Pas-de-Calais
The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...
region of France
France is Administrative divisions of France, divided into eighteen administrative regions (, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are Overseas departments and regions of France, ove ...
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
.
History
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, from October 1914 to October 1918, Carvin was occupied by the Germans. Over 6,000 soldiers are buried in one of the largest German cemeteries in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.
Carvin was awarded the
Croix de Guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
on 28 September 1920.
In May 1940, during the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
invasion of France, a battle in Carvin's town centre allowed the bulk of British and French troops to escape to the
Dunkirk evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
. Once the allies had gone, the troops of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
arrested and murdered many miners at
Arras
Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
.
In 1947, Carvin lost nearly a third of its territory with the separation of the commune of Libercourt.
Kłodzko
Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river.
Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
See also
*
Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
The following is a list of the 887 communes of the Pas-de-Calais department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):