Three hundred souls. That’s how many were taken from this very spot. This is Rue du 1er Mars 1943. The name itself echoes with the weight of history. It’s a quiet street now. But on March 1st 1943 it was the scene of a terrible event.
Rue du 1er Mars 1943 in Villeurbanne isn’t just a street name. It’s a memorial a scar on the landscape left by the Nazi occupation. It commemorates a day of terror. On that day German soldiers backed by the French Milice swept through a working-class neighborhood. They rounded up hundreds of men.
These were not soldiers or resistance fighters. These were ordinary men. Apprentices like Louis Croppi a young plumber. They were fathers brothers sons. Their ages ranged from sixteen to sixty. They were taken from their homes their families their lives.
The Gestapo aided by the Feldgendarmerie and the Waffen-SS sealed off the area. They searched apartments. They dragged men from the streets. The cafe Jacob a place that no longer exists served as a temporary holding area. After a cursory check only 150 were selected. Many more could have been taken.
These 150 were then herded into the courtyard of the nearby Immaculée Conception school. Some managed to escape. The lucky ones. One hundred and thirty-eight remained. That evening they were transported to the Villeurbanne train station. Their journey led to Compiègne. Then the horrors of Mauthausen.
Mauthausen was a camp reserved for political opponents. It was one of the most brutal and deadly in the Nazi system. Forty-five of the Villeurbanne men perished there. Seventy-three survived to see liberation. Fifteen more died in the months that followed their return.
Rue du 1er Mars 1943 is more than a street name. It is a testament to the victims. It is a reminder of a dark chapter in history. A reminder of the human cost of war. Every year on March 1st Villeurbanne remembers. They hold commemorations. They remember the three hundred. They remember the lost. They remember the survivors. They remember those who were taken from this very street. Stand here and feel the weight of their memory. Remember Rue du 1er Mars 1943.