Information Issued by the Assooation of Jewish Refugees in Creat Britaoi
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Volume XXXIV No. 4 April 1979 INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE ASSOOATION OF JEWISH REFUGEES IN CREAT BRITAOI »'.K osenstock the French army during the summer 1939. The only chance of release from internment was the "voluntary" enlistment with the Foreign Legion. Those, who made use of this WHERE EXODUS FAILED "chance" were departed to North Africa, German Jews in Occupied France where they had to endure terrible hardship, especially as their "comrades" and superiors included criminals. In 1940, the intemment ^'Tj's month, when we are celebratmg Pesach, peated itself; like many German Jews before camps were transformed into labour camps. U) th-"^ °^ **^"* ^^''^ exodus from Germany 1933 in their aittitude to the "Ostjuden", many After the beginning of the German offensive this country. We also remember those, who French Jews considered the newcomers with in May 1940, the intemment was extended to ^shed in the holocaust because they could their alien habits as a danger to their own men up to 65 and to women between 17 and Y emigrate or were caught up in a Westem social and political security. Some of them, 55. When the German-French armistice was PuTr''^^ country during the war. A recent the authors note, felt so safe in their and concluded on June 22, 1940, some comman lication about the emigrants in France their ancestors' homeland thait even after the dants opened the gates, giving the inmates "^rds their fate.* German occupation they could not believe that the chance to try and escape to the Southern, ^Tne book is the first pubUcation under a they, too, were afTected by the anti-Jewish unoccupied Zone of France. There were, how 6na^'"*^' ^^^*^h was launched and partly measures. On the other hand, they actively ever, also commandants, who handed over all _^'wncod by the "Council of Jews from Ger- participated in the charitable work for the camp intemees to the Nazis. ,^ """V ' at the suggestion of Professor Herbert refugees and, to quote one example, one of the leading French-Jewish honorary oflicers Those, who reached the Southem Zone ^"^uss (New York), and whose ultimate aim ("Vichy France") were intemed anew. The Jtu f^^^Pr^hensive history of the emigrated of the responsible relief organisations, Staats rat Jacques Helbronner shared the fate of authors give detailed descriptions of the con •s from Germany in their main countries of ditions in the various camps. In accordance J.J, ."dement. In the preface to the book, Ruth many of his fellow Jews and was deported to Auschwitz. with the Armistice Agreement, German lan pays tribute to the preparatory work ofiBcials visited the camps, to liberate the ^^^ by the late Dr. Kurt L. Lang, "genuine" Germans and to hand over those, y. ^'itrary to other countries, France was con- Immigrants' Insecurity who were supposed to be active anti-Nazis, to M^^'^ by most immigrants as a temporary the Gestapo. ^h'f*^' P^'^ding a re-emigration overseas. The book gives a detailed survey of the various organisations in charge of the refugees. The Jewish and non-Jewish relief organisa (• "Jf the total number of immigrants from tions retained the opportunity of looking after ^"•rrnany iji France between 1933 and 1940 Of course, there were hound to arise difficul ties also on the part of the recipients. Having the refugees inside and outside the camps. ((^''""latod at 150,000, there were never more They were also instnunental in rescuing many 'im" '^^^ °f them in the country at the same been financially independent before their flight, they did not find it easy to become by providing them with immigration papers beneficiaries of welfare support. Another, to the United States. Their work was, how a,' further difTerence between France and ever, complicated by "the requirement of an tj^ other countries of emigration arises from almost unsurmountable, difliculty the emi grants had to face during the pre-war years exit visa from the Vichy authorities. In many jf^.-'^^'^Paratively higher proportion of—non- cases, the endangered emigrants had to cross ^ ^'sh and Jewish—political refugees. There arose from the insecurity of their status. The book carries meticulous descriptions of the the border illegally. Thc book gives several ,n ."