Inaugurated in October 2015, the Rivesaltes Camp Memorial is built amidst the remains of the barracks, witnesses to the fate of more than 60,000 people. This spatial mark makes it a unique place, reflecting the traumas of the second half of the twentieth century: the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, and the wars of decolonization.
The Memorial is a place of history and memory, open to the contemporary world. Through its exhibitions and scientific and cultural programming, it aims to disseminate historical knowledge, particularly among young people.
Finally, it is an extraordinary building which earned its architect, Rudy Ricciotti, the Silver Square.
The Memorial is the result of several years of scientific, political, but also educational and memorial consultation around the Rivesaltes camp and its history.
In 1997, the discovery of camp archives relating to Jewish internees and their deportation in a Perpignan waste disposal site caused a stir. Shortly after, the writer Claude Delmas and the teacher Claude Vauchez launched a national petition to raise awareness of the camp's memory and mobilize against its destruction.
Serge Klarsfeld was responsible for activating the national networks. Simone Veil, Robert Badinter, Claude Simon, and Edgar Morin all signed the agreements. The new president of the Pyrénées-Orientales General Council, Christian Bourquin, then committed to protecting the site (island F), which was listed as a Historic Monument in 2000.
The Memorial project, sponsored by Robert Badinter, took on a new dimension when architect Rudy Ricciotti won the architectural competition in 2006. Work began in 2012 and lasted three years, culminating in its inauguration in the presence of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls.