Pétain's Jewish Children
French Jewish Youth and the Vichy Regime, 1940-1942
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:5th Jun '14
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Pétain's Jewish Children examines the nature of the relationship between the Vichy regime and its Jewish citizens in the period 1940 to 1942. Previous studies have generally viewed the experiences of French Jewry during the Second World War through the lenses of persecution, resistance, or rescue; an approach which has had the unintended effect of stripping Jewish actors of their agency. This volume, however, draws attention to the specific category of French Jewish youth which reveals significant exceptions to Vichy's antisemitic policies, wherein the regime's desire for a reinvigorated youth and the rebirth of the nation took precedence over its racial laws. While Jews were becoming marginalised from the civil service and liberal professions, the New Order did not seek to exclude young French Jews from participating in a series of youth projects that aimed to rebuild France in the aftermath of its defeat to Germany. For example, the Jewish scouts' emphasis on manual work and a return to the land ensured that it was looked upon favourably by Vichy, who rewarded the scouts financially. Similarly, young French Jews were called up to take part in the Chantiers de la Jeunesse, Vichy's alternative to compulsory military service. In considering the roles of some of Vichy's lesser known ministers with responsibilities for youth, for whom antisemitism was not a priority, Pétain's Jewish Children illuminates the tensions between Vichy's ambition for national regeneration and its racial policies, rendering any simple account of its antisemitism misleading. While hindsight may point to the contrary, this volume shows that the emergence of the new regime did not signal the beginning of the end for French Jewry. In Vichy's first two years, while ambiguity reigned, possibilities to integrate and participate with the New Order endured and Jews were constantly presented with new avenues to probe and explore. After this point, the drastic policy changes fuelled by Prime Minister Pierre Laval and the head of Vichy Police, René Bousquet, coupled with the total occupation of France by German forces in November 1942, reduced the possibilities for coexistence almost to nothing.
Pétain's Jewish Children is such a gripping and valuable study, exposing the fact that, even in such an increasingly hostile landscape, certain French Jews still felt that they could survive and even thrive. What Daniel Lee's book reveals is that, under Vichy, neither Frenchness nor Jewishness was ever a fixed identity, and that for a short while, even in a climate that sought to tear them apart, more than a few still saw the possibility for a productive symbiosis. * James McAuley, The Times Literary Supplement *
Daniel Lee's extremely well-documented work is an important addition to this recent trend and deserves serious consideration... [A]n impressive scholarly work, written elegantly and with conviction on the basis of extensive original research and fully grounded in the historical studies on Vichy. * Richard I. Cohen, Journal of Modern History *
Pétain's Jewish Children convincingly demands a revision of the way we understand the Vichy state * Keith Rathbone, European History Quarterly *
an accessible and fascinating piece of research that offers a meticulous record of its primary sources and a treasure trove of oral testimonies and private correspondence which will be invaluable to historians of this period. * Giulia Miller, History Today *
Daniel Lee's book encourages us to step beyond -- but not forget -- some of the paradigms which have for many years shaped our understanding of the Vichy era ... an excellent book. * Lindsey Dodd, French Studies *
Undoubtedly, the book by Daniel Lee opens up a new and essential perspective for the historiography of the relationship between Vichy and the Jews ... By renewing and reinterpreting the historiography on such a sensitive subject, the book by Daniel Lee is a precious scientific work, which needs to be strongly recommended. * Antoine Godet, French History *
Pétain's Jewish Children provides an important intervention in the history of Jews in France during World War II, and contributes to our understanding of the National Revolution and the complexity of antisemitism as it was practiced under Vichy. * Shannon L. Fogg, Yad Vashem *
excellent ... Lee is especially successful in using personal archives and memoirs to bring a more human perspective to his study. * Sophie B. Roberts, Marginalia *
Extensive and fascinating detail ... Lee's valuable case-study offers a significant stimulus for further research. * J. Wardhaugh, English Historical Review *
Lee's thought-provoking work recovers a part of history, enriches our understanding of the total range of Jewish wartime experiences, and demonstrates that, for some Vichy traditionalists and Jewish leaders alike, the category of youth took a high enough priority to cut across deep divisions. * Sarah Fishman, The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth *
Lee's monograph makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the Occupation, Jewish life between the Defeat and the Holocaust, and youth movements under Vichy. * Richard Francis Crane, Holocaust and Genocide Studies *
Petain's Jewish Children constitutes a formidable corrective to a historiography dominated by studies on rescue, resistance, or persecution. Lees work should inspire future scholars to test whether his conclusions about French Jewish youth hold for larger portions of French Jewish society. In the meantime, this carefully researched and intriguing study can act as a starting point and encourage historians to reconsider their assumptions about the nature of Vichy antisemitism and Jewish life during the first two years of the Holocaust in France. * Daniella Doron, American Historical Review *
[a] finely researched monograph * Robert O. Paxton, Journal of Contemporary History *
richly textured and thoroughly researched ... this book asks new questions, complicates a number of narratives that have become entrenched both in the historiography and in popular understandings of the Vichy regime and the occupation period, and nuances our interpretations of Vichy antisemitism and of Jewish responses to the National Revolution. This process of rethinking, alongside Lee's meticulous research, makes Pétain's Jewish Children a valuable contribution to scholarship on wartime France. * Kirrily Freeman, H-France Review *
Marceau's activities in the Resistance included using mime to teach the Jewish children he was smuggling out of France how to communicate silently. * Benjamin Ivry, Forward Newspaper *
ISBN: 9780198707158
Dimensions: 222mm x 148mm x 23mm
Weight: 476g
290 pages