Vélodrome D Hiver Roundup Of 1942 Analysis
Vélodrome d’Hiver Roundup of 1942: “Black Thursday”
Jessica den Hollander
Mr. M. Brandsma
CHC2D
December 13, 2012
On July 16, 1942, the Vichy government ordered that all Jews were to be arrested and sent off to concentration camps. It was the biggest operation of its kind during the German occupation of France in World War II. Despite the misconception that the Germans were basically the main anti-Semites in Europe, the French also showed a large contribution as well through the Vélodrome d’Hiver Roundup in 1942. The French clearly displayed anti-Semitism by rounding the Jews up themselves instead of the Germans, cramming the Jews into the Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium and sending them to horrible concentration camps.
On the morning of July 16, 1942, approximately 9, 000 French police went into action to arrest the …show more content…
Jews in France. This day was known as “Black Thursday”. The arrest was under the direction of First World War Hero Marshal Philippe Pétain.1 During the summer of 1942, Jewish citizens feared the French authorities. It did not matter who it was, there thoughts would most likely be “is it the police? Have they come to arrest me?” Many Jews had to live with the fear of being arrested. Children overheard whispered conversations that parents had at night. They did not understand what was going on but they could feel the tenseness of their parents.2
Many may wonder why the French police arrested the Jews instead of the Germans that were in control of France. It is said that the French police arrested the Jews instead of the Germans because German resources grew more and more scarce. Michael Marrus and Robert Paxton state, “There were simply not enough Germans to do the job.”3 Vichy’s Prime Minister, Pierre Laval, and the chief of Paris police, René Bousquet, had engaged in a series of negotiations with the German authorities prior to the round-ups.4 Julian Jackson claims,
“The truth was that Vichy shed no tears over the fate of the foreign Jews in France who were seen as a nuisance, dregs in Laval’s words. He told an American diplomat that he was ‘happy’ to have a chance to get rid of them.” 5
Adrian Gilbert also states,
“The Vichy French government that emerged from the catastrophic defeat of 1940 was very much in thrall to its German overlord and in order to maintain even nominal sovereignty it was forced to co-operate closely with the dictates issued from Berlin. During 1942, growing pressure from Germany to deport Jews from France received an enthusiastic response from the Vichy government.”6
Originally the plan of the Vichy government had been to arrest French citizens and foreign residents from central and Eastern Europe. The amount of people that would have to be arrested would have been substantial so René Bousquet, secretary general of the national French police, suggested that it would be less “embarrassing” if his policemen confined their arrests to foreign Jews.7 The main objective was to arrest 28, 000 Jews in the greater Paris region and every Jew was to be arrested no matter what their state of health was. But, many Jews heard that a roundup was being planned and they decided to flee and hide. 8
The French police, along with the large amounts of people included in this roundup, managed to keep the plans of this huge extermination in complete secrecy. The French police tried their best to hide what they were doing. They kept the public away from train stations during the transportation of the Jews and made arrests at night or early in the morning.9
Many of the citizens of France did not show compassion for the Jews. As they were being taken away, many just watched and did not say a word. Other French citizens had the audacity to applaud while the Jews were being forced down the streets toward the Vélodrome d’Hiver Stadium. The Jews did nothing wrong to the citizens of France or anyone. They were wrongfully arrested with no charges laid or apparent crimes committed. The French police were merely following orders from their leaders. This shows how the French were anti-Semitic through the Vel d’Hiv Roundup.
On July 16 and 17, 1942, the Vichy government in France arrested 12, 884 Jews.10 The French police packed 7,000 of these Jews onto busses and sent them to the Vel d’Hiv stadium which was located in Paris, France. This stadium was used mostly in the winter as a bicycle track and could hold 15, 000 people.11 It was not very comfortable for the Jews because several people had to live in the stadium for five days without food, water or sanitary arrangements. The only water that they had was water from a fire hydrant that held water from the Seine River.
The Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium was not meant to be a place for housing people. It was meant to hold people for a couple hours when food and drink were not really needed. To place people in a place that was not made to house people is a violation of human rights. But, the French did it anyways. They did not really care. When the Jews were arrested, they were told to bring enough clothes, food and water for two days. The Jews expected that they would be able to return home after two days but they were mistaken. This wrongful detainment of people, who had committed no crime, is another evidence of ant-Semitism presented and propagated by the Jews.
While the Jews were kept in the stadium, many committed suicide by jumping off of the different levels in the stadium.12 Some would rather die by means of suicide than to be persecuted by the French. The degree of French oppression became evident in this act. The conditions of the Vel d’Hiv and the way that the Jews were treated again shows that anti-Semitism that was present in France during German occupation in World War II.
