Belgian diamond dealers leaving France in the early days of June were refused permits by the French authorities to export their diamonds, according to one dealer who left Paris on June 7. The action affected from 300 to 400 important diamond dealers, most of whom are Jewish, this source said.
The action was apparently motivated, it was said, by the desire to establish a diamond center in southern France, in the belief that the larger part of France could hold out against Germany. It was feared that the large amount of diamonds thus held in France may have fallen into the Germans’ hands.
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.
