9/11, Collections for Educational Purposes

Although primarily dedicated to the history of terrorist attacks that have struck French territory, the collections of the future Museum and Memorial of Terrorism also include documentary and heritage materials related to international terrorist events. As such, the historical, political, and commemorative significance of the 9/11 attacks fully justifies the inclusion of objects and archival materials associated with this event in the institution’s collections.

Created in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, these drawings document how very young children—who are often far removed from the underlying geopolitical issues— come to terms with the event. They offer insight into how children use simple symbolic forms to make sense of violence that is difficult to comprehend. Recurring depictions of the Twin Towers, airplanes, French and American flags, doves of peace, hearts, and messages of solidarity attest to the existence of a shared iconographic repertoire through which compassion, concern, and hope are expressed.

This collection also sheds light on the psychological impact of terrorism on younger generations. Although they were not directly exposed to the violence of the attack, French children were confronted with a continuous stream of dramatic images broadcast by the media. The drawings thus reveal moments of shock, but also processes of resilience and storytelling that allow emotions to be transformed into creative expression. In this respect, they serve as valuable testimonies to how societies collectively develop a response to terrorist violence.

Finally, these drawings highlight the profoundly international dimension of the reactions sparked by September 11. Far from being limited to an institutional or diplomatic response, the outpouring of solidarity evident in these works attests to the emergence of a transnational emotional community. Through these thousands of drawings, we see the spontaneous forging of a symbolic bond between French children and American victims. Now preserved in a museum-memorial dedicated to terrorism, these documents serve as a reminder that the history of such events is also written through the ordinary gestures of anonymous citizens, including the youngest among them.

The front-page stories published in the hours and days following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers now constitute a major archive for the cultural and media history of terrorism. They offer insight into how societies perceived, interpreted, and narrated the event. The language used, the choice of imagery, the prioritization of information, and even national variations in journalistic coverage reveal the magnitude of the rupture that 9/11 represented in the contemporary collective imagination.

Beyond their historical significance, these documents allow us to examine a fundamental aspect of modern terrorism: its close relationship with the media. Indeed, many researchers emphasize that terrorist organizations seek maximum visibility in order to amplify the psychological impact of their actions, and the 9/11 attacks serve as a prime example in this regard. The live broadcast of the towers’ collapse transformed a terrorist act into a global event, witnessed simultaneously by several million people. Images thus become an essential vehicle for spreading fear, emotion, and memory.

This issue will play a significant role in the future permanent exhibition at the Museum and Memorial of Terrorism. In particular, press materials will help explore the mechanisms by which violence is covered by the media, the international circulation of images, the effects of visual repetition, and the construction of collective narratives of terrorism. They also illustrate the profound evolution of information systems at the turn of the 21st century, a pivotal moment when 24-hour news channels and social media helped redefine the very experience of the event. Thus, these newspapers are not merely witnesses to September 11; they themselves are part of the history of how the event was received and commemorated.

The T-shirt donated to the Museum and Memorial of Terrorism has remarkable heritage value. It still bears physical traces of the dust produced by the collapse of the towers—dust whose toxicity has since been extensively documented due to the many substances it contained. Through this ordinary object, the full material reality of the catastrophe is brought back to life. Unlike written or audiovisual archives, the object physically bears the marks of the event and allows for a tangible understanding of the violence of what occurred.

The T-shirt’s museological significance also lies in its ability to embody the role of witnesses. The documentary directed by the Naudet brothers made a decisive contribution to the construction of the visual memory of 9/11. Far from being a mere piece of clothing, the object thus becomes the physical medium for a documentary narrative and an extraordinary human experience. It bears witness to the immediate proximity to the event, exposure to danger, and the lasting consequences that such an experience can have on individuals.

Finally, the presence of this object in the collections serves as a reminder of the Franco-American dimension of 9/11. While the attacks struck the United States, their consequences affected many countries, including France. French nationals lost their lives in the attacks, while several French journalists, first responders, and professionals were involved in covering or managing their aftermath. Through the story of Jules Naudet, the museum highlights how a global event intersects with multiple individual and national trajectories. This garment thus becomes a true artifact that bridges personal history, collective memory, and the legacy of contemporary terrorism.