Travel Part Two of Six - Human Rights

During our first free weekend, I received permission to visit Lyon, France. While there, I visited a museum about the French resistance to the Nazis during WWII and the deportation of French Jews to the German concentration camps. There was a wealth of knowledge about French involvement in the deportation of the Jews as well as the role the Vichy government played in that deportation. There was also information about the roles that certain groups played in both the deportation and in the resistance against Nazi Germany.

I found the exposition quite revealing as to the shame that the French have with regard to this deportation. While they have created the museum, it was very difficult to find. It is tucked away in an inauspicious corner of Lyon. After we found the museum, we were fortunate enough to gain free entry. One can assume that if the museum is willing to give free entry to a couple of American students, the demand for tickets at the museum is probably fairly low. We also only saw a handful of visitors to the museum, and mostly had the place to ourselves. I felt like this museum was instituted because the French felt like it was a necessary part of their history to document, but not necessarily because they’re proud of their involvement with the Nazi Regime.

Also, the information about the resistance dominated the museum. There was information about the underground publications and networks that existed in Lyon at the time. There was information about the roles that women played in the resistance and the grisly end some of these women faced at the hands of the Nazis. There was information about the tunnels located in the heart of Lyon that were used during the resistance to evade German patrols.

I learned much that I previously didn’t know about the resistance from this museum. It made the resistance and the deportation more real. Instead of being in a distant location reading about the war that changed the world, I was actually in a city that played a very active role in the resistance against Nazi Germany. I also went and saw some of the tunnels that were used in the resistance in the heart of Lyon. My experience took history out of the pages and presented it to me in real life. It was great.