Anti-Semitism in France, both present and past, was extensively discussed in the French press in the last two days. The influential “Le Monde” came out today with a full page discussion on anti-Semitism during the Vichy era. Ten Jewish and non-Jewish readers discussed the claim of lawyer Rene de Chambrun, who claimed in this paper a few days ago that his father-in-law, the late pro-Nazi Premier Pierre Laval, had helped the Jews in the Vichy era. All of them contested this view and cited numerous examples of French collaboration with the Nazis and of the responsibility of the Vichy authorities in the deportation and ultimate killing of thousands of French Jews.
A similar controversy was started on Sunday by the showing of a French film “Silbermann” on state television. The film shows the life, persecution and final emigration of a Polish-born Jewish schoolboy, at a French high school during the Dreyfus era. Three French papers, “France Soir,” the leftist “Nouvel Oservateur” weekly and the Communist “L’Humanite” daily charged that the Jewish hero is shown in such a negative light as to make him an anti-Semitic caricature. Some of the journalists demanded that the film should not be shown and invoke the powers of French official censorship.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
