The Occupation | Creation of “Solidarité

The armistice is signed on June 22, 1940. The national territory was fragmented. A demarcation line separated the German-occupied northern zone from the so-called free southern zone. On July 11, the title of “Head of the French State” is conferred on Philippe Pétain by the National Assembly. The word “Republic” was abolished from official texts. […]

Like all French citizens, Jews of French nationality who reached the required age were mobilized for what came to be known as the Phoney War. Many immigrant Jews joined the Régiments de Marche des Volontaires Etrangers (RMVE) or other foreign volunteer units in the service of France. Adam Rayski and G. Kenig, editors of the […]

In occupied France, the Communists reorganize in a state of confusion. The Party, a victim of Petainist repression, publishes a manifesto against Vichy. Until the spring of 1941, the main target of the PCF (French Communist Party) was Marshal Pétain, “puppet of the Germans”. Communist Jews re-established links within associations or various underground groups, and […]