Mass arrests of Jews were reported from unoccupied France today as result of the anti-Jewish laws proclaimed on Friday, which were followed over the weekend by administrative orders requiring Jews to declare in writing, within a month, all their possessions, including cash.
The number of Jews now held under arrest in occupied and unoccupied France was reported to be more than 12,000, of whom 5,000 have been sent to internment and labor camps near Orleans. They are between the ages of 18 and 60. Many Jews, especially those dependent on relief, have been rounded up in unoccupied France and assigned to agricultural work.
While virtually barring Jews from commerce, employment and professions, the newly-proclaimed Vichy laws do not restrict them in manual and agricultural labor because of the shortage of laborers. Special regulations are expected to be published soon establishing how the anti-Jewish laws should be carried out in the French colonies.
Under the new regulations, a person will be considered a Jew if he has at least three Jewish grandparents or if he has two Jewish grandparents and professes the Jewish faith. “Our law confirms to laws adopted in other countries having a Jewish problem,” declared Xavier Vallut, Vichy’s Commissioner for Jewish Affairs, in announcing the legislation.
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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.
