| Camp du Récébédou | |
|---|---|
| Concentration camp | |
  Location of Camp du Récébédou within France | |
 Interactive map of Camp du Récébédou | |
| Coordinates | 43°32′31″N1°24′31″E / 43.54194°N 1.40861°E /43.54194; 1.40861 |
| Location | Portet-sur-Garonne,Haute-Garonne |
| Built by | French Third Republic |
| Operated by | French Third Republic,Vichy France |
| Operational | February 1941-September 1942 |
Camp du Récébédou was an internment camp forSpanish Republicans and Jews, in existence from February 1941 until September 1942, located in the municipality ofPortet-sur-Garonne, south ofToulouse. Internees were transported by train viaDrancy toAuschwitz, and other extermination camps.
Around 1560, the land of Jehan de Gilbert, who was the receiver of judgments in Rivière Verdun, that was known locally as "farm of the receiver" (in Occitan ː borda del recevedor or "bordo del rebéédou"). The land, situated on the banks of theGaronne consisted mainly of farmland and forest, has retained the name. During theFrench Revolution, the land was confiscated asBiens nationaux ("for the good of the nation") and in 1791 acquired by a Toulouse innkeeper Daumont, who renovated the buildings of the farm, which became the castle ofClairfont.
In 1939, the land was acquired to build a city for the workers of the nationalexplosives factory of Toulouse.[1] It was made up of 87 small single-storey brick buildings offering reasonable comfort.[2]
Thesecond world war brought about a change in the use of the city of Récébédou under the management by the municipality of Toulouse. In June 1940 it was used to house refugees, Jews expelled from Germany who were in Belgium and northern France.[3] That July, faced with the influx of Spanish republican refugees and Jews fleeing the occupied zone of France, the city became a reception center forrefugees and escapees.[4]: 166
In February 1941, it was taken over by the prefecture ofHaute-Garonne and becomes an official hospital camp for old and sick internees,[5] with a planned workforce of 1,400.Vichy's policy made it a semi-open institution, allowing journalists and charities to inspect it. The Vichy regime considered using it forpropaganda purposes.[3]
In the beginning, the conditions were reasonable, but deteriorated quickly due to lack of medical equipment, medicines, and the lack of food.[6] In 1941 there were 739 internees, half were over 60 years of age and suffered from serious illnesses. During the winter of 1941–1942, hunger, cold and sickness, left 118 dead, and a total of 314 people, including 254 Jews, died.[5]
Several convoys of deportees left Récébédou during August 1942. Some left as early as August 11 but most on the nights of 26–28 August from Portet-sur-Garonne in freight cars, taking the internees to the camp of Drancy[4]: 258 whose records mention three convoys[6] departing for Auschwitz with 349 Jews from Récébédou.[7][2]
Monsignor Jules-Géraud Saliège,archbishop of Toulouse actively protested the policy against the Jews and insisted on the closure of camps at Noé and Récébédou in a pastoral letter read out in all the parishes of his dioceses on 23 August.[4]: 271 His actions, with that of humanitarian organizations like theCimade and theRed Cross, provided some support to the internees. From September 1942, the internees were progressively directed to other hospitals of the region, and the camp ended its activity. The camp was officially closed in October 1942[6] on the pretext of being too close to Toulouse.
When the German troops entered Toulouse in late 1942, for a short time the camp served to house someWehrmacht personnel.[citation needed]
At theliberation of France, Spanish Republicans who had escaped fromMauthausen concentration camp, but were unable to return to their country, stayed in a dozen buildings in the camp. This colony was known as the "Villa Don Quixote".[6][3]
In one preserved building, the Musée de la Mémoire was established as a memorial museum dedicated to the history of the camp where visitors can view documents, models and reconstructions.[8][2] The museum was inaugurated on 6 February 2003 byElie Wiesel.[3]
A French documentary film about Laurette Alexis-Monet volunteering at the camp and directed by Francis Fourcou was released in 2016.Laurette 1942, une volontaire au camp du Récébédou, was based on the bookLes Miradors de Vichy by Alexis-Monet, aCimade member.[9] The historianPierre Vidal-Naquet has criticised the book as being a scam and a fictitious story.[10]
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