Today, this national cemetery holds the bodies of 2 053 French soldiers, 2 037 of whom lie in individual graves. A collective grave brings together the remains of 16 soldiers. Alongside them lies one Russian, but also 201 Germans, including 31 in an ossuary. This cemetery comprises three plots: the 1914-1918 French plot, the 1914-1918 French Muslim plot, and the 1939-1945 French plot that contains 917 soldiers and resistance fighters from the Nord region and 14 Spaniards posted to workers' companies. A British military cemetery bringing together 177 bodies adjoins the Zuydcoote cemetery.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is over a century old. For the first time, visitors can take a look behind the scenes at the work that is needed to commemorate the 1.7 million Commonwealth casualties from the First and Second World Wars.

The CWGC Experience is a unique new visitor attraction that shines a light on the work of the remarkable organisation at the heart of remembrance of the war dead.

Our free audio guide will walk you through each aspect of the work we do: from the story of how we still recover and rebury the dead today, to the skilled artisan craftsmen at work maintaining the world’s most impressive and recognisable monuments and memorials, a trip to the battlefields of the Western Front is not complete without a visit to the CWGC Experience.

Sources : ©The CWGC Experience

HISTORY

“Konzentrationslager Natzweiler” opened in May 1941 at a location called “Le Struthof”, in Alsace, which had been annexed. The Nazis decided to set up a concentration camp at this site to exploit the seam pink granite located nearby.

Designed to provide the Reich with slave labour, it mainly held prisoners of war, political deportees arrested for their anti-Nazi convictions, and Resistance fighters. It also held racial deportees (Jews, Gypsies), homosexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The deportees came from 31 countries and their numbers tripled in 1943, the year of the “Nacht und Nebel”, prisoners destined to disappear without leaving a trace. The logic of terror was complete with the installation of an experimental gas chamber and the commissioning of a crematorium.

Outside the Struthof site, the Natzweiler camp opened 70 satellite camps annexes, notably in Germany, nearly all dedicated to the war effort.

With the Allies’ advancing, the Nazis evacuated the deportees from the Struthof camp in September of 1944. When the American soldiers discovered the site in November it was completely empty, but the satellite camps continued to operate.

52,000 deportees went through this camp and its “Kommandos” between 1941 and 1945. Nearly 22,000 died – most of them from exhaustion, inhuman treatment or hunger, others from the pseudomedical experiments inflicted on them. The camp also served as a location for executing resistance fighters. With a 40% mortality rate, the Natzweiler camp was one of the deadliest in the SS concentration camp system.

THE SITE TODAY

The entire site belongs to the Ministry of Defence and has been listed as a historical monument since 2011. Since 1 January 2010, it has been placed under the administration of the Office National des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre.

Some 170,000 people visit each year.

At the former camp, visitors can notably discover four barracks, including the prison, the crematorium and a museum dedicated to the history of KL- Natzweiler. Photos, archived documents, objects and drawings enable the public to understand the camp’s founding, its organisation, the deportees and their everyday life, the satellite camps, the end of the camp, the trials, remembrance, etc.

The gas chamber, set up at the request of Nazi medical professors to undertake experiments, is located 1.5 km further down and can also be visited.

THE EUROPEAN CENTRE OF DEPORTED RESISTANCE MEMBERS

The European Centre of Deported Resistance Members (CERD) was inaugurated on 3 November 2005 by Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic.

Designed to be a site for information, thought and encounters, it gives an introduction to the visit to the nearby camp.

Touchscreen kiosks, videos and photos laid out on 2,000 m² of exhibitions present the history of World War II, the resistance movements that rose up throughout Europe and the implacable killing machine set up in the concentration camp system.

The CERD sits above the “Kartoffelkeller”, a reinforced concrete cellar that is nearly 120 metres long, built by deportees. It has become a symbol of the oppression and the exhaustion suffered by the deportees through work and beatings. To this day, nobody knows why.

THE NATIONAL CEMETERY AND THE DEPORTATION MEMORIAL

On 23 July 1960, the “Memorial to the Heroes and Martyrs of Deportation” was officially inaugurated by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic. A Memorial “Lighthouse” standing 40 metres tall and visible from the valley, it represents a flame and shows the emaciated silhouette of a deportee. The body of the unknown deportee, symbol of all the victims of deportation, lies in a tomb at the foot of the Memorial, along with 14 urns containing symbolic soil or anonymous ashes from the concentration camps in Germany. The National Cemetery holds 1,118 tombs of Frenchmen and Frenchwomen who died in deportation, at KL-Natzweiler or other camps.

