Dedicated to the 200000 people who were deported from France to Nazi concentration camps during World War II. This is the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. It stands as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in history.
The Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation is located on the Île de la Cité. It sits on the site of a former morgue. The memorial was designed by Georges-Henri Pingusson. Charles de Gaulle inaugurated it in 1962.
Imagine descending into a crypt. This crypt is hollowed out of the sacred island. It is the cradle of the nation. It incarnates the soul of France. It is a place where its spirit dwells. This is how a brochure described the memorial when it opened. The brochure was produced by a French survivors group.
The Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation is shaped like a ship’s prow. Two staircases lead to the crypt. A lowered square is protected by a metal portcullis. The crypt leads to a hexagonal rotunda. It includes two chapels. These chapels contain earth and bones from concentration camps.
The walls of the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation display literary excerpts. Pingusson intended the long narrow subterranean space to feel claustrophobic. The entrance is narrow. It is marked by two concrete blocks. Inside lies the tomb of an unknown deportee. This deportee was killed at the camp in Neustadt.
Along both walls of the dimly lit chamber are 200000 glass crystals. Light shines through these crystals. Each crystal symbolizes a deportee who died. At the end of the tunnel is a single bright light. Ashes from the camps are contained within urns. They are positioned at both lateral ends. Both ends of the chamber have small rooms. They seem to depict prison cells. Opposite the entrance is a stark iron gate. It overlooks the Seine.
Excerpts of works by Louis Aragon are featured. Also featured are works by Robert Desnos. The Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation also has excerpts by Paul Éluard. You will see excerpts by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. There are also excerpts by Jean-Paul Sartre. Fragments of two poems by Desnos are inscribed on the walls.
A circular plaque on the floor reads They descended into the mouth of the earth and they did not return. The Tomb of the Unknown Deportee bears an inscription. It is dedicated to the living memory of the 200000 French deportees. They are sleeping in the night and the fog. They were exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps. At the exit is an engraved injunction. It is found at all sites memorializing Nazi victims. Forgive but never forget.
Architectural Digest called the memorial one of the ten most significant memorial buildings. Fodor’s called it stark and evocative. One Guardian reader described it as small stark and savagely detailed. It goes unnoticed by tourists who take selfies at the cathedral. It is a place for tears and quiet contemplation. It is a refuge from crowds. It is a reminder of a dark episode.
Here at the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation we remember. We reflect. We vow to never forget.