Fresnes Prison
Encyclopedia
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison
in France
, located in the town of Fresnes
, Val-de-Marne
South of Paris
. It comprises a large men's jail (maison d'arrêt) of about 1200 cells, a smaller one for women and a penitentiary hospital.
Fresnes is one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, the Fleury-Mérogis Prison
(Europe's largest prison) and the La Santé Prison
(located in the centre of Paris) being the other two.
, was used extensively in North America
for much of the next century.
During World War II
, Fresnes prison was used by the German
s to house captured British SOE
agents and members of the French Resistance
. Held in horrific conditions, these prisoners were tortured, and some, such as Berty Albrecht
(1893–1943), co-founder of the Combat movement, died there. As soon as the Allied forces broke through at Normandy
and fought their way to liberate Paris, the Gestapo
peremptorily killed prisoners at Fresnes. An example was Suzanne Spaak
, who was executed there on 12 August 1944, less than two weeks before the city was liberated. Christopher Burney
(1917–80) was freed in 1945, and published Solitary Confinement, an account of his fifteen months there.
Squadron Leader
Phil Lamason
of the RNZAF
was the ranking officer
and one of 168 allied airmen
imprisoned here in 1944. They were also transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp
just days before Paris was liberated.
, with other members of the French Resistance
'Groupe du musée de l'Homme
' were imprisoned, tried, and sentenced there in 1941-1942. The automobile industrialist, Louis Renault
, arrested for collaborating with the Nazis, died there in 1944 under "questionable circumstances". Peter Churchill
and Odette Churchill were taken to Fresnes prison after their arrest in April 1943 in St Jorioz near Annency; Peter Churchill was held prisoner until 13 February 1944 when he was transferred to Berlin for questioning, while Odette was tortured in Fresnes prior to being transported to Ravensbrück concentration camp
, where she survived despite being sentenced to death. Paul Touvier
died of prostate cancer
in 1996 at the Fresnes prison hospital during his incarceration for war crimes.
Throughout Fresnes prison's history, there have also been several memorable escapes, but none has been more dramatic than the breakout of the Italian
mobster, Antonio Ferrara, in March 2003. In a commando-style raid, members of his gang attacked the prison with rocket launchers and assault rifles, and they set fire to nearby cars in what is believed to have been intended as a distraction. Arrested again four months later, Ferrara is now imprisoned in Fleury-Mérogis
.
One member of Operation Aquatint
, Captain Graham Hayes, MC
, a founding member of the "Small Scale Raiding Force
", was kept in solitary confinement for nine months before being executed (by firing squad) on 13 July 1943..
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, located in the town of Fresnes
Fresnes, Val-de-Marne
Fresnes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The Fresnes Prison is located there.-Name:...
, Val-de-Marne
Val-de-Marne
Val-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
South of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It comprises a large men's jail (maison d'arrêt) of about 1200 cells, a smaller one for women and a penitentiary hospital.
Fresnes is one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, the Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Fleury-Mérogis Prison is a prison in France, located in the town of Fleury-Mérogis, in the southern suburbs of Paris. With 3,800 prisoners, it is the largest prison in Europe ...
(Europe's largest prison) and the La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....
(located in the centre of Paris) being the other two.
History
The prison was constructed between 1895 and 1898 according to a design devised by the architect, Henri Poussin. An example of the so-called "telephone-pole design," the facility was radically different to previous prisons. At Fresnes prison, for the first time, cell houses extended crosswise from a central corridor. The design, a typical example of which is the Riker's Island prison in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, was used extensively in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
for much of the next century.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Fresnes prison was used by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
s to house captured British SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agents and members of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. Held in horrific conditions, these prisoners were tortured, and some, such as Berty Albrecht
Berty Albrecht
Berty Albrecht was a French Resistance Fighter, born Berthe Wild at Marseille, 15 February 1893. She died in 1943 at Fresnes.-Life:Born into a middle-class Protestant family, she married the Dutch banker Frédéric Albrecht in 1918...
