Fresnes Prison - History

History

The prison was constructed between 1895 and 1898 according to a design devised by the architect, Henri Poussin. An example of the so-called "telephone-pole design," the facility was radically different to previous prisons. At Fresnes prison, for the first time, cell houses extended crosswise from a central corridor. The design, a typical example of which is the Riker's Island prison in New York City, was used extensively in North America for much of the next century.

During World War II, Fresnes prison was used by the Germans to house captured British SOE agents and members of the French Resistance. Held in horrific conditions, these prisoners were tortured, and some, such as Berty Albrecht (1893–1943), co-founder of the Combat movement, died there. As soon as the Allied forces broke through at Normandy and fought their way to liberate Paris, the Gestapo peremptorily killed prisoners at Fresnes. An example was Suzanne Spaak, who was executed there on 12 August 1944, less than two weeks before the city was liberated. Christopher Burney (1917–80) was freed in 1945, and published Solitary Confinement, an account of his fifteen months there.

Squadron Leader Phil Lamason of the RNZAF was the ranking officer and one of 168 allied airmen imprisoned here in 1944. They were also transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp just days before Paris was liberated.