Earlier this week, I visited Lyon’s Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation (the History Center of the Resistance and Deportation). It is housed in a building that was originally constructed as a medical school in 1889 before it became the Gestapo’s regional headquarters in the spring of 1943, led by the notorious “Butcher of Lyon,” Klaus Barbie. Barbie was known for his brutal torture of the victims arrested and imprisoned in the Lyon area; many were tortured in the basement of this very museum. Thousands passed through Lyon: it was a relatively large city, had a somewhat sizable Jewish population, and—with its location in the Vichy region—served as the center of the French Resistance.
Approximately 60% of the museum was dedicated to the French Resistance fighters (with particular attention given to the ones based out of Lyon), but the rest discussed the Jews and their fate in Vichy France. The exhibits mentioned the Vichy exclusion policy, including the law of October 1940 which prohibited Jews from holding several different jobs and the July 1941 proclamation which declared a census of the entire Jewish population, resulted in Jews losing all their property, and mandated Jewish identity cards. Based on our class discussions and readings, I tried to pay particular attention to where the exhibits placed the blame of the Jewish roundup. One paragraph admitted that the decision of the Vichy government to voluntarily deport Jews saved the Nazis a significant amount of time and money and that the Vichy regime’s enthusiasm for hunting Jews far exceeded simply “following orders.” Another plaque noted that most of the Jews were arrested by French police and that many were sold out by their neighbors. On a more positive note, however, one sentence declared that “In France, thanks particularly to the solidarity of the population, three-fourths of the Jews were saved, but 80,000 perished.” I have no idea how France addressed its role in the deportation of Jews in the past, but it seems that they are more fully taking responsibility for it now.
Approximately 60% of the museum was dedicated to the French Resistance fighters (with particular attention given to the ones based out of Lyon), but the rest discussed the Jews and their fate in Vichy France. The exhibits mentioned the Vichy exclusion policy, including the law of October 1940 which prohibited Jews from holding several different jobs and the July 1941 proclamation which declared a census of the entire Jewish population, resulted in Jews losing all their property, and mandated Jewish identity cards. Based on our class discussions and readings, I tried to pay particular attention to where the exhibits placed the blame of the Jewish roundup. One paragraph admitted that the decision of the Vichy government to voluntarily deport Jews saved the Nazis a significant amount of time and money and that the Vichy regime’s enthusiasm for hunting Jews far exceeded simply “following orders.” Another plaque noted that most of the Jews were arrested by French police and that many were sold out by their neighbors. On a more positive note, however, one sentence declared that “In France, thanks particularly to the solidarity of the population, three-fourths of the Jews were saved, but 80,000 perished.” I have no idea how France addressed its role in the deportation of Jews in the past, but it seems that they are more fully taking responsibility for it now.
Kaitlynn, this is so interesting to me because I had no idea this existed in Lyon! Where is it? Because of this class I've learned that Lyon was a center that was extremely important to the resistance and I've looked for evidence of this history, but all I seem to find is St. Exupery and Louis XIV memorials and honors. Have you been able to find any other examples of this history within the city?
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