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Gurs

Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France, part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is a small rural community that became internationally notable for the nearby Camp de Gurs, a site with a complex history tied to World War II.

The Camp de Gurs was established in 1939 to accommodate refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War, primarily

Conditions at the camp were harsh, and overcrowding, disease, and malnutrition contributed to suffering and loss

Today, the site is remembered through a memorial and museum that commemorate the victims and seek to

Spanish
Republicans
who
sought
asylum
in
France.
After
France
was
occupied
by
Germany
in
1940
and
the
Vichy
regime
gained
control
of
the
interior,
the
camp’s
function
broadened
to
detain
Jews,
Romani
people,
and
other
detainees
in
addition
to
refugees.
The
facility
was
administered
by
French
authorities
under
German
supervision
and
used
as
a
transit
and
detention
center,
with
many
internees
later
deported
to
other
camps,
including
those
near
Paris
and
camps
in
occupied
Europe.
of
life.
Deportations
from
Gurs
continued
through
the
early
1940s,
reflecting
the
broader
pattern
of
persecution
and
removal
of
Jews
and
other
groups
across
occupied
and
collaborating
territories.
The
camp’s
operation
declined
after
the
war
as
survivors
and
displaced
people
were
released
or
relocated,
and
it
formally
closed
in
1946.
educate
visitors
about
the
period’s
history.
Gurs,
as
a
commune,
remains
a
small
rural
locality,
while
the
Camp
de
Gurs
stands
as
a
historical
symbol
of
persecution,
forced
migration,
and
resistance
to
forgetting.