Four places of memory tourism to discover in the Gers. During the Second World War, the Resistance was organized in the department. Museums, monuments and villages have today become places of memory. MUSEUM OF RESISTANCE AND DEPORTATION, AUCH
At the heart of the Grand Site Occitanie and the City and Country of Art and History of Auch, capital of Gers and Gascony, the Museum of Resistance and Deportation was founded in 1954 by Louis Villanova, Marcel Daguzan and Louis Leroy. It was subsequently inaugurated on October 5, 1975 by Mr. André Bord, Minister of Veterans Affairs.
It brings together objects, documents and all period pieces held by the former resistance fighters. This "memory" space ensures its conservation as well as perpetuates the memory of the resistance fight in the Gers department.
The gradual enrichment of the collections is the objective set by the museum association (created in 1994). The exhibition rooms allow visitors to follow the evolution of the Resistance from its beginnings to the Liberation of the territory. It presents objects related to the war of 39/45 (helmets, rifles, deportees' clothes, flags, sabotage, propaganda, period wireless equipment, mannequins in uniform ...). Photographs trace this period.
A room is also devoted to the Deportation (objects, documents, drawings and memorial of the deportees from Gers).
Information collected from the site www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr
MEILHAN MAQUIS
Place of memory, site and memorial erected in memory of the 67 guerrillas massacred by the Germans on July 7, 1944.
MUSEUM OF VETERANS FOR FREEDOM, BRUGNENS
In the north-west of the Gers, the Musée des Anciens Combattants pour la Liberté de Brugnens was created by two enthusiasts: the Da-Silva brothers.
Private at the outset, this collection reached such a scale that it ended up being transformed into a veritable museum run by the association "Mémoire des combatants en Gascogne".
From the start, the creators placed their museum space at the crossroads of remembrance and the memory of contemporary conflicts. The choice was therefore made to offer the visitor a historical journey around the two world conflicts.
Unique in the Gers, the museum presents, for the pleasure and interest of all, 1 collector's items evoking the wars of 200-1914 and 1918-1939 and the resistance in the Gers: front pages of newspapers, photos, posters, correspondence, armbands, containers, weapons, uniforms, American army vehicles (Jeep, Dodge, GMC, Half-Track) ...
Educational tours for children.
Information collected from the website www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr
VILLAGE OF CASTELNAU SUR L'AUVIGNON
Place of memory: on June 21, 1944, the small village of Castelnau was the scene of a violent fight between the resistance fighters and the German troops. The complicity of the entire population with the freedom fighters meant that the village was named and decorated with the Croix de Guerre with a vermeil star. The originality of the Castelnau experience is based on the participation in the fight of resistance fighters of various nationalities. Indeed French, Spaniards, Britons, Italians met on June 21 to fight together against fascism. The village was completely destroyed. A monument in the shape of a peristyle was erected to the west of the village in homage to the fighters who died for freedom.
Route
In detail
- Distance: 182 km
- Roaming duration: 1 hour (s)
- Type of route: Road
- Type of route: Cultural
- Route type: Historical
- Route type: Religious
- Route type: Motorcycle
- Type of route: Motorhome
- Type of route: Memory tourism