31st July 1943
Mentone
Mentone
See 31.07.1943 - 33/60
During the Italian invasion of France, on 23rd June 1940, Italian forces occupied the city of Menton (Italian: Mentone), which is located 179 kilometers (111 miles) northeast of Marseille and 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Turin. The city was the Fascist regime’s principal conquest in what was otherwise a highly in effective and expensive campaign. The French Army evacuated most of Mentone’s inhabitants shortly before the city changed hands. Renamed Mentone and annexed by Italy, the city became the focal point of the Fascist regime’s italianization policy in France. After the expanded occupation of southeastern France following the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) in November 1942, it served as the headquarters of the Italian Fourth Army.
The Italian authorities established the judiciary prison of Mentone (carcere giudiziare di Mentone) in the city’s former town hall, known locally as Forty Barracks (Caserne Forty). During the roundup of foreigners (especially Allied nationals), regime opponents, and resisters, the Mentone prison served as a pretrial detention center. Those tried before the Fourth Army’s secret courts-martial at Breil-sur-Roya were held at Mentone. The prison also held common law prisoners (Italian and foreign). Some political prisoners in the occupied zone awaiting transfer to camps and prisons in Italy passed through the prison in Mentone because of its close proximity to the port. The Military Intelligence Service (Servizio Informazioni Militare, SIM) ran the detention site, and the carabinieri served as guards.
A French report submitted to the International Tracing Service (ITS) complained that prisoners received only 200 grams (just over 7 ounces) of cornbread per day and a thin rice soup. Health care was inadequate, with one prisoner, Marcel P., not receiving any treatment for chronic medical conditions. Only the deposal of Benito Mussolini on 25th July 1943, brought some improvement in treatment.
Common law and political prisoners of all backgrounds shared cells, called 'chambers' (cameroni), grouped by a dozen prisoners at a time. For those not held in solitary confinement, once-daily exercise breaks—a 10-minute walk in the courtyard—took place chamber by chamber. Prisoners were accorded the privilege of writing letters and receiving parcels, but because of the city’s annexation by Italy, they had to pay 'international' postage when corresponding with relatives in France.
According to Daniel Fauquier, a prisoner held in connection with resistance activities between May and July 1943, the Italian authorities conducted interrogations inside the prison. Apart from local lore, Mentone did not garner the loathsome reputation as a torture site as did Lynwood Villa.
The Italian authorities abandoned the prison in Mentone at the time of the Armistice on 8th September 1943. The prison continued to serve briefly as a detention site under the German occupation.
Source: muse.jhu.edu/document/4006 (2026)
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