvious.
Easy should not be the path we choose to take.

AZ

*Note: I did not hang that banner. I'm afraid of heights.

Thank you, on my list. They were brave men and women.

Question, my husband said we decided not to do this last trip because it was in just French. He wants to know if this is true.

No, there are English labels--and there are audioguides, too. I'd say it's not arranged the best way for those of us who only speak English, but there is enough there to come away inspired. And I had not visited the General LeClerc side yet!

I'm going to go back. And I just might now learn all the words to La Marseillaise by the time I do. I have been humming non-stop since we left.

The Jean Moulin museum is interesting even if you don´t speak French.

For those intrigued by his story and that of the French Resistance, the wife of one of Moulin´s associates who was captured by the Nazis at the same time as was Moulin, actually was able to free her husband. How she does this, and the story is amazing, is explained in here autobiography, <i>Ils partiront dans l'ivresse</i>. The book, written by Luci Aubrac, was also made into a movie of the same title.

I am not absolutely sure that the book is available in English and I apologize if it is not. But if you are able to obtain a copy, or see the film, it is a gripping and fascinating story.

Contemplating a return to Paris soon, so thanks for the post. I've never visited this museum.

AZ - Glad to have recommended this museum. I was fairly familiar with the Moulin history before going there, but knew little about Leclerc and wanted to know more. Very brave men indeed. There's a pretty good Wikipedia article about Moulin for some background.

You are correct to note that the location is a little hard to find since it's in the Jardin Atlantique that cannot be seen from street level. We got there from the Gare Montparnasse by going up to the TGV departure level and going up the stairs next to Quai 1. There is a lift from the street level on Rue du Commandant René Mouchotte.

As for the French only language challenge, an English guide may be downloaded for this museum and some other Paris municipal museums here. We have visited many of them and found them all worthwhile. Also budget-friendly since they are free except for special exhibitions.

http://next.paris.fr/english/museums...-museums/p8229

There were many brave people during the occupation. I recently read Avenue of Spies by Alex Kershaw, the story of an American surgeon, Sumner Jackson, his French wife and young son. Dr. Jackson went to France in 1916 to serve as a field surgeon with the British Army in the Battle of the Somme. He and his wife decided to make their home in France and he joined the American Hospital staff in Paris where they lived on the Avenue Foch. During the occupation they bravely assisted the resistance in many ways. It's an amazing and inspiring read. Let's hope all of us can find the courage, strength and determination to resist when threatened.

Again, MaineGG, thank you. And Leely2, do take note of MaineGG's directions.

Sarastro, do you think this English language book, "Outwitting the Gestapo" by Lucie Aubrac, may be the same book? Different title, but perhaps the same? If so, it's available on Kindle in the US.

For those interested, the best movie on french resistance, inspired by a book from J Kessel (Le lion...) is 'L'armée des ombres'.

The scenario is great, the movie is great and the actors are the best of their generation : Louis Ventura and Simone Signoret among them. Movie dates from 1969 - so it has a vintage look that makes it appear like a document.
(Released in the US in ... 2006 !).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Shadows

Thanks for the movie recommendation, WoinParis. I'll look for it.
I'll recommend two excellent documentaries - The Sorrow and the Pity, and Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie. In these serious and lengthy films, many people who had major roles on all sides, as well as ordinary citizens, are interviewed (including Lucie Aubrac mentioned above).

There are plenty of history books focusing on De Gaulle and the liberation of Paris with Leclerc necessarily prominent. A more daunting recent book is The Shameful Peace, a provocative study of how artists and intellectuals acted under the Nazi occupation. The author, Frederic Spotts, is eager to name names and point fingers. For us aliens, that means plenty of philosophers not well known beyond university history departments. But his diligence pays off, starting with his insight that Hitler wanted Paris preserved as a showcase but kept firmly in the shadow of Berlin's glory. And always the central question, as it is for other occupied territories such as the Netherlands and the Scandinavian region, remains: What would anyone do to survive?
PS: Thanks for all the background on the museum.

Army of Shadows is a powerful movie.

We came across a very modest place where a group of Maquis sheltered at Plainville in the Eure et Loir. It was secluded, in a woods in the middle of a farming area. First we took a long walk through the woods, then down a steep hill till we came to some high, shallow limestone caves with rough shelters made of tree limbs. There is a standing stone at the site, with a few touching words.

The site is still alive in local memories, 70 years later, and there was going to be a commemorative service later that month, which is how we read about it.

<i>Sarastro, do you think this English language book, "Outwitting the Gestapo" by Lucie Aubrac, may be the same book? </i>

AlessandraZoe - I am sure that this is the same book. When I was looking to see if the book were available in English, I could not find anything under the title <i>Ils partiront dans l'ivresse. </i> other than the words <i>French version</i>. This of course indicated to me that there must be a non-French version but I couldn´t find it.

Apparently you have found it.