THE STRUTHOF NATIONAL CEREMONY

Every year in June, the Memorial’s esplanade hosts the National Remembrance Ceremony, which is held in two parts: a wake is organised on Saturday evening, attended by the last living deportees, during which people in attendance are asked to take turns maintaining the flame. The official commemorative Remembrance ceremony is held on Sunday morning, presided over by a representative of the French State (Minister or President of the French Republic).

TRANSMISSION

Welcoming more than 90,000 schoolchildren a year, the European Centre of Deported Resistance Members fulfils an important educational mission: transmitting history, of course, but beyond that to increase each young visitor’s awareness of his/her role as a citizen. This provides an awakening to the fundamental values of “liberty, equality, and brotherhood”, and a call to vigilance toward the extremist and racist threats that continue to face us today.

School group prices (reservation required at least 1 month in advance)

> 1 euro / student

> Free admission for one accompanying adult

> Educational workshop +20 euros per class (in French)

> Visit +20 euros per class (in French)

Free teaching aids:

http://www.struthof.fr/

Discover, review, work in class:

http://visite-virtuelle.struthof.fr/

Contact : pedagogie@struthof.fr

KEEPING IT ALIVE

The CERD regularly organises meetings between deported resistance fighters and young people to transmit their stories and in turn to make them “Passeurs d’histoire” (History Transmitters): preparation days for the Concours National de la Résistance et de la Deportation (National Resistance and Deportation competitive exams), defence and citizenship days, participation in national ceremonies.

The CERD also proposes exceptional days year-round: European Heritage Days, military ceremonies, conferences, events, concerts, etc.

There is an area dedicated to temporary exhibits on the mezzanine in the reception lobby.

Free GUIDED TOURS of the former Natzweiler camp are available (outside school contexts):

16 April / 15 October, at 10.45 am and 3.15 pm

1 March / 15 April and 16 October / 23 December, at 10.45 am and 2.45 pm.

(on conditions, for information please call +33 (0)3 88 47 44 67)

The number of participants is limited to 100 people per visit. They should sign up upon arrival at the CERD reception desk. Partial accessibility for disabled persons. Proper attire required. Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied and placed under adult supervision. The management reserves the right to refuse admission to anyone who does not show respect for the site and the memory of its victims. Pets are not allowed. As a site of history and remembrance, the site of the former Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp must be visited with respect for its victims. Schools will be held responsible for any damage caused by their students at the historical Struthof site or its exhibits.

European Centre of Deported Resistance Members – Site of the Former Natzweiler Concentration Camp ONACVG

Departmental route 130 - 67130 NATZWILLER

Tél. : + 33 (0)3 88 47 44 57 - Fax : + 33 (0)3 88 97 16 83

email : resa.groupes@struthof.fr

GETTING THERE

Departmental route 130 - 67130 Natzwiller - Strasbourg 60 km - Rothau 8 km

Practical information

Struthof website

Tourisme 67   

The town of Loos-en-Gohelle suffered huge losses during the war of 1914-18. Invaded on 10 October 1914, it was not liberated until August 1917 at the cost of thousands of lives. French, English, Scottish, Welsh and Canadian men all perished on the town’s soil, hence the number of memorials and groups that continue to preserve a trace of its history today.

The association “Sur les Traces de la Grande Guerre” (In the footsteps of the Great War), whose role is to preserve, safeguard and share this legacy, invites people to visit the Musée Alexandre Villedieu where all the objects on display come from the Loos battlefields. There were three major battles in Loos-en-Gohelle, within the triangle of hills of Artois (Vimy and Lorette) and the Douai plain.

The first battle took place on 9 May 1915. A diversion to the Battle of Lorette Hill, it was a deadly massacre for both French regiments.

The second battle began on 25 September 1915, and is more commonly known amongst the British as the Battle of Loos. This battle claimed many victims (among the British, 15,800 lives and 34,580 men injured; among the Germans, 20,000 killed or wounded). This battle is very dear to the British many of whom come to meditate at the graves in three British cemeteries in Loos-en-Gohelle. This battle liberated two-thirds of Loos as far as Hill 70 which remained under German control for a further two years.

The third battle took place on 15 August 1917. After the liberation of Hill 145 in Vimy, the Canadian soldiers arrived in Loos in mid-July to seize the remaining part of German-occupied Loos. Until 15 August 1917, 12,000 Canadians moved around in a network of underground tunnels planning the liberation of Hill 70.

The Loos footpaths (Sépultures path and Lone Tree path) are public ways where Great War fanatics and interested visitors can learn all about the historic past of Loos through the former World War I battlefields.

