School Groups
The collections of the Liberation of Paris – General Leclerc Museum – Jean Moulin Museum offer an original look at the history of World War II that focuses on the history of Paris and Parisians, as well as on the engagements of General Leclerc and Jean Moulin. The collections have been assembled around items from donors wishing to perpetrate the memory of important participants in the conflict. The Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque Foundation entrusted the City of Paris with a collection on the history of the 2nd Armored Division and the personality and action of Philippe de Hauteclocque. Antoinette Sasse, who was a close friend of Jean Moulin and participated in some of his resistance activities, donated her archives and items to the museum.
The offer of visits and activities designed for school audiences includes guided and open tours, workshops and museum sessions that are held outside the building in local classrooms. It targets all pupils from the third grade through high school.
Reservations open starting on September 1, 2019.
The guided tour circuits
A discovery of the collections
Audience: The circuit can be adapted to all school levels, from second grade to high school.
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Price: from €90 to €140, depending on the number of pupils.
Visit by reservation: reserve online.
School-age visitors will discover how two Frenchmen, Captain Philippe de Hauteclocque and Prefect Jean Moulin, who were from very different backgrounds and had radically different personalities, chose a firm commitment in a context of defeat and the assumption of power by a collaborationist government. They were not the only ones. Other men and women also made this choice, and the visit pathway paints their portrait. The pathway also tells the special story of Paris and its inhabitants during the war, from the shock of occupation to the days of liberation in August 1944.
Pupils from second grade through high school are invited to think about the values defended by these individuals and to imagine what the world they lived in was like.
General Leclerc: a commitment to liberate France
Audience: A circuit for pupils from the ninth grade through high school.
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Price: from €90 to €140, depending on the number of pupils.
Visit by reservation: reserve online.
Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque is one of the great French figures of the fight against Nazi oppression and the Occupation. He is the man of the 2nd Armored Division and the victory of Kufra, and later of the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. During the month of June 1940, Captain Hauteclocque decided to break with his military superiors and separate from his family to commit fully to the liberation of France.
From London to Berchtesgaden, by way of Cameroon and battles in the Libyan desert, following in General Leclerc’s footsteps gives a better understanding of the commitment of men and women to freeing France. From various backgrounds and environments and with a range of opinions, they agreed on the essential values to fight for together. The collections of the Museum of the Liberation of Paris – General Leclerc Museum – Jean Moulin Museum introduce young visitors to this pathway and let them share this commitment.
Jean Moulin: unifier of the Resistance
Audience: A circuit proposed for pupils from the ninth grade through high school.
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Price: from €90 to €140, depending on the number of pupils.
Visit by reservation: reserve online.
After the war, Jean Moulin became known as the leading figure of the French Resistance. During the ceremony on the occasion of his reburial in the Pantheon, André Malraux called him the “face of France”. Representing General de Gaulle and a delegate to the French National Committee starting in January 1942, he received the mission to unite the resistance movements under the authority of the head of Free France. In the spring of 1943, he founded the CNR (National Resistance Council), which brought together resistance movements, political parties and trade unions. Arrested in June by the Nazi police services and tortured, he died on July 8, 1943.
This circuit takes a look at the numerous facets of the rich personality of Jean Moulin, who was a humanist and ardent defender of the Republic, a lover of the arts and a great resistance figure. Pupils will also discover some of the companions of this hero of the “Army of Shadows".
A circuit focusing on an animated cartoon series: Les Grandes Grandes Vacances
Audience: A circuit for third graders.
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Price: from €90 to €140, depending on the number of pupils.
Visit by reservation: reserve online.
Les Grandes Grandes Vacances is an animated cartoon series in ten episodes that was broadcast on France 3 in 2015. Produced by the Armateurs company and based on an original idea by Delphine Maury, it tells the story of World War II from the point of view of two children, Colette and Ernest, who have taken refuge with their grandparents in Normandy. The graphic bible was designed by Emile Bravo. Paul Leluc is the director.
Ernest and Colette discover life in the country, make new friends and adapt themselves to the way everyday life is upset during wartime. The series treats topics such as the German occupation and consequent repression, the persecution of the Jewish population, scarcity and the black market and the development of resistance actions with great historical precision.
The series is the guiding principle behind the tour, which is designed to introduce children to the museum collections. The pathway has been built from a selection of scenes related to topics or events presented in the rooms and tied to objects from the collections.
An independent visit to the pathway
This pathway can be visited independently using a downloadable file. The file, which includes additional documents and explanations, is designed to assist visitors. It also includes a questionnaire that encourages pupils to participate actively and gives more meaning to their discoveries. Built in reference to a common core of knowledge, skill and culture, these files enable school visitors to take full advantage of the museum collections.
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Price: free of charge.
Mandatory reservation: reserve online.
- Discover the museum collections
- General Leclerc: a commitment to liberate France
- Jean Moulin: unifier of the Resistance