Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Jean-Moulin National Centre in Bordeaux was set up in 1967 on the initiative of Jacques Chaban-Delmas, then Mayor of Bordeaux and former resistant. It was born from a meeting between Chaban-Delmas and Geneviève Thieuleux, a resistant who gathered a unique collection of documents during the war. This fund, given to the city in 1967, constituted the heart of the collections of the center, inaugurated on 4 February 1967 rue des Frères Bonie. The mission of the centre is to transmit the memory of the Resistance, Deportation and Free French Forces, based on archives, objects and testimonies.

In 1981, the centre was transferred to the former building of the Bordeaux Savings Bank, providing a wider space and greater visibility. This building, built in 1846-1847 by architect Henri Duphot, helped to expand exhibitions and improve public reception. The centre welcomed personalities such as François Mitterrand in 1982 and became a symbolic place, also hosting the Claude-Bonnier National Committee and the Jean-Moulin Institute. It was attached to the Aquitaine Museum in 2006.

The centre offers a permanent tour of the Second World War, with various collections: posters, weapons, uniforms, works of art, and the office of Jean Moulin, reconstituted thanks to donations from his family. He also organizes temporary exhibitions such as La Libération de Bordeaux (2014-2015) or Propaganda! Posters in wartime (2015-2016), and participates in educational projects, such as documentaries and web-series on the Resistance. Closed since 2018 for renovation, some of its collections have been transferred to the Aquitaine Museum.

The Jean-Moulin Centre plays a key role in preserving historical memory, collaborating with associations of resistors and deportees. It provides researchers, teachers and students with a wealth of documentary material, including archives, testimonies and thematic files. Its outreach is both regional, national and international, thanks to donations from private collections and partnerships with institutions such as the Ministry of Defence. The centre is also a symbolic ceremony venue, as in 2016, where volunteers signed their commitment to the army.

The history of the centre is inseparable from that of Bordeaux during the Second World War. The city, which was briefly capital in June 1940, was occupied by the Germans from July 1940. The area where the centre is located was marked by this occupation, which reinforces its role in the transmission of this dark period. The centre is part of a pedagogical approach, with thematic visits, lectures and materials adapted to the school, to perpetuate the duty of memory.

The centre's collections are organized on three floors: the ground floor is dedicated to the general context of the Second World War, the first floor houses temporary exhibitions and a room on the Deportation, and the second floor houses Jean Moulin's offices, archives and office. Among the iconic pieces are a moped used by the resistors, a Jeep of the landing, and the ship Sils bit you, used to reach London. The centre also publishes reference works and collaborates on audiovisual productions to disseminate its knowledge.

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