Until 22 June 2025 at the Musée de l’Armée – Invalides
A refugee in the United States during the war, Jean Gabin volunteered to join the French army at the age of 40 to help liberate the country. The senior officers wanted to assign him to entertain the troops, but he categorically refused, insisting on taking part in the fighting. He did so heroically, reverting to his birth name, Jean Moncorgé, to show that he was just another soldier. The museum’s exceptional exhibition traces the destinies of artists and intellectuals who, during the Second World War, chose exile and waged an intense cultural struggle. These include Jean Gabin, Fernand Léger, Ossip Zadkine, Romain Gary, Alexander Calder, Paul Éluard and many others.