Vél d’Hiv—16-17 July 1942: The Roundup of French Jews

It always amazes me how easy it was for some Europeans to give up their Jewish neighbours. I know it is easy for me to say that in retrospect because I don’t know how I would have reacted if I was put in that situation. But I have a feeling I would have least spoken out about it.

In the Netherlands, 75% of all Dutch Jews and Jews residing in the Netherlands were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It wasn’t so much that all Dutch were complicit in this crime. One factor was the very efficient Dutch civil administration which enabled the occupiers to carry out their plans for the final solution. As I stated before, only relatively few Dutch were complicit, but many were complacent and hid the facts that were so plain to see.

In France, however, the French Vichy government were complicit. They were happy and eager to help the Nazi occupiers.

I remember a scene in the movie Mr Klein about a man profiting off the misfortune of French Jews during World War II. At one point in the film, the French police knocked at the door of the Jews—not the Gestapo. Although the film is fictional, it does give a good indication of the French attitude towards their Jewish neighbours. Mr Klein was released in 1976 and directed by Joseph Losey. Alain Delon plays the immoral art dealer, Robert Klein, who leads a life of luxury—until a copy of a Jewish newspaper brings him to the attention of the police, linking him with a mysterious doppelgänger.

On 16 July 1942, French police acting on orders of the Nazi occupiers began rounding up thousands of Jewish residents in Paris. The Jews were assembled and held at the city’s indoor Vélodrome d’Hiver, a cycling stadium in Paris’ 15th arrondissement. Many died at the velodrome, left in searing heat with almost no food, water or sanitation. The remaining Jews found themselves deported to Auschwitz. This shameful chapter in the history of France is known as la rafle du Vel d’Hiv. The French police gave the roundup the code-name Opération Vent printanier (Operation Spring Breeze).

The roundup was one of several aimed at eradicating the Jewish population in France, both in the occupied and the free zone. According to records of the Préfecture de Police, eventually, 13,152 Jews were arrested, including more than 4,000 children. They were all to be put in rail cattle cars and deported to Auschwitz for their mass murder.

More than 3,000 children remained interned and orphaned until their deportation to Auschwitz.

Many wartime French authorities and police played an active role in the deportations, but one Paris policeman, Théophile Larue, took a stand. He warned his Jewish neighbours, the Lictensztajns, of the upcoming Vél d’Hiv roundup. He arranged for the family to escape to southern France and obtain false papers. One man saved the Lictensztajns, who made a choice to uphold his position to protect all citizens, but unfortunately, not all French Policemen took that position.

Théophile Larue—saved the Lictensztajns and others

In March 1941, the Larue and his wife Madeleine offered their hospitality to Léon Osman, who thus managed to avoid being sent to the Pithiviers camp. He remained under their care until July 1942, when he escaped to the South of France. Osman was on the Gestapo list of wanted people; giving shelter to such a person was a grave offence and carried a heavy punishment.

Larue gave advanced warning on 15 July 1942, of the plans for the large-scale roundup of Jews. It was to start the next day with eight Jewish families who lived in his building, thus allowing them a chance to flee and find refuge. The Larue couple sheltered Chuma Brand and her daughter Fanny, in their apartment for a week in July 1942. Then Théophile accompanied them to the train station in his uniform so as to facilitate their flight to the unoccupied zone. In November 1942, Simon Glicensztajn, also on the Gestapo list, found refuge in the Larues’ home for a few days. Moreover, one night, Larue broke into the police-sealed apartment of Glicensztajn’s sister, Laja Tobjasz, to help remove a stock of merchandise that would provide the family with a livelihood.

Once, when Mrs Tobjasz returned to Paris from Southern France, she was arrested and taken to the prefecture. When Larue heard this, he donned his uniform, went to the prefecture and asked to speak to the prefect.

He said that Mrs Tobjasz was Catholic and the godmother of his daughter. Although sceptical, the prefect must have had a change of heart because he released her into the custody of Larue. Théophile Larue believed that it was his duty as a man of honour with respect for human values to help people in need, even at the risk of putting his family in harm’s way. As a member of the French Resistance, Officer Larue took part in the battle for the liberation of Paris. After the liberation, the Larues continued to be in touch with the families of those they rescued. On 23 September 2007, Yad Vashem recognized Théophile and Madeleine Larue as Righteous Among the Nations.

German authorities continued the deportations of Jews from French soil until August 1944. In all, some 77,000 Jews living on French territory faced deportation to concentration camps and killing centres—the overwhelming majority went to Auschwitz.

For his pivotal part in the deportation of Jews from France, Pierre Laval, formerly the French Prime Minister, was arrested and tried after the liberation of France. He was shot by firing squad on 15 October 1945.

The fate of two German officials, most involved in the Vél d’Hiv, mirrored the common fates of high-ranking SS administrators. Theodor Dannecker was arrested by American officials in Bad Tölz, Bavaria, in December 1945 and committed suicide while in custody. Helmut Knochen, sentenced by a British court to 21 years in prison for a separate offence, was sentenced to death by a French court in 1954. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. President Charles de Gaulle (France) ordered the release of Knochen in November 1962.

sources

https://www.france24.com/en/focus/20140716-france-vel-hiv-roundup-jews-nazi-death-camps-deportation-survivor

https://apnews.com/article/9603cd8d7461de30c1fe5c192b14c98c

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-velodrome-dhiver-vel-dhiv-roundup

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/theophile-larue?parent=en%2F11768

https://righteous.yadvashem.org/?search=Th%C3%A9ophile%20LARUE&searchType=righteous_only&language=en&itemId=5770271&ind=0