The 'exodus' of 1940
French refugees on the road in June 1940.
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium. It bypassed the Maginot Line and entered France through the Ardennes. In total, eight to ten million civilians took to the roads to flee the enemy advance. This was known as the 'exodus'. The North of France was particularly affected. Lille, for example, saw its population fall from 200,000 to 20,000! Nelly Debrock and her parents lived in Hazebrouck, a small town about 50 kilometres from Lille. On 10 May, German planes dropped bombs near the town centre and a German plane was brought down by anti-aircraft fire. In all, 71 people were killed and 80 injured. On 20 May, fearing for their lives, Nelly and her parents decided to flee. They were well advised, as a bomb hit their house at lunchtime the very next day!
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1971-083-01 / Tritschler / CC-BY-SA 3.0, Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-083-01, Frankreich, französische Flüchtlinge, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE