Have you ever considered what silence can convey? Here at the Monument Aux Déportés Stèle in Paris silence speaks volumes. It is a language of remembrance. It echoes the unspeakable suffering of 200000 French citizens. They were lost in the Nazi concentration camps between 1941 and 1944.
The Monument Aux Déportés is in the 4th arrondissement. It sits on the eastern tip of the Île de la Cité. This location is intentional. It is a place of reflection and remembrance. The monument’s architecture evokes the deportees’ suffering.
Inaugurated on April 12 1962 by General de Gaulle the monument is a stark reminder. It recalls the characteristics of the concentration camp world. There was imprisonment oppression and impossible escape. It embodies the slow wearing away and the will to exterminate.
The architect Georges-Henri Pingusson created a vast hexagonal crypt. It is dimly lit. It opens onto a covered gallery. The gallery features luminous batons. They represent the deportees who died in the camps. It also holds the ashes of an unknown deportee. This deportee came from the Natzweiler-Struthof camp.
On either side of the crypt are small galleries. These contain earth from various camps. There are also ashes from crematorium ovens. They are enclosed in triangular urns. Around the crypt in red characters are the names of the camps. Extracts from poems are also present. They are by Robert Desnos Louis Aragon Paul Eluard Jean-Paul Sartre and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
The last Sunday in April is significant. The Monument Aux Déportés hosts the Day of Remembrance. It honors the martyrs and heroes of the deportation.
The monument’s history reveals much. It gives information on heritage conceptions and landscape design. It informs on architectural creation the changes of municipal power and memory politics.
The monument stands on the site of the former Paris morgue. It offers an architectural evocation of the tragedy. This is inspired by abstract expressionism. The building has no salient point above the parapet. This is due to artistic bias and site conformity.
Access is through a square. This space is a transition. It is between the city and the place of remembrance. A wall displays the dedication. It reads “To the 200000 French martyrs who died in the deportation camps / 1940-1945”. A large explanatory panel tells the history. It explains the Nazi concentration camp system. It presents the work.
Two narrow staircases descend. They lead to a triangular courtyard. It is enclosed by a concrete wall. A metal fence separates it from the Seine. Here one feels outside the city. Limited views beyond the wall and grid reveal the sky and river. Only urban sounds reach the ears.
The crypt is the heart of the building. Access is through a narrow passage. Inside a hexagonal room houses a flame. It sits at the center of a circular plate. The plate is engraved with the words “They went to the other end of the earth and they did not return.” Facing the entrance is the inscription. It reads “So that the memory of two hundred thousand French people fallen in the night and the fog exterminated in the Nazi camps may live”. This surmounts a tunnel. It is lined with two curtains of light. It leads to another light. It is isolated and embedded in a black wall. These 200000 lights symbolize the deportees of France. They watch over the tomb of the unknown deportee. They lead to a symbol of hope.
Fifteen triangular niches contain soil and bones. They came from these camps. Their walls are engraved with quotes. These are from Desnos Maydieu Sartre Aragon Saint-Exupéry Eluard and Vercors. An extract from the Marsh Song is also present. Above the exit the message reads “Forgive Do not forget…”.
The Monument Aux Déportés is a symbol. It is a reminder of the emotional drama of deportation. It is a powerful tool. It raises awareness among younger generations. In its architectural form it is recognized. It is a masterpiece of the Modern Movement.