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Memorial for France’s ‘Undesirables’ Echoes Debate Over Migrants Memorial for France’s ‘Undesirables’ Echoes Debate Over Migrants
(about 11 hours later)
RIVESALTES, France — The barracks, with caved-in roofs and crumbling walls blackened by humidity and spray-painted with graffiti, sit in a ghostly silence, interrupted only by the distant drone of cars. RIVESALTES, France — The barracks, with caved-in roofs and crumbling walls blackened by humidity and spray-painted with graffiti, sit in a ghostly silence, interrupted only by the distant drone of cars.
Here on a flat expanse of the southwestern region of Perpignan, near the border with Spain, the skeletal ruins are all that is left of the internment camp at Rivesaltes, where for decades successive waves of refugees and others persecuted in wars were once held by the French state.Here on a flat expanse of the southwestern region of Perpignan, near the border with Spain, the skeletal ruins are all that is left of the internment camp at Rivesaltes, where for decades successive waves of refugees and others persecuted in wars were once held by the French state.
The former wards read like a who’s who of mid-20th-century tragedies: Spaniards displaced by civil war in the late 1930s; Jews and Gypsies fleeing the Nazi regime during World War II; Algerians escaping their homeland after fighting on France’s side during a bitter decolonization war in the 1960s. The former wards read like a who’s who of mid-20th-century tragedies: Spaniards displaced by civil war in the late 1930s; Jews and Gypsies fleeing the Nazi regime during World War II; Algerians escaping their homeland in the 1960s after fighting on France’s side during a bitter decolonization war.
Yet for years, the history of Rivesaltes was not well known, and it took a scandal — the discovery of original archives from the camp in a nearby garbage dump in 1997 — to return it to public consciousness.Yet for years, the history of Rivesaltes was not well known, and it took a scandal — the discovery of original archives from the camp in a nearby garbage dump in 1997 — to return it to public consciousness.
The site has since been turned into a memorial, which opened in October, at a time when the darker chapters of France’s history echo in the hardships of the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who have descended on Europe over the last year.The site has since been turned into a memorial, which opened in October, at a time when the darker chapters of France’s history echo in the hardships of the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who have descended on Europe over the last year.
Inaugurating the memorial, Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the son of a Catalan immigrant, said that the site would now “say loud and clear what for too long was quietly whispered” about France’s shunting aside and callous treatment of the desperate and displaced. Inaugurating the memorial, Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the son of a Catalan immigrant, said the site would now “say loud and clear what for too long was quietly whispered” about France’s shunting aside and callous treatment of the desperate and displaced.
Yet if France has finally chosen to remember the many thousands who once languished in Rivesaltes, its contemporary debate about whether and how to embrace today’s migrants shows how much of that history remains unresolved.Yet if France has finally chosen to remember the many thousands who once languished in Rivesaltes, its contemporary debate about whether and how to embrace today’s migrants shows how much of that history remains unresolved.
Indeed, the memorial here draws deliberate and uncomfortable parallels between France’s past and present situation, in places like the northern city of Calais, where thousands of migrants live in a semipermanent shantytown known as the “Jungle.” Indeed, the memorial here draws deliberate and uncomfortable parallels between France’s past and present situation, in places like the northern city of Calais, where thousands of migrants live in a semipermanent shantytown known as the Jungle.
Part of the Rivesaltes camp itself was used not long ago, between 1986 and 2007, as a temporary detention center for undocumented migrants awaiting deportation to their countries of origin.Part of the Rivesaltes camp itself was used not long ago, between 1986 and 2007, as a temporary detention center for undocumented migrants awaiting deportation to their countries of origin.
“That doesn’t mean that today’s Syrian is yesterday’s Jew,” said Denis Peschanski, a French historian who has written on France’s wartime internment camps and who heads the scientific committee for the memorial.“That doesn’t mean that today’s Syrian is yesterday’s Jew,” said Denis Peschanski, a French historian who has written on France’s wartime internment camps and who heads the scientific committee for the memorial.
But he noted that there is a similar urge in France and the rest of Europe to keep refugees out or, when they cannot be kept out, to keep them away. But he noted that there was a similar urge in France and the rest of Europe to keep refugees out or, when they cannot be kept out, to keep them away.
“We are confronted with populations that are threatened by death, and that can die if nothing is done,” he said, referring to those displaced by the current conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. “It was the case for Jews yesterday; it is the case for Syrians today.”“We are confronted with populations that are threatened by death, and that can die if nothing is done,” he said, referring to those displaced by the current conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. “It was the case for Jews yesterday; it is the case for Syrians today.”
The ruined barracks here have been left standing, but the memorial building itself is a monolithic slab of ocher concrete that spans the length of a giant trench in the middle of the camp.The ruined barracks here have been left standing, but the memorial building itself is a monolithic slab of ocher concrete that spans the length of a giant trench in the middle of the camp.
Designed by the French architect Rudy Ricciotti, it runs more than 800 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a gentle upward slope that does not exceed the height of the ruined barracks, like a colossal artifact that was only recently excavated.Designed by the French architect Rudy Ricciotti, it runs more than 800 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a gentle upward slope that does not exceed the height of the ruined barracks, like a colossal artifact that was only recently excavated.
The French military built the camp in 1939 near Rivesaltes, a small town just north of Perpignan. Only one small section of the 1,500-acre camp is used for the memorial; most of the rest is still owned and used by the military.The French military built the camp in 1939 near Rivesaltes, a small town just north of Perpignan. Only one small section of the 1,500-acre camp is used for the memorial; most of the rest is still owned and used by the military.
