2024
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Place of worship presenting the processes of constructing memories of the Second World War and understanding repression
A medieval place of worship, then a military fortress during the 19th century, Mont Valérien was the main execution site for the German army on French territory. These men, assassinated because they were Resistance fighters, hostages or Jews, are so many reminders of our history that naturally made this site an important place of national memory. After the war, the site was chosen by General de Gaulle to honor the memory of those who died for France from 1939 to 1945; he inaugurated the Mémorial de la France combattante on June 18, 1960. As a place of execution for resistance fighters and hostages (mostly communists and Jews), Mont Valérien is a central element in the understanding of the German repressive organization on French territory. The multiplicity of the paths of the 1,008 people shot allows us today to describe their diversity. Among them, the members of the FTP-MOI Manouchian group, known as the "Affiche Rouge", or Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves, Boris Vildé and Gabriel Péri. In all, 17 nationalities are represented at Mont Valérien.
Inside the site, the "Remembrance Trail" allows you to follow the path of those who were about to be shot: from the chapel, whose walls still bear the trace of graffiti engraved by the condemned, to the clearing of those shot. Now an educational and commemorative site with numerous museographic installations, the Mont Valérien Memorial provides a better understanding of German repression, French collaboration, and the lives of those who "loved life to death".
This visit allows us to understand the repression, to grasp the diversity of the commitments and to decipher the processes of construction of the memories of the Second World War.
Access to the Mont-Valérien memorial will soon be subject to a fee. For more information, please contact the memorial reception desk.
Further information
Opening time and information on MONT VALÉRIEN MEMORIAL
Open from 9am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 6pm. Opening hours: Groups - 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm. Saturday and Sunday: 9.30am, 11am, 2.30pm, 4pm. Individuals - 3 pm, 4 pm. Saturday and Sunday 2.30pm, 4pm. Closed on the first Monday of every month and on the following public holidays: May 1, December 25. Closed from December 23 to January 1 inclusive. Free admission for guided tours only. Reservations required.
Owner's Message
In 1960, General de Gaulle, then President of the Republic, inaugurated the Memorial of Fighting France, a monument to the heroes and martyrs of the Resistance.
Mont-Valérien includes:
the historical site :
-the clearing of the shootings was used by the German army, between 1941 and 1944, as a discreet place for the execution of those condemned to death and hostages taken from the various prisons and camps in the Paris region.
-the chapel of the executed in which some of the condemned spent their last moments and where they engraved their last messages on the walls.
the place of memory :
-the path of remembrance overlooks the "clearing of the shot" and allows one to follow the path of the condemned who were to be shot;
-the monument to the shot dead bears the names of those shot dead and pays homage to "the resistance fighters and hostages shot at Mont-Valérien by Nazi troops - 1941-1944 - and to all those who were not identified";
-the Memorial of Fighting France where every June 18, a ceremony presided over by the President of the Republic on the esplanade of the Memorial commemorates General de Gaulle's appeal to continue the fight and refuse defeat.
the museographic spaces :
-the permanent exhibition "Resistance and Repression, 1940-1944
-the chapel of the executed presents the graffiti of the executed, the execution posts and the coffins used to transport the remains. The role of the German Catholic prison chaplain, Franz Stock, is explained.
-an exhibition room in the crypt of the Mémorial de la France combattante explains the creation of this place of remembrance desired by General de Gaulle.
-the information center offers archive films on the history of Mont-Valérien since the Second World War and provides visitors with interactive terminals with biographical notes and documents on the people shot at Mont-Valérien.
À faire si possible avec la forteresse du Mont Valerien pendant les journées du Patrimoine.