Opened in September 1939 in a tile factory located between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, the Milles camp was active for a little over three years and saw more than 10,000 internees from 38 countries, including numerous artists and intellectuals.
Its history is divided into several phases corresponding to the different categories of internees who stayed there: Reich nationals and legionnaires, foreigners wishing to emigrate, Jews who were rounded up.