The Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs (; C.G.Q.J.) was a special administration established in March 1941 by the
collaborationist Vichy government
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 defeat against ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in order to introduce
anti-Jewish legislation.
History
While anti-Jewish legislation had already been introduced by the Vichy regime by October 1940, the creation of the C.G.Q.J. was initiated by the German occupiers.
Theodor Dannecker,
''Judenreferent'' in France, called in his memoir for the establishment of a "Jewish central office" on 21 January 1941.
The C.G.Q.J. was founded by the law of 29 March 1941, with
Xavier Vallat as Commissioner-General, followed by
Louis Darquier de Pellepoix in May 1942.
The organization was responsible for proposing all legislative measures concerning Jews to the Vichy government, such as the confiscation of Jewish property in France.
[Joly, Laurent. �]
Postuler un emploi auprès du commissariat général aux Questions juives (1941-1944). Antisémitisme d’État et crise de recrutement dans la fonction publique des années noires
», ''Revue d’histoire moderne et contemporaine'', 2016/3 (No 63-3), p. 163-185. The Commissariat also introduced discriminatory measures against
Romani people
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Romani people
, image =
, image_caption =
, flag = Roma flag.svg
, flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
, po ...
, likewise targets of
Nazi racial policies.
After Darquier de Pellepoix was expelled from office on 26 February 1944,
Charles du Paty de Clam was appointed Commissioner-General on 1 March 1944, mainly because he was the son of
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
' accuser,
Armand du Paty de Clam. Accused of passivity and disinterest towards the
aryanisation process, he was quickly replaced with
Joseph Antignac on 17 May 1944.
By spring 1944, the Commissariat was dismissed as ineffective by French antisemitic newspapers: the
SS had to conduct deportations practically on their own during this period and communications between the ''Judenreferat'' and Vichy virtually ceased. Germans had therefore to rely on one source of collaboration to carry on the
Holocaust in France: the paramilitary
Milice
The (French Militia), generally called (; ), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy régime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War ...
.
Approximately 2,500 people were employed by the Commissariat-General between 1941 and 1944.
The organization was eventually disbanded on 17 August 1944, followed by the
Liberation of Paris two days later.
List of Commissioners-General
*
Xavier Vallat (29 March 1941 – 8 May 1942)
*
Louis Darquier de Pellepoix (8 May 1942 – 26 February 1944)
*
Charles du Paty de Clam (1 March 1944 – 17 May 1944)
*
Joseph Antignac (17 May 1944 – 17 August 1944), with the title "Secretary-General".
Bibliography
*
*
See also
*
Union générale des israélites de France
References
{{Authority control
Antisemitism in France
The Holocaust in France
French collaboration during World War II