The Role Of Assimilation Of Jews In France During 1890-1939
How the Jewish people functioned inside French politics and society in the period 1890-1939 gives us an interesting and important insight into both the state of the French government under Vichy rule, how this government either implemented or did not implement Nazi policy to the letter of the law, how the actions they took effected the Jewish people living in France at the time. The question of whether Jews at this time could be considered ‘outsiders’ or ‘insiders’ in French society is a strange one to examine, as the fortunes of the Jews in France changed incredibly rapidly during this period. Massive, opinion changing events such as the assimilation of Jews into French culture through the granting of work permits and French citizenship to
…show more content…
Although by the 19th century Jews had been placed as equals to French citizens in almost every aspect of their lives, some injustices still were faced by the Jews in France, such as the ‘More Judaico’ oath which Jews had to say in French courts of law, which was designed to be both deliberately anti-Semitic and humiliating to the Jewish people. However, this and many other injustice faced by the Jews had mainly been removed from French culture by the year 1890, and the Jews in France were treated with fair justice by almost all citizens, save from a radical nationalistic minority. Previous to this antisemitism had been rife in the country due to the influx of Jewish migrants into the country from Eastern Europe, but in his 1890 article ‘Juifs et Israelites’, Bernad Lazare stated that he believed assimilation to be both the prevention and the cure to anti-Semitism, and the French Government followed his word. Although assimilation appeared to be a massive turning point in the fortunes of the Jewish people in France, the growing Jewish influence on French culture and the fact that many Jewish people now held some of the highest and most respectable positions within society in France led to the forming of the Antisemetic League of France in 1889. This League grew in stature over the following years and culminated in the beginning of the infamous Dreyfus
Although by the 19th century Jews had been placed as equals to French citizens in almost every aspect of their lives, some injustices still were faced by the Jews in France, such as the ‘More Judaico’ oath which Jews had to say in French courts of law, which was designed to be both deliberately anti-Semitic and humiliating to the Jewish people. However, this and many other injustice faced by the Jews had mainly been removed from French culture by the year 1890, and the Jews in France were treated with fair justice by almost all citizens, save from a radical nationalistic minority. Previous to this antisemitism had been rife in the country due to the influx of Jewish migrants into the country from Eastern Europe, but in his 1890 article ‘Juifs et Israelites’, Bernad Lazare stated that he believed assimilation to be both the prevention and the cure to anti-Semitism, and the French Government followed his word. Although assimilation appeared to be a massive turning point in the fortunes of the Jewish people in France, the growing Jewish influence on French culture and the fact that many Jewish people now held some of the highest and most respectable positions within society in France led to the forming of the Antisemetic League of France in 1889. This League grew in stature over the following years and culminated in the beginning of the infamous Dreyfus