History of the museum
The Normandy Victory Museum is one of the must-see museums in Normandy on the theme of the Second World War. If he deserves a detour, it is because he tackles in detail the battle of the hedges (Hedgerows hell) which took place during the summer of 44 in fields of Normandy. An event that deserved a whole museum to be dedicated to it, it was so important, strategic and forever marked the memory of the locals and the soldiers involved in this fight. This is where the history of the museum begins.
The Hedgerow hell, a major event in the history of the Landing
It took fifty days after the landing for the Hedgerows hell to finally end and be recognized as a success. Fifty days of fierce fighting which cost soldiers of all camps and Norman civilians. This is what we wanted to tell and explain to our visitors in a chronological, lively and immersive journey. With two major objectives: to inform and pay tribute.
At the beginning of the Normandy Victory Museum
Three founding members driven by the same passion
The Normandy Victory Museum is the result of the meeting in 2016 of three history enthusiasts: Patrick Fissot, history professor. Christophe Beaussire, manager and Nicolas Bellée, chartered accountant. Three collectors driven by the same desire, to set forth the Hedgerows hell which marked their department so much, and pay tribute to those who courageously fought to deliver the Channel from the German yoke, military as civilians.
A personal historical collection serving the public
Patrick Fissot and Nicolas Bellée are already great collectors when they join forces for this great museum project. Their respective personal collections are impressive and between 2004 and 2014, they mounted some large temporary exhibitions which earned them recognition from the community and the public. Building on these successes, they began to develop a museum project in 2015.
In 2016, they were joined by Christophe Beaussire, and also a passionate collector of military vehicles. He owns a building in the municipality of Catz (Carentan-les-marais) which he rented from the owner of the Tank Museum and who unfortunately sees its closure announced. This freed space will be the ideal place to install the collections of the three men and to share them with the widest audience.
A moving inauguration in the presence of General Poppas
On May 19, 2017 after long months of effort, the museum opens to the public and it is on June 02, 2017 that the inauguration of the Normandy Victory Museum will take place in the presence of General Poppas, commander of the 101st American Airborne Division. A presence rich in symbolism as we know the importance of this airborne division which liberated the city of Carentan in June 44.
Five years later…
The museum seems to have conquered its public
The hard work of these three enthusiasts and their team has paid off and the figures show an audience conquered by the theme of the museum and the manner of presenting this important period of local history.
- 2017: 10,000 visitors
- 2018: nearly 20,000 visitors
- 2019: nearly 35,000 visitors, including a growing share of school.
- 2020/2021: despite the crisis, the number of visitors has been maintained thanks to French tourists and some Europeans and we thank them.
Encouraged by these figures and the very positive feedback from our visitors, the museum team continues to constantly improve its museum journey and to imagine new events for our public.
What was planned in 2020
- A new thematic exhibition “Women in war“
- Security conferences and events (Enigna conference); alternative events in the context of the health crisis: Ciné Driv’in on June 6.
March 2020, a brutal end and a battle to be waged
This beginning of 2020 will have shown us how fragile man is and how big he can be in adversity. The Covid crisis is such an ordeal that our generation and that of our children have never known. It allowed us to touch on a tiny fraction of what our elders have been through and forbade us all to give up.
This year, the museum could not reopen as planned at the end of March 2020, but we continued to work: improving the museum scenes, fitting out the exteriors, enriching our collections, postponing conferences, organizing ceremonies virtual like “Bells of Freedom” ou “Our Ciné Drive from June 6 “.
We also redesigned the website and set up an online reservation system which allowed us to receive you as soon as we received authorization. The summer months have allowed us to receive many of you. Unfortunately the health situation forced us to close again. Although our teams are small, we continue to work: redesign of our E-commerce site (to find online all the products sold in stores), fittings and decoration of the entrance to the museum, finishes in the Greenfield room intended to receive cultural events and professional and private meetings.
2021, we were looking forward to you and you are back
For our part, the projects continued to flourish. The store has been redesigned. The Greenfield Hall has been completed and has already seen many events go by.
2022: the museum will celebrate its fifth anniversary!
The museum has evolved a lot since 2017 and the constantly increasing number of visitors and your enthusiastic opinions show us that we have been able to meet your expectations.
However, this is just the start and we plan to improve your visit even further. So in 2022:
- Several scenes will be redesigned for an even more immersive stroll.
- Our new audio guide, which is currently being tested, will be available free of charge and in several languages.
- Signage will be improved
- And many events are already planned
Our team
A small team 100% passionate
- Patrick FISSOT (Founding member)
- Christophe BEAUSSIRE (Founding member)
- Nicolas BELLEE (Founding member)
- Godefroy BEAUSSIRE (Museum director)
- Elsemiek Dekker (Reception and shop manager)
- Frédéric RAULINE (Museum decorator)
- Margaux LECLUSE (Community manager)
- Cécile JEANNE (Digital project and communication manager)