Mémorial de Caen building, World War II memorial museum building in Caen, France

The Mémorial de Caen is a building containing multiple exhibition halls filled with artifacts, documents, and multimedia presentations about World War II and its aftermath. The spaces are organized by theme and show events of the period from different perspectives.

The building was designed by Jacques Millet and opened in 1988 by President François Mitterrand, constructed on the site of a former German bunker. That bunker dated from the occupation period during the Battle of Normandy.

The memorial's name comes from the nearby D-Day landing beaches, and its mission is summed up in the inscription at the entrance: "The pain of the past must serve the future." Visitors can walk through the Nobel Peace Prize gallery, which presents laureates from 1901 onward, and the museum hosts temporary exhibitions on contemporary conflicts.

The building stands on the northern edge of Caen, on the site of the former German command bunker, and is reached by the ring road; parking is on site. The visit runs chronologically through several levels, from the 1918 armistice to the Cold War, so allow at least three hours. Lifts connect the floors and the bunker is reached by a separate passage.

Within the building sits a preserved underground German command bunker that was active during the war. This bunker forms a direct link between the memorial and the events it commemorates.