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Origin and history

The Montluc prison, located at 4 rue Jeanne-Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, was built in 1921 on the ice of Fort Montluc as a military prison. Originally designed for 127 inmates, it was used little in the 1920s due to the decline in the prison population, and closed in 1932. It reopened in 1939 to accommodate military and communist activists, victims of exceptional courts after the German-Soviet pact.

During the Second World War, during the Vichy regime (1940-1942), Montluc became a central place of repression against resistance, Gaullists and political opponents. The prison, officially scheduled for 127 people, has been hosting nearly 400 people since 1941. After the invasion of the free zone in November 1942, the Nazis fully requisitioned the prison on 17 February 1943. Managed by Klaus Barbie, she incarcerated more than 10,000 people, including Jean Moulin and Marc Bloch, in inhumane conditions.

Between February 1943 and August 1944, Montluc was the scene of mass executions: 669 internees were shot in 33 different places, including 120 during the massacre of Côte-Lorette Fort in August 1944. The children of Izieu transit there before their deportation. Released on 24 August 1944, the prison became a post-war prison for prisoners sentenced to death, Algerian resistance during the war of independence (1954-1962), and conscientious objectors until the 1980s.

Closed in 2009, Montluc was transformed into a National Memorial in 2010, classified as a historic monument since 2009. Today, the site commemorates the victims of the crackdowns under Vichy and Occupancy, with temporary exhibitions and free visits. The memorial is managed by the National Office of Veterans and War Victims, highlighting its role as a high place of national memory.

The prison also marked the culture, inspiring films like A death rower escaped (1956) by Robert Bresson, based on the escape of André Devigny in 1943. Its history reflects the political violence of the twentieth century, from colonial repression to antifascist resistance.

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