The Jewish presence in France dates back to the Gallo-Roman period.
Persecution of Jews began there as early as the beginning of the Middle Ages. In the 20th century, among French Jews—known as “Israelites” —some gradually distanced themselves from Judaism, choosing to assimilate; others continued to practice their religion more or less regularly.
While some Jews arrived from the East (from Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria) in the 1920s, and later from Germany and Austria to escape Nazism in the 1930s, most fled Eastern Europe. Hailing from countries with turbulent histories, they left Poland and Russia, as well as Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Their presence in Eastern Europe dates back to the Middle Ages.
Jews began emigrating to France as early as the late 19th century, following pogroms, and especially in the 1920s and 1930s, driven from their birthplaces by anti-Semitism, poverty, and political repression. Among them were also students who faced discrimination at the university. In the aftermath of World War I, France needed a large workforce. These immigrants remained deeply rooted in their native cultures but were often detached from religious practices.
The Yiddish language is the fundamental and unifying element of this Eastern European Jewish culture. These countries made up what was known as “Yiddishland,” a world—now gone—of nearly 8 to 9 million people.
