Behind the infamous Notre Dame Cathedral is a deeply moving memorial to the people who were deported from Vichy France to Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
Upon entering the memorial, a sense of claustrophobia is created by tall walls that block all views of the surrounding city and streets. Any sense of freedom is gone, but for the sky above. However, a foreboding iron gate serves as a reminder that there was no exit for those imprisoned.
Somehow, I ended up alone in the memorial, which gave me the eerie experience of total silence. With no tourists chatting and snapping pictures, I was left with nothing but the walls, the sky, and spirits of those who did not return. I stood and closed my eyes and simply allowed the moment to become part of me.
Deportation Memorial in Paris
Photo by: c.b.w. 2013
In an inner chamber, 200,000 illuminated crystals line the walls and symbolize each of the deportees who died at Nazi hands. I put my finger on one crystal and wondered which soul it represented. What kind of life did this person lead? How much did they suffer? Did they still have hope, even at the end?
Within the same chamber is the tomb of an unknown deportee who died at the Neustadt camp and the urns of ashes from the camps. It’s here that I stand and say a little prayer with hope that all those lost are truly at peace.
Upon leaving the memorial, the same engraving found at almost all sites memorializing victims of the Holocaust can be found: “Forgive, but never forget.”
– – –
Information Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mémorial_des_Martyrs_de_la_Déportation
http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/france/paris/review-136743.html
– – –
Part of the A to Z Challenge!
c.b.w. 2013
C.B. Wentworth 
This was very moving, words and picture alike: especially since I just returned from a trip to Poland where I visited Auschwitz and reflected on many of the same things that you did here. The impossibility of extracting the individual from the mass of the atrocities, the wondering how many thoughts, hopes, fears and revelations were lost to the world because of the extermination of so many souls, and especially the difficulty with tourists and photographs: is it disgusting that people snap pictures of these places to post on Facebook? Or is it just another way of doing what we know we must always do: remembering what happened and preserving it as a warning for the future.
Yes, very moving. Excellent post!
LikeLike
I only took one photograph of the memorial because I was conflicted about photographing something so sacred. At the same time, I wanted to have a way to return to that memorial once I got home. I share this photograph with my students along with the story of my visit and it really does help them understand the enormity of the Holocaust.
LikeLike
Yes, it did seem strange to be photographing Auschwitz and Birkenau, but in the end I’m glad we did. We’d spoken to a fellow traveller who had said he thought the whole of the experience at the camp was disgusting and commercialised and touristy, but he was both a photographer and a tourist, so… At the end of the day, I think photography ties in with the ‘never forget’ morality, and it can and should be done. Although I must admit I did find it jarring when a group of Italian tourists posed together with smiles and thumbs-up underneath the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ sign.
LikeLike
Oh my, I can’t imagine what was going through the heads of those tourists. Unbelievable.
I agree that photography serves as a powerful medium of human record, which is why I’m so careful when I travel. I don’t want to be the obnoxious tourist taking pictures only for myself. I take pictures that I can share with others, particularly my students. They tell a story that I hope is worth remembering.
LikeLike
The lines and movement in this photo are stunning – and your reflections on the moment likewise so.
(Have you read Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky?)
LikeLike
I have read Suit Francaise, but I will add it to the list.
The overall aesthetic of the memorial was truly remarkable. So simple, yet so powerful.
LikeLike
Very moving.
I’m really enjoying your posts for the challenge 🙂
LikeLike
Glad you’re enjoying these posts. I’m enjoying revisiting my memories and learning new things about the places I’ve been. 🙂
LikeLike
What a tasteful and moving memorial. Simple but full of meaning. How lucky you caught it by yourself so you could really reflect. Thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
I can’t believe I had a few minutes all alone. I will always treasure that.
LikeLike
I have never heard of this. Thanks for sharing it as I may never have the pleasure of travel to see it in person.
LikeLike
I honestly didn’t know about it until I wandered through the “backyard” of Notre Dame. While my tour group was busy ogling the gardens and flying buttresses, I slipped across the street, because I saw the sign for the entrance of the memorial.
LikeLike
Yes. reminds me of how I felt when I visited the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. When you see pictures of unspeakable cruel events, it just makes you shake you head in wonder. How could that happen? So sad. I’m thankful for these museums because they bring a sober reality into our lives and help us appreciate new life every day.
LikeLike
Well said!
LikeLike
I have never heard of this place, such a moving post. Thanks for sharing.
Cynthia (The Sock Zone)
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping. Today’s post is rather fitting seeing as I’m teaching a lesson about the Holocaust today in my classroom.
LikeLike
Very, very cool. I missed this when I was in Paris a long time ago. I love how history makes sites like these so much more impactful.
