Located to the north-east of Paris, the capital's first airport, opened in 1919 (and in 1914 for the military part) on the communes of Dugny and Le Bourget, was to be a strategic point throughout the war. It fell victim to bombardments from both sides. It was used to repatriate prisoners and deportees in the spring of 1945.

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Le Bourget airport

1945, airport for the return of prisoners of war and survivors of the Reich's killing centers and concentration camps

History

Le Bourget airport — Postcard of Le Bourget terminal, 1920-1935 © Droits réservés - éditions J. Godneff / Archives départementales de la Seine-Saint-Denis

On June 3, 1940, the Germans bombed the airport. The last French forces evacuated a few days later. The German army then took possession of the airport, which became the main base for the Luftwaffe air force. Hitler landed there in June 1940 to symbolically reach Paris, and the airport was used for Paris-Berlin relations by senior Nazi dignitaries. The Luftwaffe rehabilitates the site and develops the airfield. The Germans tripled the surface area of the airfield, extending it to include Bonneuil-en-France and Gonesse. In particular, they built a vast runway over a kilometer long. Operational, the airport served as a departure point for many aircraft during the Battle of Britain, which lasted from July 1940 to May 1941.

In June 1941, the British bombed the site. Allied bombing resumed in the summer of 1943. Operation Starkey on August 16 destroyed part of the site. At the same time, the town of Dugny was largely destroyed, with 10% of its population killed. Other major bombing raids took place in April, June and August 1944.

Le Bourget airport became one of the last places to fight for the liberation of the capital. When Paris was liberated on August 25, a German pocket took refuge in the city and sabotaged the airport's east-west runway. General Leclerc's Second Armored Division finally liberated the airport on August 27. Work began immediately to get the airport back into operation.

The Fürher (Adolf Hitler) at Le Bourget airfield near Paris [June 23] 1940 © Heinrich Hoffmann - rights reserved / Archives départementales de la Seine-Saint-Denis

From April 1945 onwards, it was used to repatriate prisoners of war, resistance deportees returning from concentration camps and survivors of killing centers. Those repatriated by plane were often the most seriously injured. The airport was also used to repatriate a number of VIPs on April 18, 1945, including a contingent of men from Buchenwald who had formed a French interest committee in the camp. Among the 23 exceptional repatriates were members of parliament like Eugène Thomas and Albert Forcinal, trade unionists like Marcel Paul, and businessmen like Marcel Bloch (Entreprises Dassault).

The Ministry of Prisoners, Deportees and Refugees, headed by Henri Frenay, set up a rotation of planes which, at the height of repatriation, enabled the exceptional return of 12,800 people a day. The airport was far from being the only repatriation site: Paris train stations, airports, stations and ports in the provinces were also widely used. However, it was at Le Bourget airport on June 1, 1945 that a symbolic ceremony was held to celebrate the repatriation of a prisoner designated as “the millionth”, who then travelled to Paris and the reception center for repatriated prisoners at the Gare d'Orsay, where the ceremony ended. The repatriations will probably continue until autumn.

Return of prisoners and deportees to Le Bourget in September 1945. © Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Le Bourget, Baubois.

To remember

The airport was used by the German occupiers throughout the war.
The Allies bombed the airport on August 16, 1943, destroying part of the hangars and surrounding towns such as Dugny.
From May 1945, the airport was used to repatriate tens of thousands of prisoners of war and deportees.