France’s WWII concentration camp marks 80th anniversary of liberation

The only concentration camp built by the Nazi regime in occupied France during World War Two marked the 80th anniversary of its liberation on Saturday (November 24) with an official visit by

President Macron.

The historical region of Alsace–Lorraine was incorporated into the German Reich following the surrender of France in 1940.

The German authorities used the region’s German heritage to justify the conscription of locals, and gave it the ignominy of hosting the only Nazi concentration camp built on French soil:

Natzweiler-Struthof in Bas-Rhin.

Of the 52,000 prisoners who were sent there between May 1941 and September 1944, when it was liberated, an estimated 22,000 died.

During his visit to the camp on Saturday, President Macron spoke of the need to teach the history of the Malgré-nous (‘the despite ourselves’), which is the term for French citizens who were

conscripted by the Nazi authorities. 

“The tragedy of the Malgré-nous must be named, recognised and taught,” said Mr Macron, after attending the remembrance ceremony at Natzweiler-Struthof.

“We must acknowledge their suffering, for which the Nazi regime bears primary responsibility.”

Later on Saturday, during a visit to the nearby Strasburg university, Mr Macron announced the introduction of Strasbourg-based French Resistance leader and historian Marc Bloch in the

Pantheon.

The family of Mr Bloch welcomed the decision, however, in an open letter to President Macron requested that “the extreme right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the

ceremony.”

They also asked that the ceremony be devoid of religious elements, noting that “Marc Bloch - an atheist - believed in only one idea: the Republic.”

Mr Bloch, who fought in the French army and wrote a book about its defeat in 1940, was arrested, tortured and killed by the Nazis at the age of 57 in 1944.

Mr Macron hailed his “boldness of words and ideas, coupled with physical courage.”

To date, only 83 people have been honoured with a burial in the Pantheon.

Read more: Can you name the seven women honoured in France’s Pantheon?

“From the lucidity and resistance of Marc Bloch to the liberation of Strasbourg, there is this procession of will that enabled France to become free once again,” said Mr Macron