Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Caen Memorial is a museum dedicated to the history of the twentieth century, labeled "Musée de France" and integrated with the International Network of Museums for Peace. It covers the period from 1919 to 1989, from the Treaty of Versailles to the fall of the Berlin Wall, with two main routes: the Second World War and the Cold War. Since 2002, the museum has expanded to include spaces dedicated to these themes, and it regularly renews its exhibitions to offer an updated experience.

The idea of the Memorial was born in 1969 under the leadership of Jean-Marie Girault, then mayor of Caen. The building was inaugurated on 6 June 1988 by President François Mitterrand in the presence of heads of state involved in the Battle of Normandy. Built on the site of the command post of General Wilhelm Richter, commander of the 716th German Division during the Disembarkation, the museum symbolizes both the memory of conflicts and the hope of peace.

The Memorial houses a collection of more than 8,000 objects and 100,000 documents, mainly related to the Second World War in Europe. His highlights include General Richter's underground bunker, memorial gardens dedicated to the Allied forces (Canadian, American and British), and a model of a Hawker Typhoon suspended in the lobby. The museum particularly highlights the Holocaust, with objects from the "Shoah by bullets" in Eastern Europe, deposited by the Yahad-In Unum Foundation.

The museum tours are organized in a chrono-thematic way, with spaces dedicated to key periods such as the "funny war" (1939-1940), life under the occupation, or the cold war, illustrated by symbolic objects such as debris of the U-2 plane shot down during the Cuban crisis. The Memorial also offers temporary exhibitions, conferences and public events, such as the international human rights advocacy competition.

The Caen Memorial is run by a local mixed economy company (SAEML), chaired by Joël Bruneau, mayor of Caen, and led by Kléber Arhoul since 2023. He works with international institutions and foundations, such as WARM, to promote the memory of contemporary conflicts. Since 2015, he has also managed other sites, such as the Falaise Memorial and Arromanches 360, and has been involved in museum projects in Europe.

In addition to its museum role, the Memorial engages in educational and commemorative activities, welcoming thousands of visitors every year. It is a place for reflection on the wars of the twentieth century, but also on the issues of peace and human rights in the contemporary world.

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