Have you visited the Mèmorial des Martyrs de la Deportation on Île de la Cité, Paris?
While you may be aware of the numerous big name and famous sites of Île de la Cité, Paris, did you also know it is home to the lesser known but also important Deportation Memorial?
Deportation Memorial or the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation
This Memorial commemorates the 200,000 French citizens that died in Nazi concentration camps. Can you believe it – 200,000? If you’ve missed this memorial or didn’t even know about it, don’t be too hard on yourself – it is not always included in walking guides or widely advertised like its other big name island sites such as Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Marché aux fleurs, Conciergerie and two of my favourite places in Paris, Place Dauphine and Square du Vert Galant.
So as you can see competition is fierce on the Île de la Cité, however I would recommend a visit to the Memorial for the following reasons: it’s a memorial to those who perished; it’s a beautifully and sympathetically designed structure; it’s educational and it’s part of French history and a thought-provoking experience. The 200,000 French citizens included Jews, political prisoners, homosexuals, gypsies, Jehovah’s witnesses and anyone else considered “undesirable”.
Where is Mèmorial des Martyrs de la Deportation?
Where is it though I hear you ask? The museum is mostly below ground and opposite Square Jean XXIII on the tip of Île de la Cité and I easily walked there from Hotel de Saint-Germain, Paris on the Left Bank.
The Mèmorial des Martyrs de la Deportation was designed by modernist architect Georges-Henri Pingusson and opened on 12 April 1962 by the President of the Republic, Charles de Gaulle on the site of a previous morgue underneath Notre Dame. I honestly must admit that I only found it when self exploring the tip of Île de la Cité and I asked myself how come I’d never read or heard about it before?
Anyhow, now that I’ve visited it, let me guide you through it and hopefully encourage you to visit it for yourself when you’re next in Paris. It was on a bright sunny day that I visited the memorial going from the bright sunlight, warming the green grass and pretty white daisies (symbolising innocence), to darkness as I descended down the barren steps towards water level. I could distinctly felt the coolness of the concrete and the stillness of the surrounding space as I descended down into the memorial.
I have since heard that security guards are often in place to check bags before you enter, but on this occasion there were not. Entering the outside courtyard that is loosely shaped like a triangle you are confronted with bars and grilles with just a hint of the Seine through the prison like bars. Imagine the feeling of seeing the sweet outside world but being unable to reach it. Triangular pavers make up most of the courtyard surface as triangles were the shape of the identification badges that prisoners were forced to wear.
The Interior of the Mèmorial des Martyrs
Photos of the memorial’s interior are to be for your personal use only, out of respect for the deportees, so I will abide by this request. You will therefore have to visit this memorial to witness the interior for yourself, however I’ll describe it for you as we move from the courtyard to the interior.
From the outside courtyard you enter the underground interior of the memorial, also down a narrow hallway, which gives you an idea of how it would feel being forced into darkened imprisonment. It is dark and claustrophobic under here with the only light coming from 200,000 illuminated crystals, each crystal symbolising a deportee who died in a camp.
Taking your attention next is the bright light representing the eternal flame of hope with its circular plaque on the floor. Translating the plaque into English it reads “They descended into the mouth of the earth and they did not return.” Either side of the crypt two small galleries contain earth from the different camps and ashes brought back from the cremation ovens, enshrined in triangular urns.
Names and places have been etched into the concrete like rough hand carvings done by prisoners and it was this that I found to be the most emotional part of my visit. There were also a few little alcoves with bars – just plain and simple – like the rest of this contemplative memorial.
Forgive, But Never Forget
On exiting, above you there is a message that translates “Forgive, but never forget”. Coming back up the steep steps into the sunshine makes your eyes blink and water as prisoners would have done once released from their dark holes or confinement into the concentration camp grounds. I also think of the thousands that once sent into the darkness, never saw the light, felt damp grass underfoot or enjoyed the simple beauty of flowers again. With thankfulness and a somber heart I reflected on this stark contrast as I ascended and once again enjoyed seeing the daisies smiling in the lush green grass.
A Well Designed Memorial
Minimal distraction, minimal effects, lack of colour, lack of sound, coolness and absence of light heighten the sense of hopelessness and solitary isolation in this memorial. This is one very well designed memorial, that without any apparent fanfare, will arouse your emotions and cause you to sympathise with the loss and sadness that surrounds WWII and all wars.
The French travel website, Chemins de Memoire about Memorial Museums is an interesting further read if you like visiting these sort of attractions.
Useful Information on Mèmorial des Martyrs de la Deportation
Location: Île de la Cité, Paris
World War II Family History
Visiting war museums or memorials will always affect people differently and we will all draw something different from the experience. I recall feeling mixed emotions when visiting Mèmorial des Martyrs de la Deportation knowing this tumultuous period had long lasting affects on my Romanian grandmother (Nicoletta) and her husband, Austrian born Otto.
My grandmother lived in Berlin during the war until she moved in with her sister-in-law Mitzi in safer Dresden, to await the imminent birth of her baby and then later moved to a farm with her newborn daughter, my mother (Brigitte). My grandfather was forced to join the army and later spent time in a German POW camp presumed dead by his sister and wife. After a few years the family was reunited in Italy and immigrated directly to Australia in June of 1950. My mother can remember her parents bringing one battered leather trunk with them to Australia, which at the time, held all their worldly goods.
From German POW Camp to Italy to Australia
Nicoletta and Otto were forever grateful to be able to immigrate to Australia and worked three jobs each at a time forging a new life for their little family. Both grandparents taught themselves English by reading dictionaries on their bus trips to work, always being grateful for their menial, labour intensive jobs, even though Otto had held a prestigious management role in the financial section prior to compulsorily joining the army.
Otto always felt ashamed of being in the army and felt a misfit for a long time. He especially felt for the Australian families that were still mourning their dead and injured returned soldiers that he came into contact with in South Australia once he had immigrated there.
Whilst Nicoletta would never speak of the war nor anything remotely associated with it, Brigitte is more open and has always understood her mother’s fierce silence on the topic. Brigitte feels that her mother’s experiences and the sights she saw were too much to bear and she chose instead to wipe them from her memory and never mention them again.
So whilst my family’s story doesn’t directly reflect the purpose of the Memorial, as I said, visiting war memorials or museums will trigger different emotions and memories for each visitor and these are mine. “Forgive, but not forget” is a powerful statement. I am very proud of my grandparents’ determined efforts to create a new life after the war and I remember them both fondly.
