Language:
English
Year of publication:
2007
Titel der Quelle:
Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
21,1 (2007) 31-54
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Jews
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Economic aspects
Abstract:
Dismisses the theory shared by some scholars that material shortages in wartime France led ordinary citizens to become indifferent to the Jewish plight, noting that the situation was more complex. Using Limousin, a predominantly agricultural region in the unoccupied zone of France, examines the interplay of various factors in determining the behavior of Frenchmen toward Jewish refugees and Jews resettled by the Vichy decrees. In general, the arrival of tens of thousands of Jews to Limousin placed an additional burden on its natives in relation to food supplies and housing. The authorities used this burden to justify the eviction of foreign Jews from the cities. Shows that ordinary Frenchmen, despite the fact that many harbored deeply antisemitic sentiments, were guided by pragmatic considerations rather than ideological ones in their relationship with the Jews. Authorities saw the Jews as profiteers of the black market, while ordinary citizens saw the peasants who sold their wares as the main beneficiaries. The roundup of Jews in August 1942 evoked compassion for Jews among many Frenchmen.
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