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Origin and history

The Montreuil-Bellay concentration camp was installed on the site of a former French powder magazine, transformed into a stalag by the Germans in June 1940. In 1941, the Vichy regime made it a "regional concentration camp" dedicated to Gypsies, in accordance with the policy of separating internees by origin. This choice also reflected a desire to reduce the number of guards, avoiding cohabitation between Jews and Gypsies in one place.

The Decree-Law of 6 April 1940 prohibits the movement of nomads in France, suspected of spying. The first Gypsy internees arrived on November 8, 1941, transferred from the Morellie (Indre-et-Loire) camp, followed by 213 inmates from the Coray (Finistry) camp on December 2. Up to 1,096 people were detained there in August 1942. In 1942, he was also interned in Nantes. The camp closed in January 1945, the last detainees being transferred to the Jargeau and Allier camps, from which they were released in March 1946.

After the Gypsies left, the site was used for the internment of German civilians in 1945. The remains of the camp — prison, refectory, school, infirmary and housing — were partially preserved thanks to their classification as historical monuments between 2010 and 2013. A commemorative stele was inaugurated in 1988, followed by a national ceremony in 2016 in the presence of President François Hollande, recognizing the responsibility of the French state. A memorial and museum are planned for 2026.

The work of local historian Jacques Sigot, published in 1983, revealed the history of this long unknown camp. His book The barbed wires discovered in history (2010) and those of other researchers, such as Kkrist Mirror (Gypsies 1940-1945, 2008), document the living conditions of internees and the context of Porajmos (Gypsy Genocide). The site, now a mixed property (municipal and private), has been the subject of a memorial development project since 2016.

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