Footsteps of WWII · Paris, Champagne & Alsace
Mont-Valérien memorial, Suresnes
Memorial · 1941–1944
The story
Between 1941 and 1944 the German army shot 1,008 men at Fort Mont-Valérien, a 19th-century fort above the Seine west of Paris; most were resistance fighters and hostages. Prisoners waited in a disused chapel and were taken to a clearing about 100 metres away to be shot. Among them were the naval officer Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves on 29 August 1941, the communist deputy Gabriel Péri on 15 December 1941, and Missak Manouchian and members of his FTP-MOI group, the 'Affiche Rouge', on 21 February 1944. De Gaulle consecrated the site as a memorial on 18 June 1945.
What to look for
The Memorial of Fighting France, a long wall with a large Cross of Lorraine, stands below the fort. A path leads up to the chapel, with graffiti left by the condemned, and to the execution clearing, where a monument records the names of those shot.
Plan your visit
Not verified in October 2026 (official site unreachable). The memorial is managed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces; visits to the chapel and clearing have been free, partly by guided tour. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Musée de la Libération de Paris – Leclerc – Jean Moulin · 10 km
- Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris · 11 km
- Glade of the Armistice, Compiègne · 80 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
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