Many of us come to Bordeaux wanting to know what happened here during WWII. How did the city and community get through this horrible time in history? There are some notable names and places in Bordeaux from the Second World War that will be of interest to visitors. The city was Nazi occupied from end of June 1940 until 1944, the population exploding to over 1 million during this period of time (from a pre-war population of 250,000). Bordeaux happened to be the capital of France at one point during WWII, briefly in June 1940.
It’s worth noting that the line of demarcation from Vichy to Occupied France ran through Gironde, the department that Bordeaux is located in. My town of Bazas had the barrier at the end of our road heading towards Auros.
MANY PEOPLE FROM BORDEAUX HAVE PERSONAL STORIES
It’s said that 10% of the population was in the Resistance, 10% collaborating with the Nazis…and the rest were just trying to get through until tomorrow.
My husbands grandmother, Giselle Fabregues (born Putcraby), still can’t stand the taste of Jerusalem artichokes (tompinambour) to this day. She said too much of their sustenance consisted of this during the war. In the city, bread rations were 250g a day, with meat at 100g a month. Once the Nazis arrived to Bazas, her family fled East to the Bastide part of Bordeaux, until eventually having to escape to Pessac. Her family would never return to Bazas.
They used ration cards until 1949 for goods, some original ration cards which I have procured from a local antiques store in Bordeaux. Laurent, the owner of Sud-Ouest Detection at 6 Rue Fernand Philippart, 33000 Bordeaux has many interesting coins and papers from over the centuries, including ration cards.
NOTABLE LOCATIONS IN BORDEAUX FROM WORLD WAR II
The Bassins des Lumieres is located an old submarine base at the historic Bassins a flot structure in the Bacalan neighbourhood. It is probably one of the more interesting pieces of Nazi architecture still standing locally. It is one of five submarine bases built in France during WWII. The history of it’s construction is rather dark. Enslaved prisoners of war, including Spanish Republicans, went to work pouring more than 600,000 cubic meters of concrete and over iron framework. Unlucky individuals who would fall into the mixture were forever encapsulated in the building. Due to the impressive structural integrity and engineering of the building, it was not possible to destroy.
Luckily, we have finally found a way to make this piece of dark history a more illuminating one. Used by artists in the 60s and 70s, in 2020 the Bassins des Lumieres digital art space was created. The interior of the wet docks shows rotating projection of art on walls, from Klimt to Van Gogh. You’ll walk through while listening to music in the dark space, from Led Zeppelin to classical. Give yourself a good hour and half to visit. They also have a really nice gift shop at the end. Can buy tickets in advance online. Open daily from 10am-7pm / Bassins des Lumières | Centre d’art numérique & immersif à Bordeaux / Impasse Brown De Colstoun, 33300 Bordeaux
The River Garonne is notoriously difficult to navigate, thanks to the extreme tides and current. Large branches and even trees can be seen floating downstream. Under the water there are also many ships that have been sunk during WWII. When the tide is low, if you look towards the Bastide side of the river where you will see the bows of the ships breaking the waterline. READ MORE Mais d’où viennent ces épaves sur les quais de la Garonne à Bordeaux ?
Most of the time when we start to add a new tram line in or refit roads, we find Roman or Medieval ruins below. A more recent surprise would be a WWII bunker. There is one in central Arcachon; unearthed when they rebuilt their tourism office. In Bordeaux, they were built around 1943. One under the Place Quinconces was equipped with beds, kitchen, radio room, bathrooms and more. Le bunker sous la Place des Quinconces
The Tour du Ha, located behind the Cathedral de Saint Andre, was a political prison during WWII. Many resistance fighters and other prisoners were held here before leaving for the camps. The round tower is all that is left from the chateau-fort Ha built in the 1400’s by Charles the VII, after the Hundred Years War. Once prisoners left the Tour du Ha prison and interrogation center, they would be moved to the Internment camp in Merignac and elsewhere. It was only one of many in France, which would hold around 8,700 of the 600,000 interned people in France during the war. All ‘undesirables’, from political prisoners, Spanish, Jews, prostitutes, ‘foreigners’ were kept in the camp. Le camp d’internement de Mérignac (1940-1944) – Mérignac Archives.
Eventually this prison was not large enough and there would be another prison made called Caserne Boudet on Rue Pessac. My husbands maternal great-grandmother, Therese Fabregues, was a guard at Tour du Ha. She worked with the Resistance to get letters from the female resistance fighters to their families to say goodbye. Her son, Hubert Fabregues, would then deliver them (unknowingly) to other Resistance fighters in the countryside.
