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Key figures

Origin and history

The Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation (CHRD) in Lyon was established in 1992 to preserve the memory of the Second World War, with a focus on Resistance and Deportation. Its origin dates back to 1965, when former Lyon resistors and deportees founded an association to create a dedicated museum. A first space opened in 1967 in the Museum of Natural History, before the City of Lyon, under the impetus of the Klaus Barbie trial (1987), decided on a more ambitious project. The CHRD was eventually installed in the former School of Military Health, occupied by the Gestapo between 1943 and 1944, and inaugurated in 1992 in the presence of figures such as Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Elie Wiesel.

The building, built at the end of the 19th century for the School of Military Health, became a strong symbol: its cellars, used as jails by the Gestapo under Klaus Barbie, now house temporary exhibitions. Damaged by a bombardment in 1944, it was restored after the war without rebuilding its destroyed facade, replaced by a portico. In 1981, the military school left, leaving room for a cultural and scientific pole, the Berthelot Centre, whose CHRD was a pillar. Its permanent exhibition, renovated in 2012, highlights Lyon's role in the Resistance through a chrono-thematic journey, reconstructions and 700 audiovisual testimonies.

CHRD collections, enriched by private donations, include propaganda posters, archives of local resistors (such as Paul Rivière or Henri Lachassagne), portraits of prisoners by Jean Billon, and photographic collections signed by Émile Rougé or André Gamet. The centre also offers temporary exhibitions, such as Faces (2022) or contemporary themes related to human rights (Dreaming another world, 2016). An exclusive documentary about the Barbie trial, distributed in loop, and a documentation centre with 27,000 books and 700 testimonies complete its offer. CHRD is also a founding member of the Memorha network, strengthening its memory and educational anchor.

The CHRD planade was named Pierre Robert de Saint-Vincent in 2017, honouring a resistant. The museum, labeled Musée de France, attracts by its immersive approach and territorial anchor, inviting to reflect on the links between history and memory. Its address, 14 avenue Berthelot, and its official website (chrd.lyon.fr) make it an accessible place, both memorial and space for debate on contemporary human rights issues.

The CHRD is distinguished by its dual role: to preserve the memory of the Second World War in Lyon, "capital of the Resistance", and to question the present through committed exhibitions. Its building, marked by history, and its unique audiovisual collections (testimony, sound archives) make it a major educational and heritage tool in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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