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Pithiviers internment camp
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Pithiviers internment camp
Pithiviers internment camp [pi.ti.vje] was a concentration camp in Vichy France, located 37 kilometres north-east of Orléans, closely associated with Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp in deporting foreign-born and some French-born Jews between 1941 and 1943, during World War II.
Originally intended for German POWs, Pithiviers initially housed refugees and later French POWs. On 14 May 1941, foreign-born Jews (mostly Polish expatriates living in the Paris Prefecture) were arrested and interned there during the Green Ticket round-up, and in July 1942, during the Vélodrome d'Hiver round-up. Most of the inmates were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp where they were murdered.
Prisoners engaged in forced labor inside and outside the camp, with some being paid. The camp had an infirmary, staffed by Jewish inmates, maintaining basic healthcare. Despite harsh conditions, prisoners maintained aspects of Jewish life, holding services, celebrating holidays, and supporting cultural activities. Resistance took various forms: leaders advocated for better conditions while some collaborated secretly with the Union des Juifs pour la Résistance et l'Entr'aide, a secret resistance organisation formed by Jewish Communists in Paris. The camp, with 19 barracks, workshops, a canteen and an infirmary, was fenced, close to town, and supervised by French gendarmes during its first year of operation.
In May 1942, German authorities under SS Officer Theodor Dannecker, took over operations with the first transport to Auschwitz leaving on 25 June 1942. By September of that year at least 6,080 inmates had been deported. The camp then reverted to French control holding primarily non-Jewish communist prisoners. In March 1944, some inmates successfully dug a tunnel under the infirmary and managed to escape. The camp was liberated on 9 August 1944, having come under Allied aerial bombardment.
Initially an abandoned train station, the camp was created at the start of World War II to hold German prisoners of war then French pows. Joseph Darnand, future collaborator and leader of the Milice, was interned at the Pithiviers camp as a prisoner of war before he escaped in August 1940.
Following the Law on the status of Jews of 4 October 1940, prefects were allowed to intern foreign Jews in designated camps. Jews detained in Pithiviers were mostly Polish expatriates living in Paris Prefecture. Children were separated there from their parents; the adults were processed and deported to concentration camps farther away. Inmates were guarded by Vichy officials acting under Nazi supervision, and housed in 19 barracks. Pithiviers also held various administrative buildings, including an infirmary and canteen, and a large vegetable garden. Prisoners were forced to work both inside the camp, namely in its workshops and garden, and in outside farms and plants of the surrounding villages.
The Pithiviers camp was evacuated at the end of September 1942, and transformed into a detention camp for political prisoners until August 1944.
In 2018, France's national rail company, SNCF, announced the allocation of $2.3 million toward construction of a new museum expected to open in 2020 at the one-time camp site. With SNCF's logistical support, some 16,000 Jews were sent to be murdered in death camps from Pithiviers station and the neighboring camp of Beaune-la-Rolande in eight transports between 1941 and 1943. SNCF made plans to work in conjunction with CRIF, an umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, to restore the dilapidated Pithiviers rail station to its wartime appearance. Educational materials, including an exhibition center detailing the internment of Europe's Jews and study rooms for visitors and school children, will be housed within the station-turned-museum. (No information on the status of this museum is found at this time)
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Pithiviers internment camp
Pithiviers internment camp [pi.ti.vje] was a concentration camp in Vichy France, located 37 kilometres north-east of Orléans, closely associated with Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp in deporting foreign-born and some French-born Jews between 1941 and 1943, during World War II.
Originally intended for German POWs, Pithiviers initially housed refugees and later French POWs. On 14 May 1941, foreign-born Jews (mostly Polish expatriates living in the Paris Prefecture) were arrested and interned there during the Green Ticket round-up, and in July 1942, during the Vélodrome d'Hiver round-up. Most of the inmates were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp where they were murdered.
Prisoners engaged in forced labor inside and outside the camp, with some being paid. The camp had an infirmary, staffed by Jewish inmates, maintaining basic healthcare. Despite harsh conditions, prisoners maintained aspects of Jewish life, holding services, celebrating holidays, and supporting cultural activities. Resistance took various forms: leaders advocated for better conditions while some collaborated secretly with the Union des Juifs pour la Résistance et l'Entr'aide, a secret resistance organisation formed by Jewish Communists in Paris. The camp, with 19 barracks, workshops, a canteen and an infirmary, was fenced, close to town, and supervised by French gendarmes during its first year of operation.
In May 1942, German authorities under SS Officer Theodor Dannecker, took over operations with the first transport to Auschwitz leaving on 25 June 1942. By September of that year at least 6,080 inmates had been deported. The camp then reverted to French control holding primarily non-Jewish communist prisoners. In March 1944, some inmates successfully dug a tunnel under the infirmary and managed to escape. The camp was liberated on 9 August 1944, having come under Allied aerial bombardment.
Initially an abandoned train station, the camp was created at the start of World War II to hold German prisoners of war then French pows. Joseph Darnand, future collaborator and leader of the Milice, was interned at the Pithiviers camp as a prisoner of war before he escaped in August 1940.
Following the Law on the status of Jews of 4 October 1940, prefects were allowed to intern foreign Jews in designated camps. Jews detained in Pithiviers were mostly Polish expatriates living in Paris Prefecture. Children were separated there from their parents; the adults were processed and deported to concentration camps farther away. Inmates were guarded by Vichy officials acting under Nazi supervision, and housed in 19 barracks. Pithiviers also held various administrative buildings, including an infirmary and canteen, and a large vegetable garden. Prisoners were forced to work both inside the camp, namely in its workshops and garden, and in outside farms and plants of the surrounding villages.
The Pithiviers camp was evacuated at the end of September 1942, and transformed into a detention camp for political prisoners until August 1944.
In 2018, France's national rail company, SNCF, announced the allocation of $2.3 million toward construction of a new museum expected to open in 2020 at the one-time camp site. With SNCF's logistical support, some 16,000 Jews were sent to be murdered in death camps from Pithiviers station and the neighboring camp of Beaune-la-Rolande in eight transports between 1941 and 1943. SNCF made plans to work in conjunction with CRIF, an umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, to restore the dilapidated Pithiviers rail station to its wartime appearance. Educational materials, including an exhibition center detailing the internment of Europe's Jews and study rooms for visitors and school children, will be housed within the station-turned-museum. (No information on the status of this museum is found at this time)
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