Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Bobigny station, located in the Seine-Saint-Denis, was built in 1929 by the entrepreneur Morosini as part of the line of Grand Belt. Opened in 1932, it was quickly closed to travellers in 1939 due to insufficient attendance, but remained active for freight. During World War I, his yard was bombed by German shells in 1918.

Between 1943 and 1944, the station became a central place for the deportation of the Jews from the Drancy camp to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Alois Brunner, the camp manager, chose Bobigny for his discreet and logistical character. Twenty-one convoys left, deporting 22,453 people. After the war, the station regained industrial use before being decommissioned in the 1980s.

Ranked a historic monument in 2005, the station is now a place of memory open to the public. A sober scenography, including 75 steles symbolizing the 75,000 deportees of France, and educational panels recount its history. In 2023, his official inauguration brought together survivors and Serge Klarsfeld, highlighting his role in transmitting the Shoah's memory.

The site, owned by the State and the municipality, benefits from the 20th century Heritage label. It includes the passenger building (1929), edicles, a lighting tower, a freight hall, and a switch post. Restoration work carried out between 2008 and 2011, financed by the region, the Department and the Heritage Foundation, has allowed its preservation.

Architecturally, the station illustrates the functional style of the 1930s, with a 3.5-hectare footprint. Its inscription in historical monuments covers the entire site, including railway tracks and technical installations. A permanent exhibition, Bobigny, a station between Drancy and Auschwitz, inaugurated in 2012, contextualizes his role in the Shoah through archives and testimonies.

External links