(1893–1943), co-founder of the Combat movement, died there. As soon as the Allied forces broke through at Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and fought their way to liberate Paris, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
peremptorily killed prisoners at Fresnes. An example was Suzanne Spaak
Suzanne Spaak
Suzanne Spaak , World War II heroine.Suzanne Spaak was born into a prosperous Belgian banking family sometime around 1905...
, who was executed there on 12 August 1944, less than two weeks before the city was liberated. Christopher Burney
Christopher Burney
Christopher Arthur Geoffrey Burney MBE was an upper-class Englishman who served in the Special Operations Executive during World War II.-Biography:...
(1917–80) was freed in 1945, and published Solitary Confinement, an account of his fifteen months there.
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Phil Lamason
Phil Lamason
Phillip John Lamason DFC & Bar was a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War, who rose to prominence as the senior officer in charge of 168 Allied airmen taken to Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, in August 1944...
of the RNZAF
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
was the ranking officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
and one of 168 allied airmen
KLB Club
The KLB Club was formed on 12 October 1944, and included the 168 allied airmen who were held prisoner at Buchenwald concentration camp between 20 August and 19 October 1944...
imprisoned here in 1944. They were also transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
just days before Paris was liberated.
Famous inmates and escapes
Like any major prison, Fresnes has had its share of famous and notorious inmates. Agnès HumbertAgnès Humbert
Agnès Humbert was an art historian, ethnographer and a member of the French Resistance during World War II.- Early life :...
, with other members of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
'Groupe du musée de l'Homme
Groupe du musée de l'Homme
The Groupe du musée de l'Homme was a movement in the French resistance to the Nazi occupation during the Second World War....
' were imprisoned, tried, and sentenced there in 1941-1942. The automobile industrialist, Louis Renault
Louis Renault (industrialist)
Louis Renault was a French industrialist, one of the founders of Renault and a pioneer of the automobile industry....
, arrested for collaborating with the Nazis, died there in 1944 under "questionable circumstances". Peter Churchill
Peter Churchill
Peter Morland Churchill DSO Croix de Guerre was an SOE Officer in France during World War II.He was a brother of Group Captain Walter Churchill DSO DFC and Major Oliver Churchill DSO MC who was also an SOE Officer during World War II.-Biography:...
and Odette Churchill were taken to Fresnes prison after their arrest in April 1943 in St Jorioz near Annency; Peter Churchill was held prisoner until 13 February 1944 when he was transferred to Berlin for questioning, while Odette was tortured in Fresnes prior to being transported to Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
, where she survived despite being sentenced to death. Paul Touvier
Paul Touvier
Paul Touvier was a French Nazi collaborator. In 1994, he was the first Frenchman convicted of crimes against humanity for his actions in Vichy France.- Early life :...
died of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in 1996 at the Fresnes prison hospital during his incarceration for war crimes.
Throughout Fresnes prison's history, there have also been several memorable escapes, but none has been more dramatic than the breakout of the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
mobster, Antonio Ferrara, in March 2003. In a commando-style raid, members of his gang attacked the prison with rocket launchers and assault rifles, and they set fire to nearby cars in what is believed to have been intended as a distraction. Arrested again four months later, Ferrara is now imprisoned in Fleury-Mérogis
Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Fleury-Mérogis Prison is a prison in France, located in the town of Fleury-Mérogis, in the southern suburbs of Paris. With 3,800 prisoners, it is the largest prison in Europe ...
.
One member of Operation Aquatint
Operation Aquatint
Operation Aquatint was the codename for a failed raid by British Commandos on the coast of occupied France during the Second World War. The raid was undertaken in September 1942 on part of what later became Omaha Beach by No...
, Captain Graham Hayes, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, a founding member of the "Small Scale Raiding Force
Small Scale Raiding Force
No. 62 Commando or the Small Scale Raiding Force was a British Commandos unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The unit was formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive...
", was kept in solitary confinement for nine months before being executed (by firing squad) on 13 July 1943..
External links
- Fresnes - Etablissement pénitentiaire - maison d'arrêt - Ministry of France