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Origin and history

The Departmental Museum of Resistance and Deportation of the Ain is located in the former Nantua prison in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. This place evokes the strategic role of the department and its maquis during the Second World War. Opened in 1985 and renovated in 2017, it offers an updated reading of events through historical objects, testimonies and reconstructions, illustrating the life of the Aindians under the occupation.

Before building the museum, the site was a parish church, Saint Michael, destroyed after the Revolution. A prison was built there between 1840 and 1846, but problems of unsanitaryness limited its use. During the Second World War, 30 Spanish Republican refugees were interned there before being deported in 1943. The prison closed in 1953, then served as associations and gymnasium before its transformation into a museum.

In 1982, Pierre Mercier, Nantua City Councillor, founded the Association of Friends of the Museum. With a team of volunteers, he supervised the renovation of the old prison and the opening of the museum in 1985. In 1990, the administration was taken over by the Nantua City Council and transferred to the Ain General Council in 2004. The museum obtained the label Musée de France in 2003 and was completely renovated in 2017 to improve its accessibility and scenography.

The collections, among the richest in France on World War II, have more than 15,000 objects: weapons, uniforms, archival documents, and reconstructions. The thematic spaces cover the rise of Nazism, life under occupation, resistance, deportation, and liberation. Multimedia tools such as archival films and immersive shows complete the visit. The museum is also a founding member of the Memorha network, dedicated to historical memory.

The ground floor is home to temporary exhibitions and a projection room airing the torment, a local archive film. The floors explore themes such as the formation of Ain maquis, sabotage, or the SOE inter-allied mission. A wall painting and reconstructions, such as that of a maquisard or a deportee, plunge visitors into history. The museum highlights significant local events, such as the November 11, 1943 parade in Oyonnax or the children's raid of Izieu.

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