Built in 1939 to hold future German prisoners of war, it was ultimately used by the Germans to gather French prisoners of war before sending them to Germany.

Consisting of 14 huts isolated by barbed wire and overlooked by watchtowers, from May 14 1941 it accommodated Polish Jews who had been arrested in France .

It was placed under the dual responsibility of the Loiret Prefecture and the German authority.

2,773 Jews left BEAUNE-LA-ROLANDE in 1942 on June 28, August 5 and 7, and September 23, either directly for AUSCHWITZ, or for DRANCY.

The height of the horror occurred on August 17, 1942 with the mass deportation of children, mainly French, whose parents had already been deported. About 1,500 children from the BEAUNE-LA-ROLANDE CAMP formed part of convoy n° 20 which conveyed them to DRANCY under terrible conditions.

The closing down of the camp took place on August 4, 1943 on order of Alois BRUNNER, who had recently been sent to France by EICHMANN to assist SS-Obersturmfûhrer Heinz RÔTHKE, successor of DANNECKER from July 27, 1942.