German law and the Code of Criminal Procedure were introduced in Alsace Moselle in 1940 and were accompanied by the establishment of the repressive system: a Nazi reform camp opened in Schirmeck on 2 August 1940 and a year later, the Germans set up the Struthof in the commune of Natzwiller. In all three departments, prisons are multiplying and all categories of opponents are being held in prisons.

German law and the code of criminal procedure are after judgments in German courts, convicts are also sent to German prisons, notably in Halle, Torgau where some are guillotined.

The Fort of Queuleu opened in Moselle in October 1943.
1600-1800 resistance fighters and opponents (women and men) were tortured there for several weeks or months, before being transferred to the camps of Struthof (for men) and Schirmeck (for women).