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The History of the Caen Memorial

About the museum

In 1986, Jacques Chirac, then Prime Minister, laid the first stone of the Caen Memorial Museum in the company of Jean-Marie Girault. The Museum was inaugurated in 1988 by the French President, François Mitterrand. Today, the Museum is one of the most important memorials in Europe. Its expertise, as well as its cultural, educational and scientific standards, are now internationally recognized.

The origins of the Memorial Museum

Jean-Marie Girault, photographed by Pierda, 1948

Jean-Marie Girault (1926-2016) was the Museum’s founder.

On June 6, 1944, a young Red Cross volunteer was searching through
the ruins of Caen to rescue the wounded buried under the rubble. In the 1980s, Jean-Marie Girault, now a senator and mayor of the city, was the driving force behind the Caen Memorial Museum. In 1981, he founded, along with others, the Association des Amis du Musée Mémorial, which began the important work of assembling memories and laying
the foundations for the future museum. Building work began in 1986, under the direction of Caen architect Jacques Millet, and the Memorial was opened on June 6, 1988, by President François Mitterrand. On its white Caen-stone façade, etched by the scars of wars, are lines by local poet Paul Dorey : La douleur m’a brisée, la fraternité m’a relevée, de ma blessure a jailli un fl euve de liberté (“Pain broke me, fraternity
relieved me, from my wound sprang a river of freedom”).

The Memorial Museum in brief

The Caen Memorial museum

Status: SAEML (local public-private company)
Majority shareholder: City of Caen (51.6%)
Capital: €1,233,027
Chairman: Aristide Olivier, mayor of Caen
Chief Executive Officer: Laurent Ronis-Le Moal
Number of employees (all sites): between 90 and 100 in a normal year
Museum surface area: 14,000 m² on 3 levels, including 5,600 m² of permanent exhibitions

SIREN 348 713 694 | VAT FR 71348713694 | APE 9102Z

 

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We visited as a school group

We visited as a school group and had a guided tour by Oliver. He was masterful in walking us through the museum and teaching our group about WWII. If you can, get a guided tour by Oliver – he made the museum the best it could be.

We highly recommend - Legacy Roads

Alexandra was awesome. She was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all our questions. She shared insights and stories we had not heard before. We highly recommend booking a tour of Caen with Legacy-Roads Guided Tours

Booked a full day tour of Normandy - Cemetery - St Mere

Booked a full day tour of Normandy – Cemetery – St Mere. Oliver our tour guide was excellent. He was informative, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. As an avid reader of WW2 military history I cannot imagine trying to navigate the Normandy area without going on a tour. I am sure all of the tour guides are great, however, Oliver was outstanding – highly recommend. The format of the tour was well planned – Cemetery and landings, lunch at a nice local bistro, then further sites. Oliver was able to identify through just reading books. The Caen Memorial Museum was very good as well.

It was a trip far more than expected

It was a trip far more than expected. A good chance to gaze upon the bravery of American soldiers on D-Day on those particular historic spots. I was super lucky to travel by myself along with the tour guide Mario and our driver Alain. Mario is a super enthusiastic guide prepared detailed history facts about the landing day, and always ready to any possible questions – also a patient teacher to a non-French-speaking tourist like me. Driver Alain, humorous as well, guaranteed a smooth landing along the shore for the whole day, and was willing to slow down at any interesting spot. As I mentioned, this guided tour is especially suitable for those traveling without cars or who want to witness most of the prestigious spots in a single day. It provides the best initial impression to those looking for WW2 history in Normandy.

It was a very special day - Legacy Roads

Oliver did a outstanding job. An unplanned incident where a little girl ran up to us in the middle of the beach, asked if I was a veteran and presented me with a veterans medal, left all of us in tears. Later, Oliver asked if I could be part of the Taps lowering of the flag, the request was granted on this Memorial Day. It was a very special day for this US Army veteran. I’m glad I followed my American Legion Commander’s advice and wore my Legion hat. The beach and cemetery tour was sobering, reflective and meaningful. Thank you.

wonderful D-Day tour - Legacy Roads

I had a wonderful D-Day tour with Andrea and Allan. They were friendly, knowledgeable, prompt and accommodating. Great full day tour of all the main D-Day sites. And the Memorial the next day was really good as well.