A home with a dark and tragic past
This beautiful brick bourgeois house, now divided into several apartments, has not always been a peaceful place to live. From March 1943 to August 1944, it housed the headquarters of the Gestapo, the German secret police, and the intelligence service of the German army. Dubbed the "little castle of horror" by the neighborhood residents, this residence was the scene of unimaginable atrocities during the Second World War.
© Darreenvt
Deep in its dark cellars, resistance fighters endured torture and met their tragic end. One such hero, François Verdier, faced unspeakable cruelty before being executed in the Bouconne forest. After the Liberation, the bodies of 5 resistance fighters were discovered in the garden, a grim reminder of the violence that once plagued this site.
A living piece of history
In the months following the Liberation, the "little castle of horror" underwent a transformation. A portion of the house was repurposed to provide a home for orphaned Jewish children who had been hidden during the war. What was once a place of suffering became a sanctuary of safety and healing for these young souls scarred by conflict.