Anti-semitism in France

This article treats manifestations of the Antisémitisme in France in the writings and the acts.

Before the 19th century, it is more difficult than to dissociate today in the analysis, the hostility with the Jews, from a Community and cultural point of view, the Antisémitisme, hostility with the Juif S because of their religion, the Antijudaïsme. This because religion and policy were more overlapping than aujourd today, and than it is the version racialist of the anti-semitism which was especially studied; the Anti-semitism " moderne" , like racist ideology, date of second half of the 19th century. In France, the anti-semitism is punished by the law.

History

The antijudaïsme in France, before the Revolution

The conversion of the Visigoths and the Francs made difficult the situation of the Jews: a succession of Concile S decreased their rights until Dagobert I {{er}} the force to convert or leave France into 633.

One can start to go back the French anti-semitism with the Concile to Clermont of 1095, where the pope Urbain II (pontificate of 1088 to 1099) and the monk French Pierre the Hermit called with the First Crusade against the Moslems but also supported the hostility to the Jews, to which the Crusaders were often caught some on the roads carrying out them towards Palestine.

As at the time of the councils of Elvira (305), Valves (465), the three councils of Orleans (533, 538,541), with the council of Clermont (535), the Church prohibited with the Jews to in common have meals with Christians, to make mixed marriages and the celebration of the Sabbath proscribes. The goal being to limit the influence of the Judaism on the population. But the Church goes further; it engages in a policy of forced conversion. Thus, in 576, the bishop Avit de Clermont requires of the 500 Jews of his city which they convert before exiling in Marseilles the recalcitrant ones.

In July 1306, the king Philippe Beautiful the expels the Jews of France, by confiscating with the passages their goods and possessions. (Let us note on this last fact, that it also seized the goods of Lombards well before those of the Jews -1277 for the first and 1306 for the seconds, operated financial deteriorations in same time, which caused hard repressed riots and began some with the order of Templiers of 1307 to 1312 to fill the empty cases of the State.)

It is thus necessary to mention:

the existence of “Juiverie Jewish S”, or districts, at Paris and other cities (see Ghetto), created on dates different
history from the Jewish of the pope, of Carpentras
the black Code which orders the expulsion of the Jews of the colonies in 1685. The Protestants, them, never had the right to emigrate towards the colonies, indeed of the time of Louis XIII at 1789 the law was always harder for the Protestants than for the members of other religions not-catholic and it was easier to obtain the authorization to build a synagog than a temple. It thus is not there of anti-semitism but more prohibition or restriction to practice a religion other than that of the king.

With the Revolution

With the Révolution which recognizes the right to the freedom of conscience the anti-semitism seems to have disappeared.

the Test on the physical and moral regeneration of the Jews , of the Abbot Gregoire, in 1788, attacks the ambient anti-semitism.
the Republic, then the Empire, grant to the Jews the same rights as to all the citizens, poking by there the feelings antijuifs of the Noblesse Catholique French and of large the Bourgeoisie of the time.

A popular anti-semitism at the end of the XIXème century

Lines in France in the years 1930

The most virulent anti-semites are located in the extreme line. The writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline for example is very implied and virulent. The extreme anti-semites are attracted by the ideology hitlérienne and the character of Hitler itself. Much of them prefers Hitler with Leon Blum like Solomon-Kœchlin:

“better thousand times are worth, for healthy people, the cane of Hitler that the rod of a Leon Blum”.

But this admiration is not unanimous. The French Action and the Maurras his are being wary with respect to Hitler. The majority of the anti-semites, even Rebatet, did not wish that France imitate the German methods. They estimate not to be influenced by the Nazism because the French anti-semitism rests according to them on traditional arguments. This extreme line is organized in parties and groupings known as leagues. From 1930 those multiply. The French Action is always active, founded during the Affaire Dreyfus it is royalist, unparliamentary, nationalist, xenophobe and in 1934 it gathers 60000 members.

The French Solidarité is a fascistic league directed by the commander Renaud, it is founded in 1933, the same year as Francisme directed by Marcel Bucard. These two leagues gathered each one 10000 people. The francism became anti-semite as from 1936. the French popular party founded in 1936 and is directed by Jacques Doriot. This party counts with its apogee 100000 members.

Certain parties which were not anti-semites in the beginning it thus became in the years 1930 the Defense committees Country-woman directed by Henri Dorgères leant towards Fascism then the anti-semitism as of the beginning of the year 1930. This party counted 150000 to 200000 members.

