Transport from Beaune la Rolande, Camp, France to Drancy, Camp, France on 19/08/1942

On August 19, a transport of 1,199 Jews, departed from the Beaune-la-Rolande camp. As described by the authorities of the camp, the deportees were boarded onto merchandise cars at the Beaune-la-Rolande train station. Approximately 50 Jews were placed in each wagon. They were deported in trains provided by the SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français, French National Railway Company) The transport was largely made up of young children, most of whom had been left alone once their parents had been deported in previous transports. These children carried a metal plaque similar to a military tag in order to identify them. The French Gendarmerie escorted the transport with a total of 22 gendarmes. Jacques Leroy, a resident of Beaune-la-Rolande, recalled hearing the sound of children singing on the early morning of July 19. “We found out that they were singing because they were told they would be seeing their parents. They walked two-by-two, hand in hand.” Annette Muller was among the deportees, she recalled the people of the village starring at them as they walked towards the train station. “We left by foot very early in the morning. We really thought we were going back to Paris to meet our parents.”...