The magazine - Lafarge

CONTRIBUTING TO A SUSTAINABLE WORLD The former tile factory
that was turned into an
internment camp during
the war will house
a memorial.
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© Geoffroy Mathieu
Long after production ceased in this clay tile
factory, each square inch is still covered in
a thick layer of red dust.
The artists’ camp
It is hard to imagine that between September
1939 and March 1943, 10,000 people were
crammed into these vaulted furnaces, these
enormous halls that afforded no privacy.
Among them were many artists and intellectuals
including painters, one of whom was Max
Ernst, musicians, men of letters and Nobel
Prize winners, who tried to brighten up their
gloomy days by creating an active cultural life.
The walls still bear the traces here and there.
The tile factory strikes an imposing figure
in this inner suburb of Aix-en-Provence and
is the only camp out of the two hundred that
existed in France to remain almost intact.
As unbelievable as it may seem, the existence
of this heritage site was kept under wraps until
1983 when the imminent demolition of one
of the camp's buildings was announced, spurring
people into action. A wagon memorial
(in 1992) and the wall paintings in the former
canteen (in 1997) were opened up to the
public. Today, a group of associations 1 , backed
by a coalition of public and private partners 2 ,
is getting ready to set up a space dedicated to
memories, culture and citizen education on
the site’s 6 hectares. Part of it will be opened
at the end of 2008 with the rest opening
in late 2009.
FR ANCE
The Camp des Milles, a huge tile factory which was transformed into an
internment, transit and deportation camp from 1939 to 1943, is a unique
heritage site in France. With the support of the Lafarge Group, which has owned
the site since 1998, it is about to be dedicated to citizen education.
Memory will not weaken
at the Camp des Milles
The only memorial
of its kind in the world
Political pundit and sociologist Alain Chouraqui,
research director at CNRS, started up the
“Memory of the Camp des Milles” project and
has chaired the steering committee since its
creation in 2002. The Camp des Milles memorial
will include a tour of the main building,
which has remained 85% intact since 1943.
The purpose of the restoration is to preserve
its emotive power by creating a discrete
museography. “This special place is rich in
universal lessons,” explains Alain Chouraqui.
“It is an analysis of how everyday stereotypes
could result in the unthinkable horrors of
Auschwitz. It aims to raise the awareness and
level of responsibility, particularly of young people,
when confronted with the threat of racism,
fanaticism and totalitarianism.” A tour of the
outside of the camp reveals the canteen and
its frescos, the wagon memorial and Serge
Klarsfeld’s exhibition “The 11,000 Jewish children
deported from France”. With the aid
of various educational means (films, interactive
displays, etc.) and based on historical illustrations
(Shoah, Armenian and Rwandan
genocides), the project invites the visitor
to reflect and make a critical judgment. It is
quite different from focusing solely on the past.
We are reminded of the words of the poet Paul
Eluard: “If the echo of their voices weakens,
we shall perish.” ■
THE CAMP
DES MILLES
served three functions
during World War II.
Until June 1940,
‘enemy subjects’,
mainly German anti-
Nazi refugees, were
held there then for the
next two years it was
a transit camp for
foreigners awaiting
exile. In August 1942,
even before the
occupation
of unoccupied France,
10,000 Jews were
detained there. 2,500
of them, including
a hundred children,
were deported from
the Camp des Milles
to Auschwitz via
Drancy or Rivesaltes.
1 Foundation for the memory
of Shoah, Representative
committee of Jewish
institutions in France,
Association du wagon
souvenir et du site mémorial
des Milles (wagon and Milles
memorial association), Shoah
memorial.
2 Ministries of National
Education, Culture and
Defence, PACA Region,
Bouches du Rhône Council,
Aix-en-Provence Council,
Pays d’Aix urban community
and several private sponsors,
including the Lafarge Group
and its former subsidiary
Lafarge Couverture, joined by
the Caisse d’Épargne, France
Télécom and the city of
Marseille.
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