Camp Vernet

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The French département where Le Vernet is located

Le Vernet Internment Camp, or Camp Vernet, was a concentration camp^[1] in Le Vernet, Ariège, near Pamiers, in the French Pyrenees. It was originally built in June 1918 to house French colonial troops serving in the Great War but when hostlities ceased it was used to hold German and Austrian prisoners of war. ^[2]

Between the wars it served as a military depot.^[2] Towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, in February 1939, it was put to a new use. It became a reception camp for Republicans fleeing from Francisco Franco's armies after the collapse of the Second Spanish Republic. At this time, it held mainly former soldiers from the Republican Durruti Division.^[1]

With the outbreak of World War Two, the role of the camp was expanded. It was used to house "undesirable" foreigners, in particular, anti-fascist intellectuals and former members of the International Brigades.^[1] After the Fall of France on 25 June 1940, it was taken over by the pro-Nazi Vichy France authorities, to house "all foreigners considered suspect or dangerous to the public order".^[1]

From 1942, Le Vernet became a transit camp for detained Jews.^[1]. In June 1944, the last internees were evacuated and deported to the Dachau concentration camp in the "Ghost Train". In total, about 40,000 persons of 58 nationalities were interned in the camp; mainly men but also women and children.^[1]