Vassieux-en-Vercors is home to several prehistoric
archaeological sites, and has a Museum of Prehistory which was created in May 1970 after the discovery of a
flintknapping workshop. In June and July 1944, during the
Second World War, the
French Resistance, known as the
Maquis du Vercors, staged a major uprising against the German occupation in
Vercors and proclaimed the Free Republic of Vercors. It was the first democratic territory in France since the beginning of the German occupation in 1940 – the revolt was brutally suppressed. For its great acts of resistance the town was awarded the
Ordre de la Libération. A memorial was built at the
Col de la Chau to remember the grim events of the
Second World War, and includes a cemetery where the victims of a July 1944 German massacre are buried. ==Population==