The Armée Juive (Jewish Army), was a Zionist resistance movement in

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupied

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

which was created during January 1942 in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. It was established and led by Abraham Polonski and his wife Eugénie, the socialist Lucien Lublin, Russian poet David Knout, and his wife Ariadna Scriabina (daughter of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin). Armée Juive was originally called the Mouvement des Jeunesses Sionistes (M.J.S.). Its intention was to protect threatened Jews and take their fighting skills back to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

to help create a Jewish State there. At its height, it had over 2,000 members and was primarily concerned with helping Jews escape to Spain via the Pyrenees although it also conducted attacks and sabotage operations. The first members of the AJ were recruited from a

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

study group headed by Rabbi Paul Roitman (1920). They included Arnold Mandel, Elie Rothnemer, Claude Strauss (writer Claude Vigée) and Maurice Hausner. They received funds to finance their activities from Marc Jarblum, the socialist president of the refugee Zionist Organization of France which operated from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The Army became the Organisation Juive de Combat and was officially registered under the French Forces of the Interior (FFI).

''Placing my right hand on the blue and white flag'',
''I swear fidelity to the Jewish Army''
''And obedience to its leaders.''
''May my people live again,''
''May Eretz-Israel be reborn.''
''Liberty or death.'' - the oath of the Armée Juive.

Notable members

* Frida Wattenberg (1924–2020) * Jacques Lazarus * Maurice Loebenberg * Georges Loinger * * Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) * * Cécile Reims * Ernest Lambert (1897-1931)Juifs au combat de Jaque Lazarus

Notes

References

* ''Abraham Polonski and the Jewish resistance in France during the Second World War'' by Yehuda Ben-David, Yaʻel Zaidman, Miśrad ha-bitaḥon, 2002. * ''Sephardi Jews in occupied France: under the tyrant's heel, 1940-1944'' by Gitta Amipas-Silber, Rubin Mass, 1995. * ''L'armée juive clandestine en France: 1940-1945'' by Raphaël Delpard, Page après page, 2002. * ''Jews in France during World War II'' by Renée Poznanski and Nathan Bracher, Brandeis University Press, 2001. * ''Les Juifs dans la résistance et la libération: histoire, témoignages, débats'' by Yves-Claude Aouate and Anne Grynberg, 1985. * ''Blessed is the match: the story of Jewish resistance'' by Marie Syrkin, Jewish Pubn Society, 1976. * ''Contribution à l'histoire de la résistance juive en France, 1940-1944'' by David Knout, Editions du Centre, 1947. {{DEFAULTSORT:Armee Juive French Resistance networks and movements Zionist organizations Jewish resistance during the Holocaust Zionism in France Military organizations established in 1942 *