Fanspot
Refugee camp
“On January 26, 1939, after more than two years of a terrible civil war, Barcelona fell to the fascists. Hundreds of thousands of refugees flocked to the French border. On January 28, France let the civilians in. On February 5, it was the turn of the routed Republican army. Nearly half a million Spaniards entered France. In Angoulême, there were soon more than 4,000. They were housed as best they could: in an old factory, impasse d’Austerlitz, in the Valet garage, rue Fougerat, in the Fourcheraud refuge, place de la gendarmerie. They were scattered throughout the department and in a few days, the former camp of the Combe aux Loups in Ruelle was refurbished. Soon, it was able to accommodate 2,000 refugees.”
The narrator, from Les années noires Angouleme 1940-1944
Les années noires Angoulême 1940-1944 features five stories in the region of the city of Valois during the German occupation. In addition to the stories of Gontran Labregère and René Chabasse, Resistance fighters who were shot, of the first deportation train to the Mathausen concentration camp and of the round-up of Jews from the region who were deported to Auschwitz, Eric Wantiez deals with the reception of Spanish refugees at the Combe des Loups.
This former camp belonging to a foundry was refurbished in 1939 to house Spanish exiles who had fled the Franco regime. Located on the road to Champniers in Ruelle, the site has disappeared to make way for a reception area for travelers.
To put in image these five stories, the scriptwriter and creator of the editions Like an orange calls upon Fawzi, Thierry Leprévost, Alexeï & Oburie, Julien Maffre, Nathalie Ferlut, author and authors from Angoulême.
Produced by Montse Armengou, a documentary entitled El convoy de los 927 tells the story of these Spanish refugees.
La Combe au Loup
The Combe aux Loups site in Ruelle-sur-Touvre hosts a reception area for travellers.
The combe aux loups was the property of the Fonderie and then of the commune of Ruelle. A camp with “buildings for Indochinese” was built there during the First World War.
Later, it was used as a youth camp and then as a camp for Spanish Republican refugees from January to September 1939.
After the war, it became an apprenticeship centre for boys.
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BARCELONA map of the 100 most famous places (French edition)
The Barcelona Fantrippers map, an original way to discover the city of Gaudí! Through 100 places of pop culture, walk its streets from another angle. Movies, TV shows, music, comics and novels, will allow you to spend a pleasant moment in the capital of Catalonia. With a folded format of 10 x 18 cm and an unfolded format of 60 x 54 cm, it can easily be put in your pocket or bag for consultation.
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Discover all the places Les années noires Angoulême 1940-1944 on our map
By Damien Canteau
Passionné par l'Histoire, les animés, les Arts et la bande dessinée en particulier, Damien est le rédacteur en chef du site spécialisé dans le 9e art, Comixtrip.