Located in the district of Beaudésert in the commune of Mérignac, near Bordeaux, it was used to detain Roma, Jews, political prisoners, and members of the French Resistance before deportation to concentration camps or execution.

[1] On 17 November 1940, under orders from the Bordeaux German Field Command, François-Pierre Alype, the prefect of Gironde, oversaw the internment of Roma detainees, including children.

The facility was enclosed by a barbed-wire perimeter, with French gendarmerie assigned to oversee security under the direction of René Rousseau, the camp's appointed administrator.

Between 297 and 321 individuals, more than half of whom were children were detained until 1 December 1940, when German authorities ordered its closure and transferred the detainees, most notably to the Poitiers camp.

[5][1] Following the relocation of Roma detainees, the Vichy Ministry of the Interior approved funding for the Gironde prefecture to develop the site into a permanent confinement centre.

Under the prefect's direction, the departmental architect redesigned the facility, dividing it into two separate sections: one designated for political prisoners and the other for foreign nationals classified as undesirable.

[5] Due to the increasing number of arrests, particularly those associated with communist activities, detainees were initially held at the Hôtel des Migrants in Bordeaux before being transferred to Mérignac.

This mass execution was ordered in retaliation for the assassination of German military adviser (Kriegsverwaltungsrat) Hans Gottfried Reimers by the French Resistance in Bordeaux.

[1] Following the liberation, the site remained operational under the authority of the new French administration, playing a significant role in the process of épuration (purge).