'Footprints in the Concrete': A Study of the Chemin des Juifs (Jews' Road), Jewish Slave Labour Camps, and Related Sites, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
The concepts of 'dissonant heritage' and 'minority' heritage have become of particular importance in heritage management. Jewish heritage, both nationally and internationally, is a prime example of a 'dissonant' minority heritage. In the English and European context, those working with Jewish heritage often typify it as a 'hidden' or 'neglected' heritage' and report that it is especially prone to misinterpretation, misuse, physical degradation, or loss. This is even more the case with sites associated with the Shoah or Holocaust whose preservation as 'hot' or 'difficult' heritage poses inevitably contentious internal and external issues for the host country. This article highlights the heritage and landscape of the Holocaust in the Nord-Pas-deCalais region of Northern France where an archaeology of lost or forgotten concentration camps housing Jewish labourers working on the concrete constructions of the Atlantic Wall vividly commemorates both victim and perpetrator. To date, these remains of the Holocaust have never been fully identified, mapped, recorded, or examined archaeologically. Using a newly released resource of Allied aerial photographs — TARA — in combination with Google Earth™ and field research, an attempt is made to identify the camps and, potentially, the sites of mass graves. The article concludes with an appeal to carry out more archaeological study of these sites so that they can be appropriately memorialized, conserved, and used in historical and ethical education.