When the Jews were taken out of the Vel d’Hiv stadium, they were put on cattle cars and sent to a concentration camp in Drancy.13 Several Jews were crammed into train cars that were originally used to transport animals. The conditions were terrible and extremely uncomfortable. There was no food, water or sanitary arrangements. The Jews were on these trains sometimes for several days. Sometimes 150 Jews were packed together into one train car which could hole 50 to 60 animals. Felix Szmidt conveys the despair, “I will never forget the awful way we were penned together for a day and a half in the train. How people could do such things to one another defies belief."14
When the Jews first arrived, the men were separated from the women and children. The conditions in Drancy were absolutely atrocious. It is said that several babies and very young children died in the Drancy concentration camp because of the lack of care and the brutality of the French guards that were watching over them. The concentration camp in Drancy was meant to hold 700 people. At one time during the war, the camp had over 7, 000 Jews.15 There were no working lavatories and there was little food and medical care. Later on the men were sent to Auschwitz, the final destination, to be exterminated in the gas chambers. Next, the women were separated from the children and also sent to Auschwitz and eventually the children were also sent to their deaths. By transporting Jews in cattle cars to atrocious concentration camps showed the extreme hatred that the French had towards the Jews and problematizes the view that the Nazi’s were the only war criminals of the Second World War.
For over 40 years the French did not admit what they had done.16 They completely denied all the accusations that were thrown at them about their participation for the Vélodrome d’Hiver Roundup in 1942. For 40 years the French continued a policy of anti-Semitism, evidenced in their lack of guilt for the crime they committed, and unwillingness to admit their hateful acts. Finally on July 16, 1995, the French government apologized for partaking in the Vel d’Hiv roundup. They admitted that by arresting and oppressing the Jews and confining them in the Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium and later the Drancy camp was anti-Semitic and wrong. But, the Germans were not the only anti-Semitic people during World War II. The actions by the French prove that anti-Semitism was not particular to the Germans and that intolerance and hatred of the Jews was widespread in Europe.
Works Cited
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
“Drancy Transit Camp,” Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Drancy.html
De Rosnay, Tatiana. Sarah’s Key. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007.
Gilbert, Adrian. “Vel d 'Hiv, Paris 1942: These black hours will stain our history forever.” Accessed December 5, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/sarahs-key/vel-dhiv-paris-1942-world-war-two-adrian-gilbert
Jackson, Julian. France: The Dark Years 1940-1944. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001
Lees, David. “Remembering the Vel D’Hiv Roundup.” Accessed December 5, 2013. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge/culture/roundups/
Longerich, Peter. Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Marrus, Michael R., and Robert O. Paxton. Vichy France and the Jews. California: Stanford University Press, 1981.
Trueman, Chris. “Drancy Transit Camp,” Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/drancy_transit_camp.htm
Zuccotti, Susan. The Holocaust, the French and the Jews. New York: Basic Books,
1993.
Jessica den Hollander
Mr. M. Brandsma
CHC2D
December 13, 2012
On July 16, 1942, the Vichy government ordered that all Jews were to be arrested and sent off to concentration camps. It was the biggest operation of its kind during the German occupation of France in World War II. Despite the misconception that the Germans were basically the main anti-Semites in Europe, the French also showed a large contribution as well through the Vélodrome d’Hiver Roundup in 1942. The French clearly displayed anti-Semitism by rounding the Jews up themselves instead of the Germans, cramming the Jews into the Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium and sending them to horrible concentration camps.
On the morning of July 16, 1942, approximately 9, 000 French police went into action to arrest the …show more content…
Jews in France. This day was known as “Black Thursday”. The arrest was under the direction of First World War Hero Marshal Philippe Pétain.1 During the summer of 1942, Jewish citizens feared the French authorities. It did not matter who it was, there thoughts would most likely be “is it the police? Have they come to arrest me?” Many Jews had to live with the fear of being arrested. Children overheard whispered conversations that parents had at night. They did not understand what was going on but they could feel the tenseness of their parents.2
Many may wonder why the French police arrested the Jews instead of the Germans that were in control of France. It is said that the French police arrested the Jews instead of the Germans because German resources grew more and more scarce. Michael Marrus and Robert Paxton state, “There were simply not enough Germans to do the job.”3 Vichy’s Prime Minister, Pierre Laval, and the chief of Paris police, René Bousquet, had engaged in a series of negotiations with the German authorities prior to the round-ups.4 Julian Jackson claims,
“The truth was that Vichy shed no tears over the fate of the foreign Jews in France who were seen as a nuisance, dregs in Laval’s words. He told an American diplomat that he was ‘happy’ to have a chance to get rid of them.” 5
Adrian Gilbert also states,
“The Vichy French government that emerged from the catastrophic defeat of 1940 was very much in thrall to its German overlord and in order to maintain even nominal sovereignty it was forced to co-operate closely with the dictates issued from Berlin. During 1942, growing pressure from Germany to deport Jews from France received an enthusiastic response from the Vichy government.”6
Originally the plan of the Vichy government had been to arrest French citizens and foreign residents from central and Eastern Europe. The amount of people that would have to be arrested would have been substantial so René Bousquet, secretary general of the national French police, suggested that it would be less “embarrassing” if his policemen confined their arrests to foreign Jews.7 The main objective was to arrest 28, 000 Jews in the greater Paris region and every Jew was to be arrested no matter what their state of health was. But, many Jews heard that a roundup was being planned and they decided to flee and hide. 8
The French police, along with the large amounts of people included in this roundup, managed to keep the plans of this huge extermination in complete secrecy. The French police tried their best to hide what they were doing. They kept the public away from train stations during the transportation of the Jews and made arrests at night or early in the morning.9
Many of the citizens of France did not show compassion for the Jews. As they were being taken away, many just watched and did not say a word. Other French citizens had the audacity to applaud while the Jews were being forced down the streets toward the Vélodrome d’Hiver Stadium. The Jews did nothing wrong to the citizens of France or anyone. They were wrongfully arrested with no charges laid or apparent crimes committed. The French police were merely following orders from their leaders. This shows how the French were anti-Semitic through the Vel d’Hiv Roundup.
