The Drancy internment camp, situated in a suburb of Paris, was established by the French authorities after the German occupation of France in 1940. Initially intended to detain political prisoners, it quickly transformed into a site for the internment of Jews. By the spring of 1942, the Vichy regime and Nazi Germany agreed to intensify the deportation of Jews, with the camp serving as a crucial point for organizing these transports. On March 27, 1942, German officials began the first mass deportations from Drancy, with the aim of sending the detainees to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Sobibor.

The deportations were marked by inhumane conditions. Families were often separated, and deportees faced overcrowded transport trains, lack of food, and little information about their fate. The first transports comprised thousands of men, women, and children, many of whom were forced onto cramped trains without knowing their destination. This operation illustrated the collaboration between Nazi authorities and the Vichy government, highlighting a tragic aspect of France's complicity in the Holocaust.

The deportations continued throughout 1942 and into subsequent years, which contributed to the broader campaign of extermination across Europe. Many deportees from Drancy never returned, as the systematic genocide was carried out in lethal camps, underscoring the horrors of the Holocaust. Over time, Drancy became symbolic of the suffering endured during these dark chapters in European history and serves as a reminder of the importance of remembering and recognizing these events.