Other leagues acted, they were smaller but especially much more violent. In particular the League Franc-catholic, trained in 1927 and directed by the Schaeffer canon.

Measures to be taken according to the anti-semites.

The anti-semite considered not only that it from now on to close the borders but they also thought that had to be driven back the Jews had become essential.

Still let us quote an example of Louis-Ferdinand Céline which protested “Is necessary to return them to Hitler! In Palestine! In Poland! ”. Some anti-semites left the figures, thus Laurent Viguier evaluated the Jewish community with 800000 people and it estimated that 300000 remained a tolerable number. But precisely its calculations are exaggerated since in the years 1930 one counts only 300000 people of Jewish confession in France.

Other anti-semites preached more legal measurements and a legal status. They wanted to dissociate a Jewish nationality of French nationality without making differences between the Jews for a long time integrated and the new ones arrived. They did not spare either the Jewish war veterans, while knowing that the Jewish community had almost lost a generation in the Great War. These legal measurements that they proposed consisted in depriving the Jews of public rights and proscribing them public office. Rene Gontier affirmed that “they will be neither voters nor eligible”.

The Jewish organizations such as Alliance Universal Jew, the International League against the anti-semitism would be prohibited. More the extremists wanted to prohibit work with the Jews, which all in all joined the idea to expel the Jews since the latter without work would be obliged to leave. They wanted to limit the activities carried on by the Jews as the press, the bank, the industry of the trade, the liberal professions, the culture and the spectacle.

Groups of theorists anti-semites even required that the goods of the Jews are confiscated to them.

There is a great hostility towards the mixed marriages, but no legal measurement was never taken. However some laws were promulgated in answer to demonstrations coming in particular from the medium of medicine or lawyers. We previously tackled the question of flows of immigrants come for example from Germany and particularly of the students who come to study in France and settle there definitively.

The lawyers initially deposited vis-a-vis the fear of this competition, a bill on June 22nd, 1934 which was promulgated on July 19th, 1934. The doctors carried their problem to the press, with the Academy of medicine. The organizations coeds were mobilized. They obtained win since the law of April 21st, 1933 or law Armbruster was promulgated. It indicated that to exert medicine in France it was necessary to be French and to have the doctorate of French State.

Jews in France during the Mode of Vichy

Chronology

July 22nd 1940: creation by Alibert, minister for justice, a commission of revision of the 500.000 naturalizations pronounced since 1927. Withdrawal of nationality for 15.000 people including 40% of Jews.
as of July 1940 the Germans expel more than 20000 Alsatian-Lorraine Jews towards the free Zone.
September 27th 1940, occupied Zone: census of the Jews, sign " Juif" on the stores held by Jews.
September 27th 1940: A law of Vichy makes it possible to intern any foreigner " in excess in the economy française" in the groupings of foreign workers
October 3rd 1940: first “statute of the Jews”. The French Jewish citizens are excluded from the public office, the army, teaching, the press, the radio and the cinema. The Jews " in surnombre" are excluded from the liberal professions.
October 4th 1940: the prefects can intern the foreigners Jewish race in special camps or assign them with residence.
October 7th 1940: abrogation of the Crémieux decree of 1871. French nationality is thus withdrawn with the Jews of Algeria.
October 18th, 1940, occupied Zone: " aryanisation" companies.
March 29th 1941: creation of the General police station to the Jewish questions (CGQJ). Xavier Vallat first police chief.
May 1941, occupied Zone, first raids of foreign Jews: 3700 are parked in the camps of Pithiviers and Beaune-the-Rolande, under French administration.
June 2nd 1941, second statute of the Jews (Law of June 2nd, 1941): compared to the first statute, hardening of the definition of the Jew, lengthening of professional prohibitions, numerus clausus at the University (3%), and the liberal professions (2%). The Jews are obliged to be made count in free zone.
July 21st 1941: “aryanisation” of the companies in free zone.
August 1941, occupied Zone: internment of 3200 foreign Jews and 1000 French Jews in various camps of which that of Drancy.
December 1941, occupied Zone: 740 French Jews members of the liberal professions and intellectual are interned with Compiegne.
January 1942 Conference of Wannsee: official the Nazi S defines the practical methods of the “Final solution”, i.e. the complete extermination of the Jews of Europe, children included/understood.
March 27th 1942: the first convoy of off-set Jews leaves Compiegne (Frontstalag 122), in direction of a death camp.
May 29th 1942, occupied zone: port of the yellow star obligatory. (application on June 7th)
June 6th 1942: new measurements anti-semites (Decree of June 6th, 1942).
July 2nd 1942: Agreements Bousquet - Oberg for the collaboration of the French and German police forces, in the presence of Heydrich, assistant of Himmler.
16 July 17th 1942: Paris Raid of Vel' of hiv, arrest of 12884 Jews " apatrides" (3031 men, 5802 women and 4051 children).
August 1942, Invasion of the free Zone by the German army.
26- August 28th 1942, free Zone: series of raids leading to the deportation of 7000 people
January 1943: Raid of Marseilles
February 1943: Raid of Lyon in the buildings of UGIF
September 8th, 1943: capitulation of Italy leading to the occupation of the Italian zone (Nice) hitherto saved by the raids.
April 1943: Raids of Nimes and Avignon
September 1943: Raids of Nice and the back-country niçois
August 1944: last convoy of deportation from Clermont-Ferrand

