German invasion juin 1940 (≈ 1940)
Construction of 13 blockhouses in Tourcoing.
5 juin 1944
Verlaine message intercepted
Verlaine message intercepted 5 juin 1944 (≈ 1944)
Announcement of Normandy landing.
21 septembre 1991
Opening of the museum
Opening of the museum 21 septembre 1991 (≈ 1991)
Inauguration in the old casemate.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Paul Verlaine - French poet
Author of the poem *Chanson d'automne*.
Origin and history
The museum of 5 June 1944, also known as "Message Verlaine", is a historical museum founded in 1991 in Tourcoing, northern department. It was installed in a former German casemate that housed a staff during World War II. This place is famous for having captured, on June 5, 1944, the second stanza of Paul Verlaine's autumn song poem, broadcast by Radio London, announcing the landing of Normandy.
Originally, this blockhouse was one of the 13 built by the Germans after the 1940 invasion to protect the headquarters of the 15th Army. Abandoned after the war, it was restored in the 1980s by enthusiasts before opening as a museum in 1991. Today, he presents the installations of the German staff and techniques of tracking resistance by the Gestapo.
The museum is managed by a volunteer association that organizes visits. It attracts visitors from all over the world, including Americans, and preserves the memory of the Resistance and the Occupation in the North of France. Two rooms recount the events of the Second World War and the German occupation in the region.
