Royallieu-Compiègne Internment Camp, Compiègne, France

The Royallieu-Compiègne was an German internment and deportation camp located in the north of France in the city of Compiègne, open from June 1941 to August 1944. French resistance fighters and Jews were among some of the prisoners held in this camp. It is estimated that around 40,000 people were deported from the Royallieu-Compiègne camp to other camps in the German territory of the time.

The camp's main function was as a deport base. The main camp that Royallieu-Compiègne deported to was Auschwitz among various other concentration camps. On March 27, 1942, the camp made its first round of Jewish deportations to Auschwitz.

The camp was shut down after the liberation of France. Visitors were not allowed until the opening of the memorial in early 2008.

On February 23, 2008, a memorial to internment and deportation (Mémorial de l'internement et de la déportation Camp de Royallieu) was opened on the site of the former internment and deportation camp of Compiègne.

The memorial site consists of a physical tour of the ground as well as educational tours of the individual rooms and barracks that the grounds consist of. As the site's memorial developed, it came to include a wall of names with those who were recorded as having been detained at the grounds as well as an escape route and a Garden of Remembrance.

References:

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Miscellaneous historic sites in France

User Reviews

Philippe GUEGAN (2 years ago)
I liked the experience very much. I did not realised that these types of camps were existing in France.... feeding Auschwitz and Mauthausen with innocents... the visit is well designed allow time.

James T (5 years ago)
Very nice place to spend an hour or so

Rick Krause (5 years ago)
Not so good. There is no clear storyline to whatever the management is trying to say. All the graphics are in French only. I had an hour and a half before closure, not enough time to even listen to all the handset recordings let alone think.

travelaxation (5 years ago)
It’s a place with a lot of emotions, this is a sign for the future. It’s a must see!!!

Patric1a Francisco (7 years ago)
WE visited the place on a school field trip because we were studying about the

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