An anti-semitism of State: 1940-44

The French State of Pétain will hoist the anti-semitism with the row of official Idéologie with:

the Laws on the statute of the Jews;
the creation of the General police station to the Jewish questions
arrests and the internment of the Jews in the camps (of concentration, internment or transit, according to the vocabulary of the time)
seized by the Jewish goods and the Aryanisation
the Deportation towards Germany.

If the surge of the antijuives campaigns seems to influence the population at the beginning, the anti-semitism will be rejected like all the propaganda of the mode. The Nazis never regard French as true anti-semites: Louis-Ferdinand Céline is an exception, since he saw in the Jews the origin of all the evils, and in their extermination, that he recommended explicitly, the solution with all the problems.

The catholic high-clergy (archbishops, cardinals) is hostile with persecutions, but estimates that the State is in right “to protect its nationals”, of which the Jews do not form part. However, it is only from 1942 that the Catholic church is moved by the arrests. There are in 1940 approximately 300.000 Juif S in France, among which 150.000 French citizens and 150.000 foreigners. Two thirds of the unit, but the very large majority of the foreign Jews live in Paris region. On the 150.000 French Jews, 90.000 are of old stock and among the 60.000 foreign Jews, often immigrant of Eastern Europe, half was naturalized in the Années 1930.

The Jews of France will live a situation of oppression since July 1940 until the mid- 1942. As from spring 1942, they will have to face the policy of the " Final solution " decided by the Nazi S in Europe occupied since the Conference of Wannsee. This attempt at extermination of the Jews in all occupied Europe is now known under the name of Holocauste or of Shoah. It was a question for the Nazis of off-setting all the Jews of Europe worms of the Death camps located in Poland. Until November 1942, date of the occupation of the " free Zone " , the situation of the Jews is not exactly the same one in free Zone and occupied Zone. The anti-Jewish French laws apply to the whole of the territory, but in occupied zone is added German decrees.

The Vichy government will follow a policy of restriction of the rights of the Jews dice his installation, without the Germans not expressing the least request. As of July 1940, the Minister for justice Alibert, creates a commission of revision of the 500.000 naturalizations pronounced since 1927. the withdrawal of nationality will concern 15000 people including 40% of Jews. The abrogation of the Décret Crémieux will deprive 100.000 Jews of Algeria of the French citizenship. In October 1940, the Council of Ministers will promulgate the first statute of the Jews : the French Jewish citizens are excluded from the public office, the army, teaching, the press, the radio and the cinema. The Jews " in surnombre" are excluded from the liberal professions. The second statute of the Jews, of June 1941 is still a little more restrictive: it lengthens the list of the professions from where the Jews are excluded and establishes a " Numerus clausus" limiting the proportion of Jews to 3% in the University and 2% in the liberal professions. Lastly, in July 1941, the Jews must yield their rights on the companies to " Aryens". The Germans had applied this measurement in zone occupied since October 1940. A General police station with the Jewish questions , is created in March 1941, under the direction of Xavier Vallat. Its mission is to take care of the application of the antijuive legislation. According to the words of Asher Cohen:

Without this legislation sanctioned by a respected French government because legitimates, the later deportations were almost unthinkable, in any case, much more complicated to carry out… the aryanisation seems to be the field where a certain effectiveness was obtained and where the results were impressive. The Jews were indeed isolated economic life of the nation, apparently without much difficulty.

