Anti-Semitism in France

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Anti-Semitism in France
Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler brought a storm of anti-Semitic violence not only in Germany but also in several other places where there were formations of anti-Jewish groups. France is one of the countries that experienced severe consequences during the Holocaust and Second World War. The Jews in France suffered a lot during the Holocaust and Second World War. German occupation in France combined multiple factors and this is why their occupation here was different from other countries. Nazis regarded Jews as a subhuman race and dangerous cancer bound to destroy the German people (Dowidowicz, 23). Despite this, several Jews survived and went on to write memoirs about the horrible experiences of the Holocaust. Almost Peaceful is a film that explains the horrible events experienced by the Jews. Moreover, the film shows the surviving Jews trying to get their lives back in order. From the film “Sarah’s Key” it depicts the struggles experienced by Sarah when she gets separated from her parents at a young age. The two films explore how the aspect of family was interrupted by the war and how the survivors struggled to get back their normal life while living with past memories.
After the First World War, many regarded France as the most powerful regime in Europe. France had significant military powers, but this did not prevent the country from experiencing domestic problems. Some of the problems experienced in France include political instability, dwindling population, and the rise of extremist forces. The domestic problems slowly weakened France and this was made worse by the growing military forces of Germany. As a result of these factors, France had to surrender the fortified Maginot Line. The ceasefire agreement meant that France would get divided into five zones, with Germany controlling Alsace-Lorraine. The majority of the France territories were under the control of France and Germany. Petain received a lot of support and this led to nationalists’ demands that stated, “give France back to the French.” (Morsink 73). As a result, the Vichy regime came up with new principles that limited foreigners’ influence as well as curtailing the rights enjoyed by Jews.
As a result, the Jews in French became foreigners with no rights. The military started capturing them and sending them to camps. Children were separated from their parents and never seen again. The events of the war are similar to what is experienced by Sarah in Sarah’s Key. At a very young age, Sarah together with her parents gets captured and taken to the camps. Sarah is separated from her parents and they never meet again. From stories told by those that survived the war, some groups came out to help the Jews escape to the neighboring countries to escape the Germany military. It is the same case with Sarah, after escaping from the camp with her friend they are helped by an elder couple. But the separation from her family was permanent.
Even after the war, life does not go back to normal that easily. The survivors have to live with horrible memories about what they went through. Moreover, these people constantly remember their family members and friends that were captured by the police and never returned. Due to these traumas, many surviving Jews find it hard to get their lives back. During the war, Sarah locks her brother in a secret cupboard but she could not get back on time to save him. Due to this, Sarah lives with the the guilt that she was responsible of her brother’s death. Julia researches about the life of Sarah after leaving for New York. Julia finds out that Sarah had committed suicide. Many other people found it hard to survive after the war due to the terrible experiences and the loss of their loved ones.
After the partitioning of France, many people including Jews fled to the free zones in the South. The Jews tried to cope with the Vichy regime but as time passed, the policies changed and became unbearable. The government encouraged anti-Semitism and this made the lives of Jews harder. In July 1940, a law came to place meant to inspect the naturalization of Jews. Following these policies, about 16,000 immigrants had their citizenship withdrawn (Wilson 722). Additionally, all the non-French citizens by birth could not work in public administration. In October 1940, a law reversing the emancipation of the Jews was passed. Following these laws, Jews were denied civil rights. Moreover, Jews were not allowed to own property and their businesses closed. These laws aimed to change how the Jews operated in the civil service, media, education sector, and their rankings in the military (Farmer 42). As time passed, more laws came in place that discriminated against the Jews in several ways. Many Jews had to work under forced labor while others were taken to camps. During the time of war, several camps were in France where the immigrants were taken. Through these camps, the Jews population slowly started dying.
By 1941, the South camps were at their peak where they hosted about 40,000 Jewish prisoners. Initially, the War Ministry was in charge of the camps, as 1940 came to an end, these responsibilities shifted to the interior ministry. The living conditions were very harsh for the Jews making their lives harder. In January 1941, there was a formation of a coordination committee that brought together Jews from different groups (Morsink 75). There was a grou...