Mémorial de la Clairière de l'Armistice

A crossroads territory at the heart of the Great War, a strategic department and the last rampart before Paris, the Oise was also the first department to become French again and hosted the signing of the Armistice in Compiègne, which then became the symbol of Victory and Peace. The Clairière de l'Armistice, a quiet place in the heart of the Compiègne forest, suddenly became part of history, symbolizing to the eyes of the whole world the end of the hostilities of the Great War, the end of four years of a terrible conflict. It was the night of November 10, 1918, and the railroad car, used by Marshal Foch as an office car, had been parked since the evening of November 7 on a double track that the French artillery had built during the war. The Marshal received the Germans there on November 11 at 2:15 am, who agreed to sign the Armistice at 5:15 am. The agreement took effect "on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 a.m. precisely If the original wagon is no more, destroyed on Hitler's orders after the vengeful Armistice of 1940, its twin hides nothing of the crucial moment and reveals where the different personalities were placed at the time of the signing. Next to the wagon, the armistice memorial museum houses nearly 800 black and white stereoscopic photos, striking testimonies of the life of the poilus, of the mobilization, of Verdun, of the Victory celebration. We can measure the extent of the hope that is reborn to lead a peaceful life again, in the belief that this war will be the Der des Der..