Jews in Algeria

The Crémieux Decree, which granted French citizenship to all Jews in Algeria on October 2, 1870, was repealed on October 7, 1940. The phrase “indigenous Jew” was stamped on their identity cards, and they faced the same discrimination as Jews in metropolitan France (limited and then prohibited access to most professions, the “Aryanization” of their property, enrollment quotas in schools, internment without trial, etc.).

The Pétainist regime proved particularly zealous, both in the Maghreb (a territory administered by the Vichy regime) and in France. The Géo-Gras gym in Algiers became a meeting place and training ground for several Jewish youth Resistance groups.

The brothers Raphaël and Stéphane Aboulker supported the efforts of these armed Resistance groups, whose tasks were varied (protecting the Jewish population, sabotaging pro-Vichy facilities, preparing for combat, and spreading Gaullist propaganda).

In 1941, José Aboulker—a cousin of Raphaël and Stéphane—and other young Jews formed a new Resistance group focused on armed struggle and intelligence.

Roger Carcassonne, for his part, leads another group.

All these groups of young Jews supported one another and coordinated their activities without ever sacrificing their autonomy. José Aboulker, a leading figure in this mobilized and multifaceted Jewish Resistance in Algeria, would join the Communist Party after the war.

Upon news of the Allied landing in Algeria, the Aboulker brothers were tasked with recruiting young Resistance fighters for the combat groups at the Salle Géo-Gras.

José, for his part, is up and running and is building momentum for the Resistance.

Meticulous planning allows all the groups to take up positions at various strategic points in Algiers.

377 volunteer fighters, most of whom are Jews, are at their posts.

The Allies (American and British) landed on November 8, 1942. This was Operation Torch.

The efforts of the internal Jewish Resistance contributed to the operation’s success.