Vichy France and the Jews / Michael R. Marrus and Robert O. Paxton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marrus, Michael Robert.

Contributor:

Paxton, Robert O.

Mazal Holocaust Collection

Standardized Title:

Vichy et les juifs. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Jews--Persecutions--France.

Jews.

Jews--Persecutions.

France.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

France--Politics and government--1940-1945.

Politics and government.

World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from France.

World War, 1939-1945.

France--Ethnic relations.

Ethnic relations.

Deportation.

Physical Description:

xvi, 432 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, [1981]

Summary:

"Comparing German documents with newly available French sources, [the authors] conclusively demonstrate that, contrary to postwar testimony, Vichy unleashed a wave of antisemitic laws independent of German pressure. On coming to power in 1940, Vichy policy began by banning Jews from positions of public influence and from the military, then moved on to the confiscation of property and internment, and ended by cooperating in the deportation from France, and the death in German camps, of over 75,000 Jews."--Jacket.

What part did Vichy France really play in the Nazi effort to murder Jews living in France? Few questions, from the end of the Second World War to the present day, have so haunted French society. Here for the first time is a detailed and comprehensive account of Vichy's own antisemitic policies and practices. From the summer of 1940 until shortly before the liberation of France in 1944, the Vichy regime, born of defeat at the hands of the Nazis and a policy of collaboration urged by many Frenchmen, introduced and implemented a wide range of measures aimed at Jews living in France. Comparing German documents with newly available French sources, this book conclusively demonstrates that, contrary to postwar testimony, Vichy unleashed a wave of antisemitic laws independent of German pressure. On coming to power in 1940, Vichy policy began by banning Jews from positions of public influence and from the military, then moved on to the confiscation of property and internment, and ended by cooperating in the deportation from France, and the death in German camps, of over 75,000 Jews. This lucidly written and rigorously documented book definitively establishes French cooperation with the Final Solution- cooperation, the authors conclude, that was virtually inparalleled in all of Europe. -- Publisher description.

Contents:

First steps

The roots of Vichy antisemitism. Traditional images of the Jews ; Second wave : the crises of the 1930s and the revival of antisemitism ; The reach of antisemitism : how influential was it? ; The administrative response ; The refugee crisis, 1938-41

The strategy of Xavier Vallat, 1941-42. The beginnings of German pressure ; Vichy defines the Jewish issue, 1941 ; Vallat : an activist at work ; The emigration deadlock ; Vallat's fall

The system at work, 1940-42. The CGQJ and other state agencies : rivalries and border disputes ; Business as usual ; Aryanization ; Emigration ; The camps

Public opinion, 1940-42. The climax of popular antisemitism ; The distribution of popular antisemitism ; A special case : Algeria ; The churches and the Jews ; The opposition ; An indifferent majority

The turning point : summer 1942. New men, new measures ; The final solution ; Laval and the final solution ; The effort to segregate : the Jewish star ; Preparing the deportation ; The Vel d'Hiv roundup ; Drancy ; Roundups in the unoccupied zone ; The massacre of the innocents ; The turn in public opinion

The Darquier period, 1942-44. Darquier's CGQJ and its place in the regime ; Darquier's CGQJ in action ; Total occupation and the resumption of deportations ; Vichy, the Abbé Catry, and the Massada Zionists ; The Italian interlude ; Denaturalization, August 1943 : Laval's refusal ; Last days

Conclusions : the Holocaust in France. What did Vichy know about the final solution? ; A comparative view

Principal occupation authorities dealing with Jews, 1940-44 (chart).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 377-414) and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - Holocaust, Winner, 1982

Other Format:

Online version: Marrus, Michael Robert. Vichy et les juifs. English. Vichy France and the Jews.

ISBN:

0465090052

9780465090051

9780804724999

0804724997

OCLC:

7575198