After its defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany in 1940, the French government, newly installed in the spa town of Vichy, quickly repurposed Rivesaltes as an internment camp for those it considered “undesirables”: Jews, foreigners, communists, freemasons, Roma.After its defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany in 1940, the French government, newly installed in the spa town of Vichy, quickly repurposed Rivesaltes as an internment camp for those it considered “undesirables”: Jews, foreigners, communists, freemasons, Roma.
Between January 1941 and November 1942, 17,500 people of 16 different nationalities went through the Rivesaltes camp. Some were French, including 1,300 Gypsies, mainly inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine who had been kicked out when Germany invaded that region. From January 1941 to November 1942, 17,500 people of 16 different nationalities went through the Rivesaltes camp. Some were French, including 1,300 Gypsies, mainly inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine who had been kicked out when Germany invaded that region.
But many were foreigners, among them thousands of Spaniards who had fled their civil war in 1939. The French government was ill equipped to deal with this influx of 470,000 refugees, and put many of them in ramshackle camps on Mediterranean beaches.But many were foreigners, among them thousands of Spaniards who had fled their civil war in 1939. The French government was ill equipped to deal with this influx of 470,000 refugees, and put many of them in ramshackle camps on Mediterranean beaches.
The camp is a stark reminder of the Vichy government’s collaboration with Nazi Germany. It was called the “Drancy of the free zone” by Serge Klarsfeld, the French Nazi hunter, a reference to the town near Paris that was a major transit site for Jews being sent to death camps. More than 2,200 Jews of the 7,000 who were interned at Rivesaltes were sent to such camps.The camp is a stark reminder of the Vichy government’s collaboration with Nazi Germany. It was called the “Drancy of the free zone” by Serge Klarsfeld, the French Nazi hunter, a reference to the town near Paris that was a major transit site for Jews being sent to death camps. More than 2,200 Jews of the 7,000 who were interned at Rivesaltes were sent to such camps.
Rivesaltes was evacuated and turned into German military barracks when Germany invaded the free zone in 1942, then was partly transformed into a prison for German soldiers and French collaborators when France took it over again.Rivesaltes was evacuated and turned into German military barracks when Germany invaded the free zone in 1942, then was partly transformed into a prison for German soldiers and French collaborators when France took it over again.
The war of independence in Algeria ushered in yet another phase for the camp. French troops preparing to cross the Mediterranean came through Rivesaltes, and Algerian nationalist fighters were detained there.The war of independence in Algeria ushered in yet another phase for the camp. French troops preparing to cross the Mediterranean came through Rivesaltes, and Algerian nationalist fighters were detained there.
Once France abandoned the war, thousands of Algerians who fought on the French side, known as harkis, fled to France to escape persecution and massacres in Algeria by those who saw them as traitors.Once France abandoned the war, thousands of Algerians who fought on the French side, known as harkis, fled to France to escape persecution and massacres in Algeria by those who saw them as traitors.
The French government, which was neither ready nor inclined to facilitate their arrival, hastily spread them across camps in France, including Rivesaltes, where nearly 20,000 harkis were moved to from 1962 to 1964.The French government, which was neither ready nor inclined to facilitate their arrival, hastily spread them across camps in France, including Rivesaltes, where nearly 20,000 harkis were moved to from 1962 to 1964.
“The history of the harkis is not the same as the history of the Spaniards, or of the Jews, or of the Gypsies,” said Thomas Fontaine, a historian who worked on the memorial. “But by putting them all together, we wanted to show that they are all part of this history of camps and of forced displacements.”“The history of the harkis is not the same as the history of the Spaniards, or of the Jews, or of the Gypsies,” said Thomas Fontaine, a historian who worked on the memorial. “But by putting them all together, we wanted to show that they are all part of this history of camps and of forced displacements.”
However diverse the camp’s population through the years, living conditions remained consistently deplorable, especially under the Vichy government, even attracting American news media attention.However diverse the camp’s population through the years, living conditions remained consistently deplorable, especially under the Vichy government, even attracting American news media attention.
During World War II, there was a lack of food, coal and medicine, leading to high mortality rates among older people and the young. Charities and other nongovernmental organizations like the Red Cross or the Y.M.C.A. were able to improve living conditions and save thousands of Jewish children, said Mr. Fontaine. But it came at a price.During World War II, there was a lack of food, coal and medicine, leading to high mortality rates among older people and the young. Charities and other nongovernmental organizations like the Red Cross or the Y.M.C.A. were able to improve living conditions and save thousands of Jewish children, said Mr. Fontaine. But it came at a price.
“It was vital that they be there, otherwise the detention conditions would have been tragic, but by doing so they were enabling the system to continue,” Mr. Fontaine said, a conundrum faced, albeit to a lesser degree, by humanitarian organizations working in refugee camps like the one in Calais.“It was vital that they be there, otherwise the detention conditions would have been tragic, but by doing so they were enabling the system to continue,” Mr. Fontaine said, a conundrum faced, albeit to a lesser degree, by humanitarian organizations working in refugee camps like the one in Calais.
Agnès Sajaloli, the director of the memorial, acknowledged that for France the camp represented a “shameful memory” that was hard to revisit.Agnès Sajaloli, the director of the memorial, acknowledged that for France the camp represented a “shameful memory” that was hard to revisit.
But painful examination of history was necessary, lest it is repeated. That is why, Ms. Sajaloli said, an entire section of the permanent exhibit is devoted to refugee camps from the 20th and 21st centuries.But painful examination of history was necessary, lest it is repeated. That is why, Ms. Sajaloli said, an entire section of the permanent exhibit is devoted to refugee camps from the 20th and 21st centuries.
“All the history of the Rivesaltes camp and of the memories that are attached to it are useful to analyze and understand the world of today and tomorrow,” she said.“All the history of the Rivesaltes camp and of the memories that are attached to it are useful to analyze and understand the world of today and tomorrow,” she said.