The allegedly collaborating and anti-Semitic French saved over 70% of their Jewish fellow citizens during the occupation. Entire underground organizations were established to help Jews in hiding. The Protestant Church also played a huge role. Only the Catholic Church joined the action with some delay ...
At the outbreak of World War II, about 330,000 Jews lived in France. However, they did not constitute a homogeneous group. Only less than 60% had French citizenship. The rest were refugees from other countries:Germany, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia.
The declaration of war by France on Nazi Germany was received with great concern by the Jewish community on the Loire. Nevertheless, most of its members showed a patriotic attitude. In January 1940, as many as 60,000 Jews served in the ranks of the French army . In this group, the number of military applications was statistically 5% higher than among native French!
2,500 survived
The quick defeat of France and the creation of the Vichy state and the occupied zone on its territory had a negative impact on the situation of the Jewish community. Those considered to be the so-called "foreign Jews" were in the worst situation. Already in mid-1940, some of them were sent to camps in both zones, including those in Gurs and Drancy.
In the flood, a few weeks after Francia's defeat, local Jews began to find their way to camps like the one in Drancy. In the photo from August 1941, the camp gate guarded by a French gendarme (source:Bundesarchiv; license CC-BY-SA 3.0).
In 1942, mass deportations of Jews to extermination camps began. Their symbol became the famous Vel d'Hiv manhunt. It is estimated that between 1942 and 1944, 75,721 Jews were deported from France (of which only 2,500 survived the war) . The most numerous groups among them were people with Polish citizenship - 26,300 and French citizenship - 24,000.
From violence to help
If it was so bad, how did over 70% of French Jews survive the war? The answer is obvious - thanks to the help of French neighbors. Of course, it should be remembered that not all of society adopted the same attitude towards Jewish fellow citizens. In the initial phase of the occupation, the anti-Jewish policy was approved of. However, the more propaganda and deportations increased, the more discontent they caused among the French.
The article was inspired by the best-selling novel by Charles Balfoure "Parisian Architect", publishing house Znak Horyzont 2016.
From 1942, voices of opposition to the actions of the Vichy government appeared more and more often, and ordinary citizens became involved in helping their Jewish neighbors. Sarah Kofman, a French Jew, describes saving her family from deportation this way:
On February 9, 1943, at 8pm, we sat in the kitchen eating broth. We heard a knock. A man came in and said to my mother : " Id ź hide as soon as possible ó wki with your sh ó a bunch of children. You're on the list today. " I have never seen him after.
Librarian saves lives
There are many examples of individual help. Pavel-Saul Friedländer, a historian now living in Tel Aviv, owes his life to a librarian who, after his parents' arrest, took care of him and placed him in a Catholic school in Montluçon.
Israeli historian Pavel-Saul Friedländer is one of those who owe their survival to their French neighbors (source:Christliches Medienmagazin pro; lic. CC-BY-SA 2.0).
In turn, Pierre Vidal-Naquet, a French historian descending from an assimilated Jewish family, owed his life to one of his teachers from his school and an old Protestant woman who hid him until the end of the war.
Of course, at this point it can always be said that the French were in an easy position to hide their Jewish neighbors. Unlike Poles, they were not threatened with death for this. The only punishments imposed in France for hiding Jews were internment in the camp and arrest for priests saving the children. However, this does not change the fact that it took a lot of courage to hide nearly 5,000 Jews in a town with a population of 3,000!
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Pastor - rebel
In 1938, Pastor André Trocmé came to the small Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in south-central France. Nobody realized then that the priest sent to the provinces as a punishment, together with his wife Magda and the other pastor Edouard Theis, would save thousands of people from death.
It was in this temple in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon that pastor André Trocmé during services called on local people to help Jews (for. Pensées de Pascal; lic. CC BY-SA 4.0).
Even before the war, Trocmé preached extremely pacifist slogans and sharply condemned the intolerance developing in Germany, which his superiors displeased. By sending him to Le Chambon, they wanted to get rid of the problem.
After the fall of France, the town found itself within the borders of Vichy. Seeing what was happening to the Jews, André Trocmé not only strongly condemned the officials of the Protestant Church for his lack of reaction, but also actively engaged in helping the Orthodox Jews. He persuaded the inhabitants of his town to decide to hide them.
