Memorial Auschwitz-Birkenau

This is the first monument to be erected on Père-Lachaise in June 1949. The monument is by sculptor F. Salmon and the inscriptions are by Thomas & Son.
The austere memorial consists of a column in which the unrecognizable silhouette of a human with an enlarged head can be seen. The 76,000 French Jews and 3,000 non-Jews are commemorated here.
Only the name Auschwitz-Birkenau represents the horror of the deportations and the genocide. Construction of the camp began in 1941 as part of the "Final Solution of the Judenfrage" and was liberated by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945. Because of its size, Auschwitz is considered the symbol of the mass murders committed by the Nazis. Of the 1.3 million deportees, about 1.1 million men, women and children, the vast majority of whom were Jews, did not survive Auschwitz.

The inscription on the bronze plaque stated:
"1941 – 1945 Auschwitz – Birkenau, Camp nazi d'extermination. Victimes des persécutions antisémites de l'occupant allemand et du gouvernement collaborateur de Vichy. 76.000 juifs de France, hommes, femmes et enfants furent déportés à Auschwitz. La plupart périrent dans les chambres à gaz. Victimes de la répression policière, 3 000 résistants et patriotes connurent à Auschwitz la souffrance et la mort. Un peu de terre et de cendres d'Auschwitz perpétuent, ici, le souvenir de leur martyre."

Translated it says:
"1941 – 1945 Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. Victims of the anti-Semitic persecutions of the German occupiers and the collaborationist government of Vichy. 76,000 Jews from France, men, women and children were deported to Auschwitz. Most perished in the gas chambers. Victims of police repression, 3,000 resistance fighters and patriots experienced suffering and death in Auschwitz. A little bit of earth and ashes from Auschwitz here perpetuate the memory of their martyrdom."

There is also a verse written in bronze letters by the French poet Paul Éluard (1895-1952), who is also buried at Père-Lachaise:
"Lorsqu'on ne tuera plus ils seront bien vengés. Le seul voeu de justice a pour écho la vie"
Translated it says:
"When we kill no more, they will be well avenged. The only wish for justice has an echo in life"

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Source

• Text: Geert-Jan van Glabbeek
• Photos: Geert-Jan van Glabbeek