If you’re walking close to the intersection of Rue Saint Catherine and Cours Victor Hugo, you’ll find Place du Richemont. This ‘place’ is named after a farm in Saucats, Gironde. Students were recruited and meet in the Lycee Montaigne (on Cours Victor Hugo, Bordeaux) for sabotage missions. Unfortunately, they were caught, with 12 killed at the Richemont farm in Saucats. One was sent to the prison at Fort Ha in Bordeaux. A memorial stands in their memory to this day in Saucats and a plaque on the school exterior wall in Bordeaux. Accueil – Comité du Mémorial de Richemont
Read about Operation Frankton https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/operation-frankton
PEOPLE AND THEIR STORIES FROM WWII IN BORDEAUX
One of the most impressive stories is of Aristides de Sousa Mendes. He was a Portuguese consulate officer who wrote thousands of visas for people to escape Europe. The local rabbi Kruger of the Synagogue in Bordeaux helped Mendes. Portugal had never approved this operation and when he returned home after the war, he was not seen as a hero. Sousa Mendes was banned from working for the government and died penniless. It’s estimated he saved around 30,000 people, 1/3 being Jews, foreigners, including Spanish Republicans. It wouldn’t be until his death that the families of the survivors created a fund to help his own family. His office in Bordeaux would have been at 14 quai Louis-XVIII. READ MORE Le consul du Portugal à Bordeaux Aristides de Sousa Mendes, sauveur de milliers de juifs, entre au Panthéon portugais
Henri Salmide was the French name given to Heniz Stalhsmitz, a German officer in Bordeaux during WWII. He famously collaborated with a Resistance fighter to foil a plan to blow up the Bordeaux waterfront. He didn’t see the reason in doing this when the war was over and they were now leaving. So, instead, they blew up the ammunition stored on Rue Raze in the Chartrons. He would stay in Bordeaux after the war. Working for the fire department, he ultimately received an award from the French government for his bravery, ten years before his death. Henri Salmide, le soldat allemand qui sauva Bordeaux
Chaban-Delmas bridge gets its name from the post WWII Bordeaux mayor. During WWII in Paris, Jaques Caban Delmas worked with General de Gaulle in Paris against the insurrection. He was mayor of Bordeaux for nearly 40 years from 1947-1995, when Alain Juppe took over. Un maire, une histoire : Chaban-Delmas et Bordeaux, une histoire d’amour de 47 ans
Georges Mandel, born Louis Rothschild, was a Jewish journalist who eventually became a deputy mayor in Soulac, Gironde. Mandel had refused to accept the surrender of France in June 1940 and wanted the government to cooperate with Britain. He was arrested when the Nazis arrived in 1940 while dining at Le Chapon Fin in Bordeaux. He was imprisoned for life by the leader of Vichy France, Phillipe Petain in 1941. Finally; he was assassinated in 1944 in the forests at Fontainebleau, he is buried in 16eme, Paris. “Vous me laisserez terminer mes cerises…” Le résistant Georges Mandel est arrêté le 17 juin 1940
Adrien Marquet was the major of Bordeaux from 1925 until 1944 and before WWII he started major works to modernize Bordeaux in the 1930’s. Some of which can still be seen today, like the Judaic Pool in Pessac. He had a varied political party background. Starting in the socialist party, he turned to the far right and worked in Department of Interior for Petain. During this period of time, things quickly became dangerous for the Jews that were still left in Bordeaux. Shops were destroyed, Jews movements controlled and identification forced. Joseph Benzacar was part of the Bordeaux Municipal Council and by 1942 was forcibly removed for being Jewish. He would eventually be sent to the camps in 1944 with his wife. Rue Professor Benzacar is named for him.
READ MORE
Jane Anson has some wonderful, detailed articles about wine producers in particular during WWII. One article here but there are more on her site World War II Bordeaux: Life Under Occupation – Jane Anson – Inside Bordeaux
Wine and War is a must read before coming to Bordeaux if you are interested in the topic Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don Kladstrup | Goodreads
https://www.cultura.com/p-une-resistance-francaise-chronique-bordelaise-1940-1945-9782702517253.html
Histoire : Bordeaux sous l’Occupation allemande, visite en images
Historical Fiction Game of Spies: The Secret Agent, the Traitor and the Nazi, Bordeaux 1942-1944: Amazon.co.uk: Ashdown, Paddy: 9780008140823: Books
The Musee d’Aquitaine has a good deal of information on this time in history. Closed on Monday. Accueil | Musée d’Aquitaine
You can book a tour of the Synagogue in Bordeaux Visite de la Synagogue de Bordeaux – Consistoire de Bordeaux
Jewish Fates In Bordeaux During The Second World War | Ports d’Exil, Ports d’Attache
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