We know who people are
Trocmé, his wife and Eduard Theis created a kind of communication system with the faithful in times of danger, which effectively ensured their safety and the safety of those in hiding. In May 1942, when the French police arrived in the town on three buses and asked for lists of Jews to be prepared, Trocmé said to her: We do not know who the Jews are, we only know who the people are.
At the same time, he sent residents to nearby houses to order Jews to hide in the forest. After a few weeks, the police returned to the city, but once again found no one. The uncompromising attitude of the pastor led to his arrest in February 1943, but he was released after a month.
Ecumenical rescue operation
Trocmé, Magda and Theis were some kind of catalysts for general social activity aimed at concealing as many Jews as possible. Thirteen clergy and twelve Protestant parishes in the region were involved in their campaign. In addition, they collaborated with Swiss Protestants, Catholics, American Quakers, the Salvation Army, Protestants and numerous Jewish organizations.
André and Magda Trocmé's tree in the garden of the Yad Vashem Institute (photo:Yad Vashem; license CC BY-SA 4.0).
It can be said that it was the only ecumenical rescue operation on such a large scale in the history of France. It is estimated that 3-5,000 Jews were rescued in Le Chambon throughout André Trocmé .
Mail intercepts the denunciation
It is hard to believe, but during the war in France it was the Protestants who led the way in helping Jews. The Cimade organization, operating since 1939, whose task was to help refugees, from 1940 became very much involved in activities for the benefit of the Jewish community. In cooperation with Protestant clergy, she helped to hide Jewish children and then organized their transfer to Switzerland and Spain.
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It is estimated that 44,000 Jews took advantage of her help, as well as the help of other organizations of this type (including Catholic), of whom 24,000 crossed the borders legally, while the others had to use specially prepared false documents. Cimade created a network of villages that specialized in helping Jews.
Article inspired by Charles Balfoure's best-selling novel "Parisian Architect", Znak Horyzont 2016 publishing house
For example, in a hotel in Saint-Germain-de-Calberte, eight Jewish families were hiding, and five Jews stayed with one of the teachers working in the local school. The network of help was so extensive that when the non-Jewish guests of the hotel decided to prepare a denunciation, it was intercepted at the post office and never reached the addressee.
What about the Catholic Church?
Unlike Protestant clergy, Catholic priests, both in the occupied zone and in the Vichy state, tried not to speak up about the fate of French Jews. They took a similar position towards organizing aid.
The first official speech was made only on August 23, 1942, when the Archbishop of Toulouse, Card. Jules-Géraud Saliège said the Jews are our brothers and opposed the mass deportations organized by the Vichy state. Soon he was supported by five other bishops.
The first hierarch of the French Church to loudly oppose the persecution of Jews was Cardinal Jules-Géraud Saliège. The photo shows his bust in front of the cathedral in Toulouse (photo:Magnus678; license CC BY-SA 3.0).
The speech of one of the hierarchs of the French Church triggered actions to help the older brothers in faith. And so, during the round-up in Lyon, Father Pierre Chaille helped to hide 100 Jewish children among Catholic families. The Bishop of Nice, Paul Rémond, offered the Syrian-born Moussa Abadi an office and all assistance in helping to save Jewish children. The result of this cooperation was the saving of 527 people.
In Paris, the sisters of the Order of Notre-Dame-de-Sion helped save 450 children. In turn, the Capuchin, Father Pierre Marie-Benoît, operating in the Marseille region, , thanks to the intervention of the Italian authorities, in 1942 led to the safe emigration of 30,000 Jews . Thanks to good relations with diplomats from various countries, it also enabled the escape of at least 3,000 Jews to Switzerland. More examples can be given.
As many as 140,000 French Jews escaped deportation and death in the camps by placing their French neighbors. The photo shows the deportation of Jews from Marseille (source:Bundesarchiv; lic. CC-BY-SA 3.0).
140,000 rescued
It is very difficult to clearly determine what part of French society was involved in helping Jews. Among the Medal of the Righteous Among the Nations are 3,925 French citizens , including the entire village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Of course, as in the case of Poland, these are not all the people who proved humanity and heroism.
The Italian historian Susan Zuccotti made a different calculation:she tried to estimate the number of Jews who survived the war with the help and complicity of the French. She believes that over 140,000 people saved in this way.
Inspiration:
- Charles Balfour, Parisian architect , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2016.