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Making castles in the concentration camp

Date
1936 - 1939
Archive
National Archive of Catalonia
Document type
Imatge fixa
Reference code
C4-7
Link to the archive
Description

Auguste Chauvin was one of the great photographers who portrayed the first mass population displacement of the 20th century. He documented on the one hand scenes of the exodus, disorder, hunger and on the other hand the daily life of the concentration camps of Argelès-sur-Mer and Barcarès. This series of glass plates shows us the harshness of living conditions in the fields, but also more playful images, in this case and during a visit by the authorities, gymnastic activities with the construction of a small human castle, a very Catalan tradition.