Camp des Milles Aix-En-Provence

Eight kilometres southwest of Aix is the town of Les Milles, where this imposing factory produced bricks and tiles from 1882 until 31 August 1939, when it was turned into a concentration camp. The camp is now a movingly preserved memorial, with modern exhibits documenting how 10,000 prisoners from 38 countries were held here. Poignant paintings and prose inscribed on the walls by prisoners remain untouched, as does one of the wagons used to transport 2000 prisoners by rail from Les Milles to Auschwitz. Among the artists and intellectuals interned at Camp des Milles was surrealist painter Max Ernst (1891–1976). Several exhibits are free.