This building, with 1 m2 of exhibition space on three floors and a seat auditorium, houses the new museum and learning areas, as well as the temporary exhibitions of the new MRN. With its rich collection, the new permanent exhibition presents all the aspects and key issues of the history and remembrance of the Resistance. A cultural programme adds to the content on offer to visitors and individuals keen to gain a better understanding of modern-day issues in the light of that history.
The continuing expansion of the collection since approximately items in ; nearly one million today meant that new storage areas had to be provided for in the new museum buildings. It offers an exceptional insight into the history of the French Resistance, its remembrance and the historical works it has inspired. Its scale and diversity present the stories of thousands of Resistance members: men and women; French citizens, immigrants and foreigners; famous and anonymous.
Building of Camp Vernet started in June to house colonial troops. In the interwar period, it was used to warehouse military equipment before being commissioned in February , after the defeat of the Spanish Republican army, to 'house' thousands of Spanish civilians and military personnel who sought refuge in France where public opinion and the political class were split between the fear of communism the right and the solidarity shown by the left-wing parties for the Republican cause.
Accordingly, German citizens and foreign communists Spanish, Italians, Yugoslavians, etc. Ministry of the Interior. Circular of 17 January After the Armistice was signed in June , the country was divided by a demarcation line. The north and the Atlantic perimeter of France was under the control of the German army. Thus from the autumn of , Jews were interned at the camp in Vernet before being deported to Germany and the number of roundups in the region and deportations increased from summer when German authorities took control of the non-occupied zone.
Activity at the camp gradually declined from In total, some 40, people from 58 nations were crammed into the huts in Vernet. A fortnight later, on 30 June, the camp was used as a detention centre for German prisoners and soldiers from the Turkestan Legion.
