Fresnes Prison (Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes) is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne near the city of Paris. It comprises a large men's jail of about 1200 cells, smaller one for women and a penitentiary hospital. It has the reputation of being the harshest French jail. Fresnes is a commune of the Val-de-Marne département, in France. ... Val-de-Marne is a French département, named after the Marne River, located in the ÃŽle-de-France région. ... Part of the Paris region skyline with from left to right: Montparnasse Tower, Eiffel Tower, and La Défense. ...

History

Construction of the prison took place between 1895 and 1898 based on the design of architect, Henri Poussin. Using what would later be referred to as a "telephone-pole design," the facility represented a radical concept for prison layouts. At Fresnes prison, for the first time cell houses extended crosswise from a central corridor, bisecting the housing units at right angles, while connecting all the cell houses and other facilities. The design, a typical example of which would be the Riker's Island prison in New York City, would be used extensively in North America for almost another century. View of Rikers Island Rikers Island is New York Citys largest jail facility, sitting on a 415 acre (1. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

During World War II, Fresnes prison was used by the Germans to house captured British SOE agents and members of the French Resistance. Held in horrific conditions in dark holes, these prisoners were tortured and some such as Berty Albrecht (1893-1943), co-founder of the Combat movement, were executed. As soon as the Allied forces broke through at Normandy and fought their way to free Paris, the Gestapo killed prisoners at Fresnes such as Suzanne Spaak, who was executed there on August 12, 1944, little more than a week before the city was liberated. Christopher Burney (1917-80) was freed in 1945, and published Solitary Confinement, an account of his fifteen months there . This article is becoming very long. ... The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ... Bold textItalic textLink title // Headline text Headline text Headline text == The cross of Lorraine used by the French Resistance as a symbolic reference to Joan of Arc. ... This article, image, template or category belongs in one or more categories. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Mont Saint Michel, one of the famous symbols of Normandy. ... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Suzanne Spaak (c. ... Christopher Burney (1917-1980) was an upper-class Englishman who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. The Germans locked him up, firstly in Fresnes prison, for fifteen months of solitary confinement, then in Buchenwald. ...

Famous inmates and escapes

Like any major prison, Fresnes has had its share of notorious inmates. Paul Touvier would die at Fresnes prison hospital during his incarceration for war crimes and automobile industrialist, Louis Renault, arrested for collaborating with the Nazis, died there in 1944 under what some call questionable circumstances. Paul Touvier (April 3, 1915 - July 17, 1996) was the only Frenchman to be convicted of war crimes against humanity. ... Louis Renault (February 15, 1877, Paris, France – October 24, 1944) was a French industrialist and one of the foremost pioneers of the automobile industry. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

Throughout Fresnes prison's history, there have been several escapes but none more dramatic than the March 2003 breakout of Italian mobster, Antonio Ferrara in a commando style raid by members of his gang. In scenes right out of a Hollywood movie, in a successful fifteen minute assault, gangsters used rocket launchers to blow holes in the prison's walls, splattered guard posts with machine gun fire, and set cars on fire as a distraction. ...

Airmen Captured: 2nd Lt. Lee G. Johnson was held at Fresnes Prison from May 24, 1944 to September, 1944. He was betrayed by a collaborator who led him and a fellow airman James Laing into a trap. They were picked up by the gestapo and interrigated at Fresnes Prison. He was kept in solitary confinement for 4 months before being shipped to Stalag Luft 1 , Barth, Germany, where he remined until the Liberation near the end of April, 1945.

Sources

Official website of french prisons : http://www.justice.gouv.fr/minister/DAP/etablissement.htm (fr)

Official website of Paris prisons  : http://www.justice.gouv.fr/minister/DAP/Paris.htm (fr)

Official website of Fresnes  : http://www.justice.gouv.fr/minister/DAP/Etablissements/Fresnes.htm (fr)