^ ''Wet demarcation line between political examples of the tragedies involved in this— Jewish refugees, but it is certainly no various regulations goveming their residence and labour permits. often unsuccessful—exodus. ^''icnt that the book carries the Utle "Ger- In 1941, a special department for Jewish ».,, J^'"iigration. Unfortunately, some political A special chapter is dedicated to the mani alTairs was established by the Vichy Govern {j^rj'^'its labelled those of their fellow emi- fold political and cultural activities before the ment at the order of the German authorities, ^J^^'•s who had left Germany "only" because war. Notwithstanding the frictions between and a few months later, a "General Repre T>,^ ^^'^'"^ Jews, as "Wirtschaftsemigranten". the various political groups there were also sentation of the Israelites in France" was fr«,i ""'bors strongly dissociate themselves unifying enterprises such as the creation brought into being. Thc two foundations were •>^" 'bis derogatory classification, stating of a "Deutsche Freihcitsbibliothek" on May in charge both of thc alien and of tlie French ^^^ 'be non-political emigrants, too, left Ger- 10, 1934, the first anniversary of the buming Jews and operated in Vichy France as well ,f_,j -^ 'n the first place to save their lives of books by the Nazis. It comprised more as in the occupied zone. c;^^"*^' only because their economic basis in than 20,000 volumes, most of which were 'any was destroyed or endangered, donated by emigrants, and was later linked A special task of the relief organisations, j^^^'c book deals in its first part with the with the "Internationale anti-faschistische in particular of OSE, was the care for Jewish t.v '["" •'''tuation. The second section describes Archiv", which by 1939 had collected more children. Some were liberated from the camps W j., '.^''^lopment during the war from the than 200,000 newspapers and thousands of and accommodated in homes or with private leaflets and brochures. families. Their fate was bound to result in '*•«! ""r"^ °^ tbe hostilities up to the occupa- psychological difficulties which still have their H«i^. ."t the whole country. The post-war The anti-alien, and even pro-German, aftCT-eflects. When the deportations set in, H;^''"*" of the surviving refugees is briefiy attitude of certain sections of the French the children were in particular danger, because ' "•^'d to in an Epilogue. administration is, among other things, reflected Laval wanted to have as many children as 'v'*','^'"" the years between 1933 and 1938, in a law, promulgated as early as November, possible "at his disposal" in order to fulfil »>i,,''""*''"ants from Germany, 80 per cent of 1930, which gave the authorities the right to the quotas of deportees demanded by the ^'^11 \v(,pp je^yg^ jjjj^i to face the hostility of arrest "undesirable aliens". Significantly, this Germans. In this connection, thc authors V^-j''f">itic and fascist elements, last but not law was first put into eflect on the occasion mention that Laval only got a bad conscience j,^^ '" tlie administration. The French-bom of Ribbentrop's visit to Paris on December 6, when the fate of the French-bom Jews was at W^. ^^^"'"9 first sympathetic to them, because 1938, when a number of emigrants were stake, and even then only "to a limitwl *i ./^""^idcrcd the assimilated German Jews arrested and interned or forbidden to stay extent". **<lu'n'''^ of their own cultural level. Yet in Paris. In the unoccupied Zone, a "Judenreferat" •'"y the old story in Jewish history re- Things came to a crunch when war broke was established immediately after the armis out. All male "enemy aliens" between the tice as a sub-department of the "Reichs- •\.*'»*/^f'l!°"'''-°^'"na Coulmas: Die deulsche Emigration age of 17 and 48 were interned, including •:> nil, "^<=h 1933. K. G. Saur, Muenchan. 1978. ^•n ?0. those who had registered as volimteers for Continucd on page 2, column 1 Page 2 AJR INFORMATION April 1979 German Jews in France "HOLOCAUST" AND AFTER Continued from page 1 IMPACT ON TV STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS "Council" addresses Chancellor sicherheits-Hauptamt" in Berlin. It took its In Germany, the discussions started by the measures in several stages: first the registra showing of the "Holocaust" films continue. The Council of Jews from Germany, of A collection of documentary material, pub which the AJR is a constituent member, ha* tion of all Jews, then their elimination from lished by the North Rhine Westfalia Office for submitted a Resolution to Federal Chancellor the economic life and, on June 1, 1942, the Political Education, has been snapped up. Schmidt strongly pleading for the abolition of introduction of the "Judenstcm". (235,000 copies were distributed). The Fed thc statute of limitations. Thc Jews from Gcr^ eral Centre of the PEN Club and thc Federa many, the Resolution .states, were the first Things came to a licad when Vichy France tion of German Authors have appealed for a victims of Nazi persecution. Those who were Was also occupied and massacres and deporta second showing of the programme at a time able to save their lives by emigration arc tions to thc East were carried out in both more convenient for general viewing and by almo.st without exception survivors of exter parts of Fi-ancc. It is estimated that about one ot the major TV stations. Two large scale minated families. The Council warns that, one third of thc 350,000 Jews in pre-war questionnaires were sent out by the Federal unless thc statute of limitations is revoked, France perished in thc deportation camps.