Drancy Internment Camp

   The Drancy internment camp in Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. On 22 June 1942, the first transport, consisting of 1,000 Jews, left Drancy for Auschwitz, and the last transport left Drancy on 31 July 1944. Between these two dates, a total of 64 transports with 64,759 Jews, including children, were sent to their deaths. Of these, 61 transports with 61,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz, and three transports with 3,753 persons were sent to Sobibor. Of the 65,000 Jews who were deported from Drancy, more than 20,000 were French, 15,000 were Polish, and 6,000 were German nationals. Drancy was under the control of the French police until 1943 when administration was taken over by the Schutzstaffel (SS).