The Bram camp was located in the Aude Département, near Carcassonne about 142 kilometers (92 miles) southwest of Montpellier, on almost 5 hectares (about 12 acres) of requisitioned pasture land belonging to the owner of the Valgros Chateau, near the commune of Montréal. Also called the “camp of Pigny,” Bram received an annual allowance of 15,000 francs for its operations starting February 5, 1939 (and conforming with a contract signed May 10, 1940). Established on February 5, 1939, by prefectural order and completed February 16, the camp consisted of 165 wooden barracks in a trapezoidal shape (337 × 305 meters or 368 × 334 yards in width and length). The barracks were grouped into nine and one-half sections, labeled A through J, in addition to one for kitchen, sanitary, and administrative services on the periphery. A large passageway spanned the entire facility, with a watchtower at its center. A barbed-wire fence, 2.5 meters (eight feet) high, topped the exterior fence enclosing th...