Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d'Hiv

Summary

The Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv is a quiet, contemplative space in Paris dedicated to the memory of the Jewish children deported during the Holocaust following the 1942 Vel d’Hiv Roundup. Located near the Eiffel Tower, the garden features symbolic elements such as engraved plaques bearing the children’s names, a poignant sculpture, photographs of some of the children, and a serene layout designed for reflection. It serves not only as a tribute to innocent lives lost but also as a powerful reminder of France’s role in the deportations, inviting visitors to confront the past with empathy and remembrance.

The Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv - officially called the Jardin Mémorial des Enfants du Vel d’Hiv - is located in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, on the site of the former Vélodrome d’Hiver, (Winter Velodrome), which was demolished in 1959. It commemorates the 4,115 Jewish children who were arrested during the Vel d’Hiv Roundup on July 16–17, 1942, and later deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It transforms a site of horror into a place of reflection, remembrance, and dignity.

The Vel d’Hiv was used by French police, acting under Nazi orders, to detain Jewish families before deportation. The children were separated from their parents and sent to extermination camps with most not surviving. The memorial stands as a reminder of France’s complicity, and the importance of historical accountability.

The garden was inaugurated on July 16, 2017, marking the 75th anniversary of the roundup. The memorial emphasises individual identity over statistics with each child being named, with their age inscribed on a stone wall.

Wall of Names, Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv, Paris

Around the garden are photographs of the children who were deported during the 1942 roundup. These were obtained from archival records and family contributions. The photographs are not numerous, but their presence of the photographs is powerful as they humanize the statistics and give faces to the thousands of young victims, transforming abstract numbers into personal stories.

Photographs, Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv, Paris

The garden contains a Sculpture by Walter Spitzer and Mario Azagury, depicting deportees including children, a pregnant woman, and a sick man. The curved base of the sculpture evokes the track of the velodrome, symbolizing the place where over 13,000 Jews, including more than 4,000 children, were held in horrific conditions before deportation. The figures are surrounded by luggage and personal items, emphasising the suddenness of their arrest and the trauma of displacement.

The statue contains the Inscription: “In homage to the victims of racist and anti-Semitic persecutions and crimes against humanity perpetrated under the so-called ‘Government of the State of France’ from 1940 to 1944.”

The statue of the two children is part of the broader sculptural ensemble created by Walter Spitzer and Mario Azagury. The two children statue is especially poignant and symbolic as the children are shown in a vulnerable, posture, evoking fear, innocence, and helplessness. Their expressions and body language reflect the trauma of being torn from their families during the 1942 Vel d’Hiv Roundup.

Two Children Sculpture by Walter Spitzer and Mario Azagury, Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv, Paris

Walter Spitzer, was Polish-born and a survivor of the Holocaust; Mario Azagury, the architect collaborated on the memorial design. The statue was Inaugurated on July 17, 1994. It stands as a public acknowledgment of France’s role in the Holocaust and a tribute to those who lost their lives.

Another memorial features a man's torso emerging from a flat stone base, the man’s face has a somber, pained expression, evoking suffering, dignity, and remembrance.

Man’s Torso Sculpture, Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vel d’Hiv, Paris

Beneath the Torso, on the stone, is an inscription reading “À la mémoire des enfants déportés du Vélodrome d’Hiver. Ne les oublions jamais.” (In memory of the children deported from the Vélodrome d’Hiver. Let us never forget them.) This reinforces the memorial’s focus on the 4,115 Jewish children who were arrested during the Vel d’Hiv Roundup and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where nearly all died in the Nazi death camp.