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A forgotten World War II bunker open to the public in Châlons-en-Champagne

2022-01-16T06:18:17.825Z


A year was needed to manage to enter this former military shelter in the Marne, located within the walls of a railway station. Guided tours have been organized there since January 7.


It went unnoticed for decades.

This historic bunker, built in the 1930s, was opened last October after a year of searching for entry.

Located in the station of the town of 45,000 inhabitants, this concrete building of a hundred square meters is composed of seven remarkably well preserved rooms, equipped with several objects from the Second World War.

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"

The bunker, nobody paid attention to it, while hundreds of people pass in front of it every day

", explains Hervé Chatriot

,

the deputy director of the stations of Champagne-Ardenne and responsible for the valuation of the SNCF Gares & Connections heritage.

After having organized three heritage days inside Reims station, the latter has set itself the goal of highlighting the railway heritage of its region.

He therefore went in search of finds to show to the general public, one day falling on this block of stones which captured his curiosity.

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In view of everything that has been discovered, "

it is very likely that this bunker was used to protect station staff,

" says Pascaline Watier, heritage coordinator for the city of Châlons-en-Champagne.

But to deduce its use, it is still necessary to be able to enter the bunker, a long-term job for Hervé Chatriot.

It took me more than a year to get there because I had to find the keys, but no one had them, not even the station staff.

We therefore entered by unsoldering the armored door

”, discovering with surprise a very well preserved interior.

The concrete dome of the bunker seen from the platforms of Châlons-en-Champagne station.

Chalons-en-Champagne Town Hall

When he entered the bunker, with his colleague Stéphane Wurmser, Hervé Chatriot was pleasantly surprised.

The interior is extremely well preserved and clean.

You might think it's recent

,” he wonders.

When I entered it, I felt great emotion, almost affection.

Already, I find the armored door magnificent from the outside and as it resisted me for a year, I was moved.

My pride is to have brought the bunker to light,

” he confided to

Le Figaro

.

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And the good surprise? Equipment of the time still usable. "

With my colleague, we had the joy of finding an air handling unit that still works today

", which was to prevent gas attacks, the most feared at the time. "

There are also graffiti written in three languages ​​- French, English and German -

" says Pascaline Watier. “

The graffiti in English indicates that its author wishes to return home and that in German exposes the various places of fight of the area, like Strasbourg and Nogent-le-Rotrou. There is also the inscription Hitler marked next to

it” she specifies before mentioning the existence of a poster of a naked woman within the building.

A communication device was found in the transmission room, perfectly isolated by a wooden covering.

Chalons-en-Champagne Town Hall

An old communication device was found in the communications room, as well as an electricity meter bill dating from

the 1970s.

of a manhole cover.

And that, no one suspected

” explains Hervé Chatriot.

An archival work in perspective

Since January 7, the bunker has been open to the public.

"

We posted the announcement of the sessions on Facebook and it was a real success, they were booked in two days

" explains Pascaline Watier.

Twenty visits of about thirty minutes have taken place since the opening of the site and others are planned in the months to come.

The town hall has decided to start archival work, which will begin next week.

The two to three people in charge have already approached the regional and departmental archives as well as those of the SNCF and are awaiting a response from the military documentation.

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In the archives of the SNCF, I found documents which show the existence of three bunkers on the territory of Châlons-en-Champagne,

explains Hervé Chatriot, specifying that one was destroyed.

I already have a lead for the other bunker, but haven't found it yet.

So I continue my treasure hunt

.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-01-16

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