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The Historial of the great war in Péronne is located
at the historic heart of the Battlefields of the Somme.
The modern museum building has been integrated into a substantial
and imposing fortification which, like the rest of the town,
was severely damaged during the battles of the First World
War. The military and personal possessions on display belonged
to soldiers from the principal nations involved in the war
- the unfortunate victims whose fate in the war, as the French
writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline commented, was to "feed
and enrich the land". The Historial illustrates the daily
life of the British, German and French civilians who were
swiftly drawn into the first "total war", showing
the immense efforts of industrialisation, propaganda and social
involvement.
Small video screens placed throughout the display halls show
fifty-six films dating from the war, from Poincaré's
visit to Russia in July 1914 to the returning German troops
as they parade past the enthusiastic crowds and through the
Brandenburg Gate in 1918.
The Historial's collections are outstanding: posters, pictures,
objects from civilian and military daily life, all carefully
chosen to show the war accurately and clearly, at the front
and the rear.
Further illustration comes from the filmed account of the
British veteran Harry Fellows, whose narrative is supported
with archive pictures to show the British volunteers' life
at war.
The carefully planned and wide-ranging museographic displays
reveal how the horror of war is truly inexpressible, and how
its suffering is shared among all nations.
The Historial is more than a museum: it is a setting of universal
reference, the clear and factual account of a period which
shaped the whole of the Century ahead.
Practical info
Trilingual museum : English, German
and French.
Documentation centre, educational outreach department, international
research centre, shop, cafeteria.
Opening times
Every day from 10am to 6pm (except
Mondays from 01/11 to 31/03)
Closed from mid-December to
mid-January.
Prices
Adults : 7,50 €
Children (6-18) : 3.80 €
(under 6 : free)
Historial of the Great War
Château de Péronne
BP 63 - 80201 PERONNE cedex
Tel : +33 (0)3 22 83 14 18 Fax : +33 (0)3 22 83
54 18
E-mail : info@historial.org
Website : www.historial.org
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