As for the foreign Jews, they are regarded as waste which does not have really their place in France. Starting from October 4th 1940, the prefects can intern the foreigners " of race juive" in special camps or to assign them with residence. In February 1941, 40.000 foreign Jews stagnate in a series of camps: the Miles, Gurs, Rivesaltes… In July 1940, whereas the " Solution finale" was not yet with the day order, the Germans avient expelled 20.000 Jews of Alsace and Lorraine towards the nonoccupied zone. Later, starting from 1942, when pressures start to be exerted to be able to implement the " Solution finale" , the French government will be able to always show itself reconciling to deliver to the Germans foreign Jews. Collaboration between the German and French police forces will be reinforced by what is called the agreements Bousquet - Oberg, of the name of the chief of the French police force and the representative in France of the German police force. The Germans will be able to count on the French police force for rafler the foreign Jews, at least until the end 1942.

The administration anti-semite

According to certain historians (Tal Bruttmann, Robert Paxton) the administration showed a particular zeal in the anti-semitism for the period petainist.

Implementation of the final solution

The Germans start to implement in France their policy of massive extermination of the Jews of Europe as of March 1942, where a convoy of Jewish deportees leaves Compiegne, turntable towards the extermination and concentration camps. Officially, it is a question of gathering them in a badly definite area (one speaks about Poland) that the Germans would have decided to place at the disposal of the Jews. Among them are French Jews. The Vichy government does not express a protest. In occupied zone, the Jews are obliged to carry yellow star as from May 1942. This measurement will never be imposed in southern zone, even after its occupation by German. The deportation of the Jews will become great extensive starting from the Rafle of Vel' of hiv, July 16th and 17th 1942: 12.884 Jews stateless people (3031 men, 5802 women and 4051 children) are stopped by the French police force, gathered with the Cycle-racing track of Winter under sordid conditions, then with Drancy, from where they will be forwarded to the death camps. At the end of August 42, in free zone, 7000 foreign Jews are raids and delivered to the Germans.

The two series of measures antijuives, that of October 1940 and that of June 1941 had hardly raised protests on behalf of the religious authorities, since the solemn judgment of the racist ideology of National-Socialisme by the pope Pie XI. The cardinal Pierre Gerlier, primacy of Gaules , gives to the Head of the State, in September 1941 a note expressing of the reserves on the policy anti-semite. Its protesting counterpart, Pasteur Boegner, had addressed a personal letter to the admiral Darlan a little earlier, in March 1941. In the same way, the very hard conditions of internment of the foreign Jews had hardly moved the public opinion. Only some charitable organizations, either Jewish or Protestant (CIMADE), joined by some members of the catholic clergy, had been concerned with carry help to the internees of the camps of Gurs, Noë, Récébédou etc

From the mid- 1942, one attends a public change in public opinion. The port of the yellow star, initially, had caused the reprobation of much French as well as a new protest of Pasteur Boegner. In fact finally the raids of the summer 1942 will cause a decisive turn. Not only among the Christian basic, but also among the catholic hierarchy. In addition to the confidential steps, five catholic prelates of the southern zone will make known publicly, in pulpit, their disapproval. The most famous protest is that of Mgr Jules Saliège, Archevêque of Toulouse, whose letter is read in pulpit on August 23rd.

Henceforth, Laval and Bousquet will propose the opposition of the Church in the talks with Oberg to reduce the implication of the French police force in the process of deportation of the Jews. According to the words of Serge Klarsfeld, the end of this massive co-operation is not located in 1943 but in September 1942 . This turning does not want to say stop: the French police force, always under the orders of Bousquet, stops in the Paris region 700 people in October, 600 in November and 835 in December, whose majority were French.

In November 1942, the Germans invade the southern zone. At once, the Höherer S und Polizeiführer settled in all the prefectures to develop its antijuives activities. The German police force undoubtedly shows less effectiveness than the French police force, but it tracks the French Jews as well as the foreigners, and much of French Jews of the southern zone, believing itself protected or forgotten by the Vichy government, had not taken the practice to hide. From November 1942 at September 1943, the zone of Italian occupation, namely the two departments of the Savoy and especially the the Alpes-Maritimes, becomes the final refuge for the Jews. One finds some nearly 30.000, in September 1943 in what proves to be a trap, when the Germans invade the zone after the capitulation of Italy. Under the control of Aloïs Brunner, the German police force and a unit of Waffen-SS rake the three departments, but fault of the support of the French authorities, the operation leads only to the arrest of 2000 Jews, deportees with Drancy then with Auschwitz