Musée 14/18 Alexandre Villedieu

Association "Sur les Traces de la Grande Foyer Omer Caron"

First floor, Place de la République 62750 Loos en Gohelle

Tel: +33 (0)3 21 70 59 75 or +33 (0)3 21 28 99 82

E-mail: a.villedieu@wanadoo.fr

Mairie de Loos en Gohelle (town hall)

Place de la République 62750 Loos en Gohelle

Tel: +33 (0)3 21 69 88 77

Fax: +33 (0)3 21 69 88 79

E-mail: contact@loos-en-gohelle.fr

Opening times: 9-11 am and 2-5 pm

N.B. Reservation only for afternoon visits.

The part of the blockhouse that you can see is only 10% of its surface area. Almost entirely underground, the command post of the Graf Spee battery is one of the largest bunkers in the region. 

Set over five floors and with 500 sqm of exhibitions, the one-way circuit begins beneath the reception, in the quarters of the 25 soldiers who defended the position.  In rooms restored to exactly how they were then, discover what everyday life was like on the Atlantic Wall, through captivatingly realistic decors.

The subsequent levels immerse you in the atmosphere of the war years in Brittany: blitzkrieg, Stalags, occupation, Free France, collaboration, Resistance, fighting for Brest, liberation, and so on. Numerous anecdotes make this a moving encounter with the men and women who experienced the war, right here.

Return to the daylight on the level of the observation stations and panoramic viewpoint, offering unique views of the entrance to Brest harbour, from the Presqu’île de Crozon to Ouessant.

The tour ends with a walk around the site, where visitors can see the other short-range defence blockhouses, together with a variety of impressive equipment.

Sources: ©Musée Mémoires 39-45

Tourist office: Boulevard de la Mer, Plougonvelin - Tel.: +33 (0)2 98 48 25 94

The museum charts the history of the French volunteers who, thanks to Kieffer’s tenacity, were able to join the British commandos and take part in a number of operations alongside them. It focuses in particular on their training at the Achnacarry camp in Scotland and how they landed on the beach of Colleville-sur-Orne (present-day Colleville-Montgomery) with No 4 Commando, captured Ouistreham casino and liberated the town, joined up with British paratroopers at Pegasus Bridge, Bénouville, then installed themselves in Amfreville, all in the same day, 6 June 1944. They went on to fight in the Battle of Normandy until late August 1944, then in Belgium and the Netherlands.

All the pieces displayed in the museum are authentic, and most of the equipment and uniforms were donated by the families of the British and French commandos.

A scale model measuring 3.60 m x 1.10 m helps visitors to picture the landing at Colleville-sur-Orne and the capture of Ouistreham casino.

A 26-minute film (with English subtitles), comprised of documents and footage from the time, shows in particular the troops training at Achnacarry.

Exhibited in large display cases are many uniforms and weapons used in the conflict, including some very rare pieces.

Most of the objects and photographs are labelled in French, English and German.

This museum was founded in order to:

• explain what the commandos were and what they accomplished; and

• make sure their memory and example live on.

This poem says it all:

Tribute to the Kieffer Commando
(to the 177 commandos and their comrades-in-arms)
Commandos, an emblem of hope
flapping in the wind toward the sky of France,
You begin a hymn of deliverance
that echoes through the villages of France.
(...)

Claude Blin

The complete poem by Claude Blin is available at the No 4 Commando Museum

Sources : ©Musée N° 4 Commando

Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, entre Haute-Loire et Ardèche, le Chambon-sur-Lignon et les villages alentours ont accueilli et aidé de nombreux réfugiés, la plupart juifs pourchassés dans une Europe sous le joug nazi. C’est pour transmettre les valeurs d’humanité et d’engagement qui ont permis ce sauvetage à grande échelle que le Lieu de Mémoire a ouvert en juin 2013.

Un Lieu de mémoire, d’histoire et d’éducation :

Le parcours historique s’organise autour des différentes formes de résistances : civile, spirituelle et armée. Il est complété par une salle mémorielle où des écrans tactiles permettent de visionner des témoignages de sauveteurs, réfugiés et résistants. Les outils multimédias facilitent la compréhension des événements, même pour les plus jeunes.

Le Service éducatif du Lieu de Mémoire propose toute l’année des visites et des ateliers pédagogiques adaptés aux différents niveaux scolaires. Pour les élèves, c’est l’occasion d’aborder la Seconde Guerre mondiale sous un angle différent. ?Catalogue pédagogique en lien

Sources : ©Lieu de Mémoire au Chambon-sur-Lignon - ©Luc Olivier – MDDT43

The organisation

Founded in 1997, the organisation behind the project to set up an Arles and Area Resistance and Deportation Centre (CRDA) has three aims:

- Promote the research, collection and conservation of any documents concerning the period 1939-45 in the Arles area, and collect personal accounts from Resistance fighters and/or deportees.

