The Sainte-Catherine Street Roundup

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First of all, you can admire the remarkable door and its rococo-style monogrammed impost (remember that the initials on the imposts are those of the building's owner).

12 rue Sainte-Catherine is one of the most moving places of this Lyon Resistance. plate What you see is the testimony of a tragedy orchestrated by the Gestapo.

The Lyon Roundup took place on February 9, 1943, under the direct orders of the Gestapo. This assault, meticulously planned and supervised by Klaus Barbie, took place at the headquarters of the Fédération des Sociétés Juives de France (Federation of Jewish Societies of France). Barbie orchestrated the raid in such a way as to capture as many people as possible.

The date chosen by the Nazis for the operation was strategic. They deliberately targeted the day when the Federation usually offered free medical care and food to Jewish refugees. To set their trap, the Nazis arrested Federation employees, forcing them to encourage others to go to the scene.

A total of 86 Jews were arrested in this roundup, 84 of whom were later deported to the Drancy internment camp. Of these, 83 were sent to the Sobibor and Auschwitz extermination camps, and to a lesser extent, to Bergen-Belsen, Dachau and Majdanek. Two of those arrested managed to escape before deportation, while one person was released from the Drancy camp. Only three survived the extermination camps.

Among the victims were members of the French Resistance, making the Rue Sainte-Catherine Roundup one of the main accusations against Klaus Barbie at his trial. In 1987, Malvine Lanzet, then 14 years old and released from the Drancy camp, testified at the trial. The few survivors also provided written testimonies, contributing to the historical record of this Gestapo-orchestrated tragedy.

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Pierre Bossan

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