Fort de Queuleu The Fort de Queuleu is a fortification to the southeast of Metz , near Queuleu , France . Construction began while part of Lorraine was under French rule in 1868 . After the interruption of the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the fort was improved between 1872 and 1875 by the German Empire , which had annexed the area as a result of the war . Renamed Fort Goeben , it formed part of the first ring of the fortifications of Metz . Functionally obsolete by the First World War , it saw no military action , but was used by the Germans as a detention center for members of the French Resistance during World War II . Context . The fort was one of the first built according to the fortification system developed by Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières . The goal was to build a discontinuous enclosure around Metz using a series of artillery forts armed with a variety of guns . In the 1860s tension was rising between France and Germany , causing France to attend to the fortification of its frontiers . Metz , close to the border and a strategic road and rail crossing , was the beneficiary of one of the first programs of fortification . Before all of the forts could be completed , France was defeated in the Franco - Prussian War and the area around Metz was annexed to Germany . Metz then became a crucial strongpoint on Germany ' s frontier , receiving sustained attention to its defenses that culminated in the " Moselstellung " of the early twentieth century . The pre - war French construction program comprised eight forts surrounding Metz at a distance of 3 . 5 - 5 . 5 km from the center of the city . Planning began in 1864 , and in 1867 the project was placed under the supervision of Séré de Rivières . Compared with later Séré de Rivières system forts , the fort ' s design is reminiscent of the bastion ed enclosures of Vauban of the 18th century . In their developed form , the Séré de Rivières forts of the 1870s were much simplified in plan , with less overt reference to historic prototypes . Description . The Fort de Queuleu ' s four faces measure while the side facing the city measures . Barracks and casemates were arranged on two levels . As constructed , a large proportion of the fort ' s artillery was placed on the surface of the fort , exposed to high - angle artillery fire . This was not considered a major disadvantage in the 1860s , when most opposing artillery was expected to be smooth - bored guns firing solid shot or gunpowder - filled shells on a low trajectory , with the aim of battering the walls of the fort so that breaches could be exploited by infantry . During the 1870s rifled guns came into widespread use , making exposed masonry walls dangerously vulnerable . At the same time , fuses were developed that enabled shells fired at a high angle from howitzer s or mortars to explode in the air above an open position , making exposed fixed - position artillery untenable . Fort de Queuleu was thus already obsolete when it was taken over by the Germans . The fort ' s construction would be improved under the German empire , which renamed it Fort Goeben after a Prussia n general who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Spicheren on 6 August 1870 . Immediate German construction focused on dispersing gun batteries to flanking positions and reinforcing protection for personnel and ammunition against shellfire . In 1885 , new explosives led to a massive increase in the explosive power of artillery projectiles , the so - called " crise de l ' obus - torpille " ( " torpedo - shell crisis ) . This development made unprotected artillery and masonry construction entirely obsolete , as the new shells could easily destroy masonry structures . In response , concrete and earth sheltering was employed in new forts , and older forts were reinforced under the new principals . In 1885 a program of reinforcement covered some critical areas of Queuleu with concrete and provided better infantry shelters . As an early fort , Queuleu has relatively few underground passages compared to the " Moselstellung " forts of the 1890s , but does feature countermine passages extending from the front of the fort . History . During the Annexation of the Moselle during World War II the fort was used starting in 1943 by the German occupiers as an internment camp ( " S Sonderlager " ) for members of the French Resistance , including Joseph Derhan . The fort was called the " Hell of Queuleu " ( " Enfer de Queuleu " ) . It was not a concentration camp , but an interrogation center for captured or arrested members of the Resistance , commanded by Schutzstaffel Hauptscharführer Georg Friedrich Hempen ( * 27 . 07 . 1905 ) . Between 1500 and 1800 people were detained at Queuleu . Prisoners were held in Casemate A of the fort . Thirty - six died there and four escaped through a ventilation shaft . Among the most notable prisoners were the Mario Group of resisters , led by Jean Burger . Almost all of the prisoners were transferred to concentration camps as American forces approached Metz in late 1944 . The Germans evacuated the fort on 17 August 1944 and moved the majority of the detainees to Struthof , Schirmeck or Ravensbrück . Georg Hempen was tried and sentenced " in absentia " to death . He was arrested in 1962 while working as a police officer in Oldenburg , Germany . After a lengthy trial , he was acquitted on technical grounds . Present situation . A memorial to the Resistance and Deportation , designed by architect R . Zonca , was inaugurated on 20 November 1977 , when the fort became the property of the city of Metz . It had been designated a historical monument in 1971 . The fort is open to the public at scheduled times .