- Share local history of the Second World War, through educational activities for school groups and cultural events for the general public.

- Through that history, encourage people to think about the republican values championed by the Resistance: liberty, democracy and human rights.

The project

Made accessible to the young by the very way it is presented, the project of the Arles Area Resistance and Deportation Centre demonstrates a desire to establish a link between past and present, by recalling that democracy should never be taken for granted and citizenship and human rights must be defended everywhere, every day.

The centre’s goal is to encourage people to reflect on the ideologies and ways of thinking that can lead to dictatorship, fascism and the stigmatisation of certain groups.

The future CRDA’s permanent exhibition will be structured around five themes, in addition to an introduction and conclusion: the Vichy regime and occupation; resistance; repression and deportation; liberation; and the legacy of the Resistance.

Resource centre

The CRDA’s collections comprise:

- over 3 000 books, classified by theme;

- archives (pamphlets, posters, administrative reports, extracts of correspondence, etc.) and a photographic collection obtained from private sources, which are concerned with the history of the Second World War in the Arles area (36 communes);

- documentation;

- audiovisual documents (eyewitness accounts, papers, songs, etc.);

- collections of objects relating to daily life (wireless sets, school materials, etc.), the Resistance (underground printers, radio equipment, containers for parachute drops, weapons), occupation (Nazi armbands, German helmets) and the battles of liberation (weapons, clothing, etc.).

Learning activities

Approved by the education ministry, the organisation offers a series of educational activities about the Second World War in the Arles area, for primary, middle and high-school students.

These activities mostly involve a local perspective and use a range of media (living eyewitnesses, collections and archives, guided tours, educational workshops).

Cultural programme

The future centre’s cultural programme is already structured around two main events:

- The Journées de la Mémoire. In February and March each year, the organisation puts on a temporary exhibition on the themes of resistance and deportation. This involves carrying out new research into local history, and enriching and developing the organisation’s collections.  The ‘Remembrance Days’ are brought to life by a whole series of cultural events (concerts, films, conferences, talks, etc.) for a varied audience, organised in partnership with the town’s different cultural organisations.

- The Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie. Since 2013, in the summer season, the future CRDA’s exhibition spaces have hosted photographic displays on themes relating to peace, freedom and human rights, with the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie.

Sources: © Centre de la Résistance et de la Déportation d’Arles et du pays d’Arles

As part of Operation Dynamo, which was supposed to enable the British and French troops, driven back to the sea, to evacuate Dunkirk, battalions of British soldiers were deployed in the sector of La Plaine au Bois with the mission of delaying the German troops’ advance for a few hours. After 9 hours of heroic fighting known as the Battle of Wormhout, most of the British were wounded and out of ammunition and had to surrender to the enemy. Unfortunately for them, their adversaries were the brutal SS from the Führer’s personal guard who, in total disregard for the Geneva Conventions, herded them into a barn and executed them in cold blood by throwing grenades inside.

Source : Commune of Esquelbecq

Eighty British soldiers and one French soldier were thus slaughtered on 28 May 1940 at 5.30 pm.

Thirteen British soldiers survived and were rescued by the farmers who lived around the site until medical help arrived.

Source : Commune of Esquelbecq

This massacre had remained unknown for a long time until some of the survivors of this tragic episode, who were among the British veterans who had come to commemorate the anniversary of Operation Dynamo, went to look for this site of the massacre and told of what they had lived through. Based on these harrowing stories, a local amateur historian Guy Rommelaere, wrote his book titled "The Forgotten Massacre" (*).

Source : Commune of Esquelbecq

In 2000, after consolidation of the farmland, the pasture where the massacre occurred was nearly turned into ploughland. This was without reckoning with the desires of the elected officials in the three communes of Esquelbecq, Ledringhem and Wormhout, where the events of 28 May 1940 took place. A Franco-British association was set up with the goal of preserving, restoring and maintaining this site fraught with history. The association acquired the pasture and has since built a barn identical to the original, as well as a lookout with an orientation table to be able to locate the various elements of that tragic day and, more recently, a stele of peace and friendship among peoples was inaugurated for the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo.

Source : Commune of Esquelbecq

(*)All income from the sale of this book is donated to the association. It is available at the tourism offices of Esquelbecq and Wormhout for 20 euros.