Montreuil-Bellay gypsy camp
From November 8, 1941 to January 16, 1945, France made the site of Montreuil-Bellay (Maine-et-Loire) a campfor "homeless individuals, nomads and itinerants, having the Romani type". Its origins can be traced back to the decree-law of April 6, 1940, which prohibited the movement of nomads on French territory for the duration of the war, as they were suspected of being or becoming spies.
Concentration camp for nomads
The first Roma rounded up arrived at the camp on November 8, 1941. The last ones left in January 1945 for the Jargeau camp and the Alliers camp, from which they were not liberated until March 19465. Tramps from Nantes were also interned in 1942. 3,000 people passed through this camp, which counted up to 1,096 internees in August 19425.
On January 16, 1945, the last nomads were transferred to the Camp des Alliers (50 people) in Angoulême and to the Camp de Jargeau(285 people).
In July 2010, the ruins of this camp were listed as a historic monument in order to prevent their total disappearance and make them a place of remembrance. The entire site was listed by decree on September 27, 2012. Another plot was also classified by decree on December 4, 2013.
In April 2016, a project to develop the site into a memorial was announced by Prefect Béatrice Abollivier.
On October 29, 2016, a national tribute ceremony marking 70 years since the closure of the last French internment camps for nomads was held, and a commemorative stele was inaugurated in the presence of French President François Hollande, who on this occasion acknowledged France's responsibility for these internments.
Source Wikipedia
Contribution and photo credit Christophe Roullier
Contribution and photo credit Christophe Roullier
