The Royallieu-Compiègne was an

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

and

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

camp located in the north of France in the city of

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

, open from June 1941 to August 1944.

French resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

fighters and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were among some of the prisoners held in this camp. It is estimated that around 40,000 people were deported from the Royallieu-Compiègne camp to other camps in the German territory of the time. A memorial of the camp, and another along the railway tracks commemorates the tragedy.

History

Before World War II, this site was home to French army barracks. Previously, the site housed the signing of an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

that displayed the victory of French forces in World War I on November 11, 1918.

World War II

This site witnessed its second armistice. This time, the site housed the signing of the occupation of France by German forces. This camp on June 22, 1940, became the only fully German run camp within French territories. In June 1941 the camp was fully functioning as an internment camp. The camp's prisoners were made up of 70 percent political prisoners, 12 percent Jews, and 8 percent high ranking French civil servants. Overwhelmingly the camp held resisters to Vichy France, the puppet government set up by Nazi supporters. The camp's main function was as a deport base. The main camp that Royallieu-Compiègne deported to was Auschwitz among various other concentration camps. On March 27, 1942, the camp made its first round of Jewish deportations to Auschwitz. The camp's records are not maintained well due to the actual number of detainees never being recorded precisely. For example, there is a record of the number of detainees transported in one cable car as a "guess". The camp was only in full use for three years: 1941–1944.

After World War II

The camp was shut down after the liberation of France. Visitors were not allowed until the opening of the memorial in early 2008.

Memorial

On February 23, 2008, a memorial to internment and deportation (''Mémorial de l'internement et de la déportation Camp de Royallieu'') was opened on the site of the former internment and deportation camp of Compiègne. The memorial site consists of a physical tour of the ground as well as educational tours of the individual rooms and barracks that the grounds consist of. As the site's memorial developed, it came to include a wall of names with those who were recorded as having been detained at the grounds as well as an escape route and a Garden of Remembrance.

Gallery

Compiègne (60), mémorial du camp de Royallieu 3.jpg, Entrance to the memorial at Royallieu Mur des noms royallieu.JPG, The "Wall of Names" Compiègne_(60),_ancien_camp_de_Royallieu_2.jpg, Barracks at the memorial Plaque Déportés, Place de l'École-Militaire, Paris 7.jpg, Plaque at

École Militaire École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

in Paris in memory of French Jews interned at Royallieu before deportation to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

Margny-lès-Compiègne (60), mémorial du quai des déportés 2.jpg, Memorial at the deportation railway platform

References

External links

Mémorial de l'internement et de la déportation Camp de Royallieu
– Official website (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Compiegne Internment Camp Buildings and structures in Oise World War II internment camps in France Nazi concentration camps in France Deportation Vichy France Barracks in France