In the summer of 2022, I was blessed to take a research trip to Europe with fellow author Rebecca Davie. We visited many cities and areas where my works in progress (books) are set.
One of the places we visited was the Hôtel des Invalides (English: “house of invalids”) or Les Invalides in the 7th Arrondissement of Paris. French monarch Louis IV built the extensive complex to provide a hospital and retirement home for French veterans. Although these services are still provided on a small scale today, the buildings are primarily utilized for several museums and memorials dedicated to the military history of France. Two WWII museums are housed at the Invalides, so we spent the better part of a day viewing the exhibits but also couldn’t resist visiting Napoleon’s tomb.
Dôme des Invalides
Napoleon’s ashes reside in an elaborate tomb made of red quartzite, resting on a green granite base.
The Museum of the Order of the Liberation
The Musee de l’Ordre de la Liberation contains three sections – the Internal Resistance, Free France, and Deportation. Dozens of artifacts, including uniforms, stories of Resistance members, British transceivers, and many other items used in the fight for liberation are on display.
After Nazi Germany crushed France, the French government of Marshal Petain signed the armistice, allowing part of the country to be occupied. General Charles de Gaulle, who had led a command during the Battle of France, fled to Britain and, over the BBC radio in London, called for France to continue the fight. Some Frenchmen who hadn’t been evacuated by the British or captured by the Germans took up the call and found a way to escape to England to join de Gaulle. Others stayed in France and participated in the Resistance. French women volunteered as well.
In July 1940, de Gaulle established Free France, a military and political organization supported by Winston Churchill. “Between 1940 and 1945, the Free French forces fighting on the land, on the sea, and in the air distinguished themselves on several continents by maintaining France’s presence in the world war.” (“Discover the Permanent Collections of the Museum of the Order of the Liberation” pamphlet distributed by the museum)
President Harry S. Truman awarded the Legion of Merit, one of the highest distinctions of the American armed forces, to General de Gaulle on August 30, 1945 for leading Free France in the fight alongside the Allies.
The Deportation section of the museum details the Nazi regime’s concentration camp system across Occupied Europe. “Victims were mainly resistance fighters, politicians, people who refused to work, and people rounded up in reprisals.” Seventy-four thousand Jews were transported from France to extermination camps with most assassinated upon arrival. The Nazis also deported 70,000 people from France for slave labor, many of whom died of hunger and exhaustion.
The Army Museum
The Musée de l’Armée contains many artifacts from France’s wars. The section on WWII contains many interesting items.
Sources:
Information on display and in print at Les Invalides
Photos taken in person by Cindy Kay Stewart
Online: “Les Invalides”