The Occupation | Creation of “Solidarity”

The armistice was signed on June 22, 1940. The country was fragmented. Broadly speaking, a demarcation line separated the northern zone, under German Occupation, from the southern zone, known as the “Free Zone.” On July 11, the National Assembly conferred the title of “Head of the French State” on Philippe Pétain. In official texts, the […]

In occupied France, the Communists reorganized amid a certain degree of confusion. The Party, a victim of Pétainist repression, published a manifesto against Vichy. Until the spring of 1941, the main target of the PCF (French Communist Party) was Marshal Pétain, the “puppet of the Germans.” Communist Jews reestablished ties within various underground associations and […]

Like all French citizens, Jews with French nationality who were of the required age were mobilized for what would come to be known as the “Phoney War.” Many Jews immigrants then enlisted in the Marching Regiments of Foreign Volunteers (RMVE) or in other units of foreign volunteers serving France. Adam Rayski and G. Kenig, editors […]