Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée de la Résistance en Morvan is located in Saint-Brisson, Nièvre, within the House of the Morvan Regional Natural Park. It was founded in 1983 by historians of the University of Burgundy and former resistors, then inaugurated by François Mitterrand. Renovated in 2023 for its 40 years, it is managed by the association ARORM, which also preserves the Dun-les-Places Memorial, an emblematic village-martyr of the region.

Through three thematic rooms (Occupation, Resistance, Liberation and Memory), the museum explores Morvan's strategic role during World War II. Its relief and isolation made it a refuge for guerrillas, opposed to the Nazi occupation and the Vichy regime. Archives, photographs, weapons and immersive projections illustrate the underground life, actions of resistance and sacrifices of the inhabitants, of which 21 maquis are referenced for the summer of 1944.

The first room deals with the German occupation: repression, STO (Compulsory Labour Service), shortages and propaganda. The second room details the organisation of the local Resistance, with clandestine leaflets, maps of the maquis and a space dedicated to their daily life (hungry, fear, solidarity). The third room evokes the Liberation of Morvan in September 1944, marked by the withdrawal of German troops, and perpetuates memory through steles, poems and letters of resistance.

The museum offers an active educational service, with workshops for schools, preparations for the National Resistance Competition, and an annual writing contest ("Letter of maquisard"). Temporary exhibitions, such as Tell Me the Resistance to Women, highlight unknown figures, while memorial routes mark the territory, including the "Memory Paths" linking 21 historical sites.

Integrated with the Morvan ecomuseum, the place is part of a process of transmission, combining local history and natural heritage. Partnerships with the National Warrior Office (ONACVG) and the Regional Nature Park strengthen its territorial anchor. The nearby Dun-les-Places Memorial completes the visit by honouring the memory of the civilian and resistant victims of this village devastated in 1944.

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