Introduction
The economic crisis following the 1973 oil shock triggered a true earthquake in Northern Vaud. At the end of the 1960s, the region appeared like an Eldorado of factory work. More than half the working population of Yverdon and Sainte-Croix was employed in industry. Economic prosperity, full employment, the development of leisure activities and consumerism enabled many to forget the monotony of industrial work. Therefore the crisis had a profound impact on the region’s economy and social life. The liquidation of long-established factories provoked concern, incomprehension and sometimes anger. Seen as the end of a golden age, deindustrialization forces an entire region to reinvent itself. Its legacy is a fragmented and plural memory. What memories have the world of factories and their slow death left behind? What objects, devices and images were preserved when the factories closed? How has this industrial heritage shaped the urban space and guided its current rehabilitation?
This exhibition explores a memorial question that is still very much alive, and which is surprisingly relevant today. Based on the testimonies of people who lived through this history, and on relics from this period, it is presented as an evolving, collaborative laboratory. The scenario was conceived on the basis of witness accounts, donations of objects and documents, and research carried out by Master’s students in History at the University of Neuchâtel. The scenography is based entirely on donated, salvaged and resourced furniture. Multimedia material was sourced exclusively from Swiss and European companies.The exhibition On ferme ! Mémoires de la crise industrielle invites you to join the ongoing heritage collection : it’s your turn to contribute !