Montluc prison

Montluc

Entrance to the prison
Location Lyon, France
Coordinates 45°45′1.37″N 4°51′42.61″E / 45.7503806°N 4.8618361°E / 45.7503806; 4.8618361Coordinates: 45°45′1.37″N 4°51′42.61″E / 45.7503806°N 4.8618361°E / 45.7503806; 4.8618361
Status Museum
Opened 1921 (1921)
Closed 1997
Street address 4 rue Jeanne Hachette
City Lyon
Country France

Montluc prison is a former prison located on rue Jeanne Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France.

History

Built in 1921 for use as a military prison, after the invasion of the unoccupied zone of Vichy France in November 1942, the Gestapo used it as a prison, interrogation centre and internment camp for those waiting for transfer to concentration camps. It is estimated that over 15,000 people were imprisoned in Montluc, and over 900 of them were executed within it.[1]

August 1944, prisoners from Montluc prison are transferred at the Lyon–Bron Airport.109 of them, including 72 Jews, were massacred by the Nazis in what would become the infamous "Le Charnier de Bron".[2]

Montluc was liberated on 24 August 1944 by FFI troops, when resistance leader Colonel Köenig, profiting from the chaos reigning in Lyon at the time, entered the prison in a stolen German Army car disguised as a Gestapo officer and persuaded the Commandant to free the prisoners, saying that the order had come from the Gestapo Commander in Lyon, Klaus Barbie.[1]

In 1947, Montluc became a civil prison once again, finally closing in 1997,[3] though the female maison d'arrêt was not closed until May 2009.

Current status

In 2009, most of the prison, including the walls, the stairs and the courtyard, were classified as a monument historique.[4] Since September 2010 the prison has been open to the public for guided tours organized by the National Office of Veterans and War Victims (l’Office national des Anciens combattants et Victimes de guerre).[5]

Notable prisoners

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cosgrove, Michael (24 August 2009). "Lyon commemorates the liberation of its wartime Nazi prisoners". Digital Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  2. http://www.leprogres.fr/rhone/2014/09/02/bron-le-panneau-en-memoire-des-charniers-de-l-aeroport-devoile
  3. "Les prisons de Lyon". Prison.eu (in French). Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  4. "Monuments historiques — Fort Montluc" (in French). Mérimée. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  5. "Prison de Montluc : un nouveau lieu de mémoire". pointsdactu.org (in French). 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.

External links

Media related to Prison Montluc at Wikimedia Commons

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