Communist Jews, both men and women, continue to be targeted by the ruling regime: arrests, brutal interrogations, torture, deportations, and executions for acts of resistance are on the rise. But throughout France, the armed FTP-M.O.I. groups continue to wage intense battles.
The surrender at Stalingrad did not put an end to the Nazis’ plan to exterminate the Jews. The Vichy French government continued to play an active role in the repression and organization of the deportations. Extermination camps (killing centers) multiplied: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Majdanek.
In the face of their tormentors, acts of resistance and revolt were organized at Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. A few rebels managed to escape. Most of them were executed. Despite the appalling conditions, some deportees maintained a deep sense of solidarity to survive within the camps, as attested to in particular by Paulette Slivke and Germaine Bach.
Many women, both Jewish and non-Jewish, were deeply involved in the Resistance. The M.O.I. worked hard to expand Resistance activities among women, particularly within the Jewish section, from which many female fighters emerged.
Recognition of the role played by women in the Resistance in the fight against the occupying forces led Fernand Grenier, the Communist Party’s official delegate to General de Gaulle, to draft an amendment granting women the right to vote and to hold office. The ordinance was signed on April 21, 1944, by de Gaulle, then head of the French National Liberation Committee.
