Wow. This place is amazing. In fact, my only complaint is that its name doesn’t do it justice – it’s a complex composed of several memorials, a research and documentation center, and a museum with space for both permanent and special exhibitions.
The permanent exhibition takes a wide view of the Holocaust, going from the position of Jews in pre-war French society to repatriation or emigration choices after the war. The emphasis is on information rather than heartstring-yanking. There’s a fantastic mix of text, objects, and video which combine general historical overviews and personal stories.
The current special exhibition is on the special units, comprised of film directors and technicians, who filmed the just-liberated camps. There are fascinating comparisons between these directors’ Hollywood movies and their choices on how to document what they say, as well as interesting meditations on the role these films played as evidence in the Nuremberg trials.
So: go.
