From a prison to the “Camí de la Llibertat Prison-Museum”
On 15 July 2007 the “Camí de la Llibertat Prison-Museum” opened its doors, located in the former prison of the judicial district of Sort. The museum aims to perpetuate the memory of the events endured by the refugees who crossed the Pyrenees in their flight from a Nazi-occupied Europe.
The museum was created as a scientific, informative, educational and cultural centre, while at the same time contributing to the promotion of the municipality around it. To this end, it aims to attract a broad-ranging audience (local, national and international) who are interested in these events, the history of the refugees, the events of the war in general, and the culture of peace. As part of the Network of Democratic Memorial Sites promoted by the Government of Catalonia’s Memorial Democràtic, this museum is a landmark on the “Persecuted and Saved” routes promoted by the Lleida Provincial Council.
The museum project began to take shape in 2001 with the signature of an agreement on cross-border cooperation within the legal framework of the Bayonne Treaty, which in turn had been signed by Spain and France on 10 March 1995 for the promotion of the neighbouring areas of both countries under the European Framework Agreement of 21 May 1985. Pursuant to this document, a joint working group was set up as a shared body with the authority to study issues of mutual interest and to formulate cooperation proposals to the mayors of Saint Girons (Ariège, France) and Sort.
As its first initiative, the group drafted a project entitled “El Camí de la Llibertat. La frontera dels Pirineus 1936-1945” [“The Path of Freedom. The Pyrenean Border, 1936-1945”], seeking European Community grants within the Culture and INTERREG-III Community initiatives. Alongside the presentation of the project and once the project received the support of the INTERREG-III programme, a whole series of actions were undertaken that led to the creation of the “Maison du Chemin de la Liberté” in Saint Girons and the “Presó Museu Camí de la Llibertat” in Sort. The Museum in Saint Girons focuses on raising awareness of the history of escape through the Pyrenees and the networks that helped thousands of people to flee from the Nazis and join the Allied army in North Africa.