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Origin and history

The Monument to the shootings of Châteaubriant is located in a sandstone, called the quarry of the Fusillas, where 27 political prisoners, mainly communists, were executed on 22 October 1941 by German forces. These shootings were a reprisal for the assassination of Karl Hotz, Feldkommandant de Nantes, killed two days earlier by a communist commando. The victims, detained at the Choisel camp, were selected from a list drawn up by Vichy's interior minister, Pierre Puteu, designating "dangerous prisoners". None of the shootings were involved in the attack on Hotz.

The execution takes place in a context of the tightening of Nazi repression in 1941, marked by communist attacks in France after the entry into war of the USSR. The Germans adopted a strategy of mass executions of hostages to deter the Resistance. The 27 men, including Guy Môquet (17 years old) and elected officials such as Jean Grandel or Charles Michels, refused to have blindfolded and sang La Marseillaise before their death. Their sacrifice became a symbol of antifascist resistance.

As early as 1944, spontaneous commemorations took place on the site. The present monument, carved by Antoine Rohal, was inaugurated in 1950 thanks to the Amicale de Châteaubriant-Voves-Rouillé, an association of former internees. It incorporates 183 alveoles containing earth from similar places of execution in France. The site, classified in 1993 and protected as a Historic Monument in 2016, was redesigned in 2018 to make it a memorial journey.

The career of the Fusillés illustrates the collaboration of the Vichy regime with the Nazi occupier, via lists of prisoners provided by the French police. The victims included teachers, workers, elected officials and young activists, reflecting the social diversity of the Resistance. Their memory is honoured every year, including wreath deposits and school ceremonies.

The monument of Rohal, sober and symbolic, represents nine posts evoking the three rounds of shooting. Its base bears the names of the 27 shot, while plaques recall historical circumstances. The site, owned by the Amicale, remains a place of pilgrimage for victims' families and memorial associations.

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