On July 16 and 17, 1942, the Vichy government in France arrested 12, 884 Jews.10 The French police packed 7,000 of these Jews onto busses and sent them to the Vel d’Hiv stadium which was located in Paris, France. This stadium was used mostly in the winter as a bicycle track and could hold 15, 000 people.11 It was not very comfortable for the Jews because several people had to live in the stadium for five days without food, water or sanitary arrangements. The only water that they had was water from a fire hydrant that held water from the Seine River.
The Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium was not meant to be a place for housing people. It was meant to hold people for a couple hours when food and drink were not really needed. To place people in a place that was not made to house people is a violation of human rights. But, the French did it anyways. They did not really care. When the Jews were arrested, they were told to bring enough clothes, food and water for two days. The Jews expected that they would be able to return home after two days but they were mistaken. This wrongful detainment of people, who had committed no crime, is another evidence of ant-Semitism presented and propagated by the Jews.
While the Jews were kept in the stadium, many committed suicide by jumping off of the different levels in the stadium.12 Some would rather die by means of suicide than to be persecuted by the French. The degree of French oppression became evident in this act. The conditions of the Vel d’Hiv and the way that the Jews were treated again shows that anti-Semitism that was present in France during German occupation in World War II.
When the Jews were taken out of the Vel d’Hiv stadium, they were put on cattle cars and sent to a concentration camp in Drancy.13 Several Jews were crammed into train cars that were originally used to transport animals. The conditions were terrible and extremely uncomfortable. There was no food, water or sanitary arrangements. The Jews were on these trains sometimes for several days. Sometimes 150 Jews were packed together into one train car which could hole 50 to 60 animals. Felix Szmidt conveys the despair, “I will never forget the awful way we were penned together for a day and a half in the train. How people could do such things to one another defies belief."14
When the Jews first arrived, the men were separated from the women and children. The conditions in Drancy were absolutely atrocious. It is said that several babies and very young children died in the Drancy concentration camp because of the lack of care and the brutality of the French guards that were watching over them. The concentration camp in Drancy was meant to hold 700 people. At one time during the war, the camp had over 7, 000 Jews.15 There were no working lavatories and there was little food and medical care. Later on the men were sent to Auschwitz, the final destination, to be exterminated in the gas chambers. Next, the women were separated from the children and also sent to Auschwitz and eventually the children were also sent to their deaths. By transporting Jews in cattle cars to atrocious concentration camps showed the extreme hatred that the French had towards the Jews and problematizes the view that the Nazi’s were the only war criminals of the Second World War.
For over 40 years the French did not admit what they had done.16 They completely denied all the accusations that were thrown at them about their participation for the Vélodrome d’Hiver Roundup in 1942. For 40 years the French continued a policy of anti-Semitism, evidenced in their lack of guilt for the crime they committed, and unwillingness to admit their hateful acts. Finally on July 16, 1995, the French government apologized for partaking in the Vel d’Hiv roundup. They admitted that by arresting and oppressing the Jews and confining them in the Vélodrome d’Hiver stadium and later the Drancy camp was anti-Semitic and wrong. But, the Germans were not the only anti-Semitic people during World War II. The actions by the French prove that anti-Semitism was not particular to the Germans and that intolerance and hatred of the Jews was widespread in Europe.
Works Cited
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
“Drancy Transit Camp,” Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Drancy.html
De Rosnay, Tatiana. Sarah’s Key. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007.
Gilbert, Adrian. “Vel d 'Hiv, Paris 1942: These black hours will stain our history forever.” Accessed December 5, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/sarahs-key/vel-dhiv-paris-1942-world-war-two-adrian-gilbert
Jackson, Julian. France: The Dark Years 1940-1944. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001
Lees, David. “Remembering the Vel D’Hiv Roundup.” Accessed December 5, 2013. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge/culture/roundups/
Longerich, Peter. Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Marrus, Michael R., and Robert O. Paxton. Vichy France and the Jews. California: Stanford University Press, 1981.
Trueman, Chris. “Drancy Transit Camp,” Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/drancy_transit_camp.htm
Zuccotti, Susan. The Holocaust, the French and the Jews. New York: Basic Books,
1993.