The area in front of the modern Calais station was once the site of a grand railway complex, featuring two identical entrances—one for Calais and one for Saint-Pierre—and a footbridge designed by Gustave Eiffel. This monumental structure was heavily damaged during the German bombardments and fighting in May 1940. Though its metal-framed roof was destroyed, the occupying forces cleared the rubble and restored the platforms, tracks, and switching systems to operational status.

Initially intended to support a planned invasion of Britain, the station’s role shifted as the war progressed. It became part of the German Festung Europa (Fortress Europe) defence system. Calais station facilitated the transport of troops, weapons, and construction materials destined for bunkers and fortifications across the region.

Despite the station being under the control of the German railway authority (Reichsbahn), French railway workers recognised the site’s strategic value and engaged in clandestine resistance. Sabotage actions included the use of explosives and deliberate derailments. One such act occurred on 5 January 1943 near Mark on the Dunkirk–Calais line, halting traffic for 48 hours and derailing a locomotive and six wagons. In response, German authorities issued a bounty of 1,000 Reichsmarks for information. Following an investigation, Calais resident Andress Ageneray was arrested.

Further sabotage incidents were recorded in May and August 1943, again in February 1944 when a passenger train was derailed, and in September 1944. The risks were high: railway worker Jules Quertigniez was executed at Mont Valérien in March 1943, and Gaston Bourgeois was arrested and later shot in August 1944, suspected of sabotage while walking near the tracks at night.

In the final months of the occupation, Allied air raids in May and June 1944 targeted the three main stations in Calais as well as the port. These attacks intensified in the lead-up to liberation, resulting in numerous casualties among railway workers. At the same time, evacuations of civilians—particularly children, women, and the elderly—became increasingly frequent.

The monument facing the station serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by Calais’s railway workers and their role in resisting the German occupation.