LikeLike
This is one of those place I wish I could take my students. They could learn so much about the reality of Holocaust just by walking through something like this.
LikeLike
Infamous Notre Dame Cathedral? Why infamous? *puzzled*
LikeLike
Well, that’s the place where all the tourists flock! 😉 The architectural achievement alone is enough to classify it as infamous, not to mention historical and religious elements associated with this site. 🙂 In contrast, the Deportation Memorial is lesser known and often bypassed despite its significance.
LikeLike
Being at a place like that really makes you think and reflect on what terrible things we have done to each other. It should never be forgotten.
LikeLike
So true. Whenever somebody asks why its important to learn history (as a teacher I get that question a lot), memorials like this are one way I make my point.
LikeLike
Great Post! It’s hard to believe the atrocities of man!!
LikeLike
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand why people hurt one another in such brutal ways.
LikeLike
I wonder if you have visited the Holocaust Wall in Venice?
LikeLike
I haven’t been to Venice yet, but I hope to get there one day. I didn’t know they had a Holocaust Wall, so I’ll be looking that up today. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
My agent was there two years ago with a Jewish friend. The Wall is in the old Ghetto, which still has a native Italian-Jewish population, including many Hassidim. Venice itself is a beautiful city. My agent says to get the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge done quickly, and then spend your time away from the crowd exploring all the back alleys.
LikeLike
O my goodness – this was extremely moving CB thank you … the Deportation Memorial photograph is stark indeed .. may we never ever forget the horrors of the Holocaust. You were indeed fortunate to have those few moments on your own.
LikeLike
Thank you for stopping by. I don’t think there will ever be enough words to describe the horror of Holocaust and one of my biggest fears is that as we move further away from it, the memory will be lost. I hope memorials like this one will ensure we do not allow a repeat of such a horrific event.
LikeLike
And you are doing your part to make sure that we never forget, by taking such a moving photograph, and sharing it and the history with your students. It is only by teaching the next generations the history of our horrors that we can help assure that they will not repeat such atrocities.
LikeLike
The power of a photograph really is amazing. When I tell my students about the memorial they think it is interesting, but when I show the photograph, they fall incredibly silent. They feel what I felt standing there that day and I think it really drives the lesson home.
LikeLike
My mother returned to France as soon as it was possible to do so once the war was over. The stories she heard of the occupation of Paris marked her forever. I grew up with those stories and have never repeated them as they are just too horrible for words. I sense that if I stood at this memorial, I would crumble to the ground in despair at the inhumanity of my species.
You’ve not a wonderful, sensitive, job of sharing this with us. Blessings to you.
LikeLike
This is such a difficult subject to discuss, but I believe it is of immense importance that we keep the dialogue open, so no one ever has to live through something that horrific ever again.
LikeLike
This reminds me emotionally of a visit we made to Terezin, a concentration camp for children in what is now the Czech Republic. It was overwhelming, but I recommend it to anyone visiting that country.
LikeLike
Terezin is one of the places I wish I could gone to while I was in the Czech Republic. As sad as it is, its an example I use in my classroom all the time to help my students identify with the reality of the Holocaust. Many of those children were about the same age as my students.
LikeLike
May I recommend to both of you W G Sebald’s novel ‘Austerlitz’. Like much of his fiction it weaves in reportage (in fact Susi Bechhofer complained that he had pilfered her life-story) and its main theme, as in ‘The Emigrants’, is the loss of European-Jewish culture. A fair amount of the novel concerns Theresienstadt.
LikeLike
I’ll add it to my “to read” list. Sounds like an interesting perspective. Thanks for the recommendation.
LikeLike
Moving post about a tragedy! I can see how you would have a sense of eeriness when alone in this monument — the design, however, is amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience and the story of these 2000 people.
LikeLike
The architect for this memorial did an incredible job. I thought he really got to the heart of the tragedy, while also creating a feeling of hope.
LikeLike
I would really like to see this in person, even with how sad it is. I know I’ll never get there, but your description seems to accurately depict how I’ve felt before other Holocausts memorials. How different is the picture in color?
I also really really think the idea of A-Z blogging is so cool. I haven’t posted in months, but don’t want to be a copy-cat.
LikeLike
Surprisingly, the color version of this shot isn’t much different. It was a gray dreary day so most of the color was washed out. All I did was add a subtle overlay to accentuate the texture of the wall and gate.
Jump into the challenge! It’s not too late to have a little blogging fun. 🙂
LikeLike
Very moving! We must never forget…
LikeLike
I hope we never do. That’s why its so important to learn our history.
LikeLike
‘Forgive, but never forget’ – powerful message. Thanks for sharing your private moments in that sacred place.
LikeLike
It was an incredibly moving experience that I definitely won’t forget.
LikeLike