Camp des Milles: What France once Tried to Erase

Camp des Milles is located in the old tile factory in the town of Les Milles. In fact, the roof of one of my school’s buildings is tiled with tiles from this factory. But that’s not why we we’re here.

From the beginning of World War Two in September, 1939 until June, 1940, the French government (the Third Republic), interned Germans and Austrians who had fled from Germany in the 1930s, and other foreigners who were considered a potential threat. In reality, most of these people were anti-Nazi or had been living in France for years.

The internees were given straw and told to sleep on the floor near the kilns. During my visit, it was sunny and 60s outside, but even with a thick long sleeve and a jacket, I was shivering in those rooms.

Some of those interned had fought for France in previous wars. Some were missing limbs, but they were interned all the same.

The internees were divided into groups.

This translates to: If your plates are not very garnished, may our drawings calm your appetite.

Once the Germans invaded and France was divided, Les Milles was left in the Free Zone. Under Vichy, it’s role changed.

The Vichy government is the name of the French government in the Free Zone of France. However, Vichy collaborated heavily with the Nazis in an attempt to maintain their freedom and because they hoped the Nazis would return the 1.8 million French prisoners of war being held in Germany. This resulted in Vichy doing some terrible wrongs. France tried to erase this history for many decades, pretending for several decades that everyone in France was part of the Résistance.

From July 1940-July 1942, Camp des Milles was a holding and transit camp for “undesirables.” Although Vichy was left to govern itself, it quickly engaged in collaboration with the Nazis, passing many of the same laws and arresting many of the same people, such as Jews and Gypsies.

Many in the Vichy government believed that France’s quick defeat at the hands of the Germans (France only fought for 6 weeks) was a consequence of the decay of the republic due to communists, Jews, and foreigners. The Vichy government’s goal was to restore the pure elements of French society, which opened the door for the exclusion of anyone not part of their narrow list.

Then, from August 1942 to September 1942, over 2,000 Jews held here were deported to Auschwitz and killed.

The camp is the middle of a town. People walked by it everyday…knowing what what going on inside. But I think a lot of them didn’t want to know. Even then, the French wanted to forget. It took years for the government to acknowledge their role in World War Two. Les Milles wasn’t even made into a museum and memorial until 2012. Other such sites have completely disappeared. Erased.

Camp des Milles is the only large internment and deportation camp in France still intact and open to the public.