The Survival of the Jews in France, 1940-44 (Comparative Politics and International Studies)

Transl. by Synthia Schoch & Natasha Lehrer. — Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019. — 320 p. — ISBN-10: 019093929X; ISBN-13: 978-0190939298 — (Comparative Politics and International Studies) Between the French defeat in 1940 and liberation in 1944, the Nazis killed almost 80,000 of France's Jews, both French and foreign. Since that time, this tragedy has been well-documented. But there are other stories hidden within it-ones neglected by historians. In fact, 75% of France's Jews escaped the extermination, while 45% of the Jews of Belgium perished, and in the Netherlands only 20% survived. The Nazis were determined to destroy the Jews across Europe, and the Vichy regime collaborated in their deportation from France. So what is the meaning of this French exception? Jacques Semelin sheds light on this 'French enigma', painting a radically unfamiliar view of occupied France. His is a rich, even-handed portrait of a complex and changing society, one where helping and informing on one's neighbours went hand in hand; and where small gestures of solidarity sat comfortably with anti-Semitism. Without shying away from the horror of the Holocaust's crimes, this seminal work adds a fresh perspective to our history of the Second World War. "Between the French defeat in 1940 and liberation in 1944, the Nazis killed almost 80,000 of France's Jews, both French and foreign. Since that time, this tragedy has been well-documented. But there are other stories hidden within it--ones neglected by historians. In fact, 75% of France’s Jews escaped the extermination, while 45% of the Jews of Belgium perished, and in the Netherlands only 20% survived. The Nazis were determined to destroy the Jews across Europe, and the Vichy regime collaborated in their deportation from France. So what is the meaning of this French exception? Jacques Semelin sheds light on this 'French enigma', painting a radically unfamiliar view of occupied France. His is a rich, even-handed portrait of a complex and changing society, one where helping and informing on one's neighbors went hand in hand; and where small gestures of solidarity sat comfortably with anti-Semitism. Without shying away from the horror of the Holocaust's crimes, this seminal work adds a fresh perspective to our history of the Second World War." -- Oxford Scholarship Online How and why did 75 percent of Jews escape the Holocaust in France, despite the Nazi extermination plan and the collaboration of the Vichy regime? How can this unexpected survival rate, of which the French themselves are still largely unaware, be explained? The author sheds a new light on the everyday life tactics and tricks that allowed the persecuted to escape raids and deportations. Beyond the international context and geographical, political and cultural factors, the author shows that the Jews found in France a degree of empathy, especially from the summer of 1942, despite anti-Semitism and denunciation. Between arrests and deportations, gestures of mutual aid and practices of solidarity, the author brings together the history of the 220,000 Jews in France who were still alive at the end of the occupation. It is a history close to the daily realities of the persecuted Jews, illustrated by the trajectories of individuals and families. --From publisher description How and why did seventy five percent of Jews escape the Holocaust in France, despite the Nazi extermination plan and the collaboration of the Vichy regime? How can this unexpected survival rate, of which the French themselves are still largely unaware, be explained? The author sheds a new light on the everyday life tactics and tricks that allowed the persecuted to escape raids and deportations. Beyond the international context and geographical, political and cultural factors, the author shows that the Jews found in France a degree of empathy, especially from the summer of 1942, despite anti-Semitism and denunciation. between arrests and deportations, gestures of mutual aid and practices of solidarity, the author brings together the history of the 220,000 Jews in France who were still alive at the end of the occupation. It is a history close to the daily realities of the persecuted Jews, illustrated by the trajectories of individuals and families Introduction: The Enigma of the 75 Per Cent In Search of Safety In the Face of Persecution: Strategies for Survival Blending in to Avoid Arrest Random Acts of Solidarity Towards the Persecuted Conclusion: The Survival of Jews in France A renowned historian of genocide reconsiders French responses to the Nazis'' attempts to exterminate France's Jewish population