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View all events 1939–1941

August 20, 1941


Drancy Camp Established

In Drancy, France, German authorities open an internment and transit camp for Jews. The SS eventually deports Jews captured in France from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Sobibor killing center.

The Drancy camp, named after the northeastern suburb of Paris in which it was located, was established as an internment camp for foreign Jews in France; it later became the major transit camp for the deportations of Jews from France. Until July 1, 1943, French police staffed the camp under the overall control of the German Security Police. In July 1943 the Germans took direct control of the Drancy camp and SS officer Alois Brunner became camp commandant.

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