Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation

The Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, known as the CHRD, stands at 14 Avenue Berthelot in Lyon's 7th arrondissement, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It occupies part of the former building of the École de Santé Militaire, which the German Gestapo used as its Lyon headquarters from late 1942 to 1944, under Klaus Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon. Prisoners were interrogated and tortured in its cells, and several were deported from here. The museum opened in 1992 and was created to preserve the memory of the period, and it was later expanded and renovated. Lyon had a special role in the war, as it was a centre of the Resistance, sometimes called the capital of the Resistance, where Jean Moulin met the movements of the southern zone in 1943 and was arrested at Caluire in June of that year. The permanent exhibition follows the period 1939 to 1945 in a chronological sequence, covering the occupation, the Vichy regime, the persecution of Jews, the daily life of the population, the Resistance movements and deportation. It displays documents, photographs, posters, objects, testimony recordings and film. A section is devoted to the Klaus Barbie trial, held in Lyon in 1987 and the first trial in France for crimes against humanity, and the sentence of life imprisonment. Temporary exhibitions explore related topics, and a documentation centre and educational programmes serve students and researchers. The approach is documentary and testimonial, with a restrained design that lets original material speak. The building still preserves traces of its past use, which gives the visit weight. Because of the subject, the museum is mainly suited to older children and adults. It stands near the Jean Macé metro station, and a visit combines naturally with the nearby Lyon neighbourhood walks.