The war at play at the CHRD in Lyon: toys to tell the story of childhood under the Occupation

Until June 7, 2026, the Lyon Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation is presenting a temporary exhibition entitled "War at Play," which takes an unusual approach to the Second World War: that of toys and games. Stuffed animals, dolls, board games, school notebooks—these everyday objects become silent witnesses to childhood under the Occupation, and sometimes relics of unspeakable violence. "This is a new approach used by historians in recent years, this dimension of games and toys as a gateway to understanding the daily lives of children during wartime," explains Marion Vivier, the exhibition's curator, in comments reported by Radio France.

Objects bearing individual destinies, from persecution to massacre

Some of the exhibited items carry a particularly heavy history. Among them are dolls snatched from the hands of two little girls, Denise and Micheline Levy, in Haguenau, in the Bas-Rhin region, at the time of their arrest before deportation. Another is a wooden toy that belonged to René Deglane, a child who died in the church of Oradour-sur-Glane during the massacre perpetrated by a Waffen-SS unit. The exhibition also serves as a reminder of how much the realities of children during wartime varied depending on their geographical, social, or religious circumstances: "There are different childhoods during wartime; no two childhoods are alike, depending on whether one was near the D-Day beaches or not, whether one lived in the southern or northern zone, or whether one was also a child of the persecuted," Marion Vivier explained to Radio France. An inspection report from the National Archives, read aloud for the exhibition, recounts what children were drawing in 1943 in a primary school in Marseille.

A trail designed for ages 7 and up, combining an audio guide and an activity booklet.

Aware of the duality between the visual appeal of toys and the harsh realities they represent, the CHRD (Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation) has designed a special tour for children aged 7 and up. A children's audio guide, narrated and set to music by the Mademoiselle F* company, immerses visitors in the world of the era through eleven key objects, chosen because their young owners had unique and well-documented stories. A free activity booklet complements the tour. This approach allows visitors to address, without glossing over, the realities of war and the persecution of Jewish children—by connecting familiar objects to a historical context that young visitors can then connect with at their own level.