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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Divers
  3. Centre Val-de-Loire
  4. Eure-et-Loir
  5. 28150 aux Villages Vovéens

  6. Former internment camp in Voves

Former internment camp in Voves dans l'Eure-et-Loir

Eure-et-Loir

Former internment camp in Voves

    71 Rue du Voisin
    28150 aux Villages Vovéens
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Ancien camp dinternement de Voves
Crédit photo : Le Passant - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
17 juin 1940
German occupation
5 janvier 1942
Opening of the internment centre
10 mai 1942
First deportation to Auschwitz
6 mai 1944
Great tunnel escape
9 mai 1944
Closure and mass deportation
2004
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The soil and remains of two huts, including that of the bath-douchs (Box YZ 362a, 226 to 231): inscription by order of 28 May 2004

Key figures

Jacques Benoist-Méchin - Prisoner and employee Released in 1940, author of *The Harvest of Forty*.
Jean Lefebvre - Future actor Detained at Frontstalag No. 202 in 1940.
Frédéric Sérazin - Escaped prisoner Husband of France Bloch, escaped in 1943.
André Migdal - Deported to 20 years Sent to Buchenwald and then Neuengamme in 1944.
André Thibault - Organiser of escape Inspira *The Great Escape* through his account.
Pierre Le Baube - Prefect of Eure and Evening Initiated the internment camp transformation in 1941.

Origin and history

The camp of Voves, in Eure-et-Loir, was initially used as a camp for French prisoners of war between 1940 and 1941 under German occupation. Built near the village of Voves, it housed about 7,000 soldiers, including figures such as Jacques Benoist-Méchin and Jean Lefebvre. After their transfer, he briefly welcomed North African prisoners between March and June 1941.

Starting in January 1942, the Vichy regime transformed the site into a supervised residence centre No. 15 to intern political activists, mainly communists and trade unions. Administered by the French State, it became an antechamber of the Nazi camps: 2,040 men were detained there, including 605 deported to Auschwitz, Mauthausen or Buchenwald. Despite the repression, the internees organised cultural and sporting activities, as well as a clandestine university.

The camp was also the scene of bold escapes, including that of May 6, 1944, where 42 detainees escaped through a 148-metre tunnel dug in secret. This event precipitated the closure of the camp: the remaining 407 internees were deported to Neuengamme on May 9, 1944. Only 194 of them survived. After the Liberation, the site was used to detain German prisoners of war until 1947.

Today, the Camp de Voves is a memorial site classified as a historical monument since 2004. A memorial, an arboretum, a barrack-museum and a car-witness recall his story. Each year, ceremonies commemorate the escapes and deportation of internees, thanks to the action of the Amicale de Châteaubriant-Vaves-Rouillé-Aincourt and the Committee of Remembrance.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum