Exhibition: The Resistance Gendarmes of Ain: Choosing the Impossible

Discover an exhibition at Voltaire Castle presenting the history of the Ain department during the Second World War, from the little-known perspective of the impact of the occupation on the daily lives of the departmental gendarmes and their major involvement in the resistance activities of the Maquis de l'Ain.

It pays tribute to the soldiers of the Ain gendarmerie company who made ‘the impossible choice’ during the Second World War: that of honour rather than shame. It reveals the complex impacts of the Occupation on the departmental gendarmes and attempts to explain why, in this oppressive context, some chose to resist, regardless of the danger. This question is at the heart of the exhibition, which explores both the forced submission of the Gendarmerie to the Vichy regime and the emergence of anonymous heroes, ready to do anything to defend their fellow citizens.