The Historial Charles de Gaulle is a French museum located in the
Hôtel national des Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
in the
7th arrondissement of Paris. The Historial aims to present the history of the man of
June 18, 1940, General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
.
History
The absence of a place of Gaullian memory in the capital led the President of the Republic,
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
, to launch on November 9, 2004, the project of a Historial in Les Invalides, in connection with the
Army Museum. The Hôtel des Invalides was chosen for its prestige, its importance in the History of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, its geography but above all for the available space.
The Historial is part of the modernization program of the Army Museum: ATHENA (''Armes'', ''Techniques'', ''Histoire'', ''Emblématique'', ''Nation'', ''Armée'') from 2003 to 2009. This program aims to transform the museum from an object into History Museum, drawing on three emblematic figures from the collections:
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
,
Napoleon Ier and Charles de Gaulle.
The Museum already has a section in its tour dedicated to the General, but only on his role during the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The creation of the Historial gives a new dimension with a space totally dedicated to Charles de Gaulle, well beyond the world conflict.
The project was launched a year later, on November 9, 2005, the 35th anniversary of the death of Charles de Gaulle. Project management is carried out by the Army Museum and the
de Gaulle Foundation, under the supervision of the
Ministry of the Armed Forces. As for the realization, it is entrusted to the architects Alain Moatti and Henri Rivière who were selected from several candidates for their proposal to combine contemporary architecture with that of the 17th century.
To build the Historial, major work was necessary: digging 12 meters deep under one of the courtyards of the Hôtel des Invalides. During the work, workers discovered remains of a German bunker dating from
the Occupation during the World War II. Bunker which had to be destroyed “man-made” in order not to weaken the structure of the surrounding buildings.
On February 22, 2008, the President of the Republic
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
inaugurated the Historial Charles de Gaulle, which officially opened its doors the next day.
The project cost around 18 million euros.
Nicolas Sarkozy inaugure aux Invalides l'Historial Charles de Gaulle
/ref>
References
External links
*
Historial Charles de Gaulle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Historial Charles de Gaulle
Monuments and memorials to Charles de Gaulle
Gaullism
Monuments and memorials in France
Tourism in France
Museums established in 2008