Nazi propaganda methods were responsible for a curious alignment of forces in a battle in a Montparnasse cafe early this morning when the Camelots du Roi, anti-Semitic monarchist group, joined with Jewish students in a pitched battle against Nazi sympathizers.
Students visititng the cafe last night, including a number of Jewish youths, objected to the repeated appearance there of a newspaper vendor hawking anti-Semitic publications and making insulting remarks about the Jews, including French Jews, and drove him out. He returned about midnight and a new argument started. It developed into a fight when a number of Nazi students rushed into the cafe.
Then, to the surprise of by-standers, another group, wearing the insignia of the Camelots du Roi, also entered the fray, but on the side of the anti-Nazi forces. Police restored order.
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.