Despite Vichy's implication in the Holocaust, this talk explores the potential for coexistence between Jews of French citizenship and the Vichy regime. A focus on the specific category of French Jewish youth in the period before the Germans invaded the non-Occupied Zone in November 1942 reveals important exceptions to the regime's antisemitic agenda. While Jews were marginalized from the civil service and liberal professions, the New Order did not seek to exclude young French Jews from taking part in a series of youth projects that aimed to rebuild France in the aftermath of its defeat to Germany. For a time, ideas surrounding scouting, a return to the land, and manual labour converged that rendered Jewish participation viable. After this point, Vichy's drastic policy changed, and, coupled with the total occupation of France by German forces in November 1942, reduced the possibilities for cooperation almost to nothing.

Daniel Lee Post-doctoral Fellow, Oxford University

Sponsors: Jews in Modern Europe; Contemporary Europe

With the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.

Contact: Phyllis Albert, phyllisalbert@gmail.com