Rescue of the Jews

The 75.000 Jews off-set towards the camps of dead were it by the German authorities, a great part of them with the participation of the police force of the Vichy government. Part of the 225.000 Jews which escaped the Déportation were given from silence, the complicity or the active aid of a very great number of French who remained, for the majority anonymities. The religious, catholic, Protestant institutions or Jews played a leading role for the reception, the production of false paper and the organization of dies of escape. The Protestants, although very minority in France, often showed themselves of a great effectiveness in this rescue. Thus, under the control of Pasteur Andre Trocmé and of his Magda wife, It Chambon-on-Lignon, village of Haute-Loire, accommodate, of 1941 with 1944, for more or less long periods, a total of 2500 Juif S. Several prelates of the Catholic church, the such Cardinal Pierre Gerlier, primacy of Gaules, or Monseigneur Jules Saliège, addressed public protests against the arbitrary arrest of the Juif S.

Many personalities showed a remarkable courage; one can quote Rene Carmille, chief of the national service of the statistics, which refused to provide to the authorities the file S of Perforated cards Hollerith which made it possible to identify the Juif S. the pluspart of the religious congregations used their cloisters for hiding the fugitive ones and collecting children. One estimates that these actions made it possible to save most of the Jews, compared to other countries. Today, it is noted that the proportion of Jews in France is four times higher than that of all the other countries of Europe.

After the war

The anti-semitism, which was mainly limited to the Extrême French right-hand side (see for example the business of Carpentras), or the declaration of Jean-Marie Le Pen according to which " the gas chambers would be a detail of the history of the Second War mondiale" knew a recrudescence towards the end of the 20th century, under the influence of the Israeli-Arab Conflit .

The acts considered as anti-semites, as soon as they are known, often cause the public indignation of the politicians.

It happens however that denounced acts as anti-semites are ridden of any part, or are suspected of being gone up of all parts, or, although the facts are real, that one realizes that their motivation is not the anti-semitism. In August 2004, the president of the Consistory of Paris, Moïse Cohen, declared that “it is an error to react to a fact various without applying the Precaution principle”; for Esther Benbassa, historian of the Judaism, “the extreme sensitivity of the Jewish community should be channeled by the Community persons in charge, and the policies should be able to wait to know before reacting”. Following the business “Marie L.”, Dominique de Villepin stated to want “to learn the lessons from this business”, “to learn all the lessons from the investigations and to adopt the strategy best adapted”, “to better know the racist acts causes and anti-semites for better fighting them”.

Contemporary anti-semitism

The anti-semitism is interdict in France. Some, to avoid any continuation, prefer instead of criticizing the Jews, attacking the Sionisme, the Antisionisme not being him noncondemnable.

Statistics

During the war

There were in 1940 330.000 Jews in France, all confused nationalities.

Between spring 1942, time of the invasion of the free Zone by the Germans, and the Release of 1944, 76.000 Juif S are off-set towards the extermination or concentration camps, in 79 convoys. 2500 only will return. A quarter were Juif S French, and three quarter of the Juif S taken refuge foreigners. 14% had less than eighteen years, and 12% more than sixty years. Among those, in 1943, 17.000 Jews had been off-set in 17 convoys including 14 for Auschwitz and 3 for Sobibor. From March to December 1944, 43.000 Jews had been off-set in 43 convoys, bound for Auschwitz. The three quarters came from the Northern zone and a quarter of the Southern zone.

One estimated a proportion of survival from approximately 72% much higher than the average of the other European countries (33%).

It, during all the war, 200.000 French off-set there by the Germans, all confused confessions.

Currently

According to Dominique de Villepin, 75 “violent actions with anti-Jewish character” were listed during the first seven months of the year 2003, and 160 during the first seven months of 2004, including 11 allotted to the Extrême right-hand side, 50 made by “individuals of origin arabo-Moslem woman”, and 99 who obeyed fuzzy motivations.

The ministry for justice listed, between the 1^er January and on June 6th, 2004, 180 cases of anti-semitism: 104 of attacks to the goods, 46 of attacks to the people, 30 infringements of press.

According to the Express train of the 8/30/2004 and 3/2/2006 (the subculture anti-semite, the dancing dervishes), one listed in France the following numbers case of insults, threats and violences anti-semites:

2000 : 743
2002 : 932
2003 : retreat not quantified
2004: 974 (+ 61% compared to 2003 dixit the Express train of the Jewish 6/6/2005, and then?)
2005: 504

In literature

August 1st The Antisémitisme left some traces in the French literature.

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