''Le Juif et la France'' (; Jews and France) was an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

propaganda exhibition that took place in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 5 September 1941 to 15 January 1942 during the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

in the

Second World War 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 ...

. A film version of the exhibition came out in French cinemas in October 1941. It was organized and financed by the propaganda arm of the German military administration in France via the ''

Institut d'étude des questions juives The ''Institut d'étude des questions juives'' (IEQJ) (Institute for the Study of Jewish Questions) was an anti-Semitic propaganda organization created in France under the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Ge ...

'' (IEQJ) (Institute for the Study of Jewish Questions) under regulation by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and attracted around half a million visitors. This exhibition was based on the work of Professor

George Montandon George-Alexis Montandon (; 19 April 1879 – 30 August 1944) was a Swiss French anthropologist. He was a proponent of scientific racism prior to World War II. During the German occupation of France, he was responsible for the anti-Semitic exhib ...

at the School of Anthropology in Paris, author of the book ''Comment reconnaître le Juif?'' (How to recognize a Jew?) published in November 1940. It had pretensions of being "scientific". It was opened by

Carltheo Zeitschel Carltheo Zeitschel also Carl Theo, (13 March 1893 – 21 April 1945), was a German physician, diplomat, Nazi functionary and SS-'' Sturmbannfuhrer'' (major). Instrumental in the Holocaust in France, Zeitschel served as adviser on Jewish affai ...

and

Theodor Dannecker Theodor Dannecker (27 March 1913 – 10 December 1945) was a German SS-captain (), a key aide to Adolf Eichmann in the deportation of Jews during World War II. A trained lawyer, Dannecker first served at the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin ...

on 5 September 1941 at the Palais Berlitz. ''Le Juif et la France'' was a multi-media exhibition with large panels, photographs, texts, and sculptures. As its focal point, it included a huge sculpture of an old, bearded Jew with exaggerated features, clutching a globe as if intent on world domination. The intent was to portray Jews as a polluting element on French society, intent on financial and political control of France and the world, in control of the media, and responsible for Marxism, Communism, and most of the ills of society. A large sculpture of a female athlete symbolizing France shown defeating two repulsive, old stereotypically Jewish figures dominated the hall; it was named "France Liberating Itself from the Jews." The exhibition opened two weeks after the second large Paris roundup of Jews The antisemitic propagandist Paul Sézille, general secretary of the IEQJ, wrote the introduction to the catalog: as quoted in The general theme is the supposed corrupt influence of the Jews on French institutions and business activity: the army, the cinema, the economy and literature: " sexual inversion, destruction of our traditions are the favourite themes of Jewish writers". To help visitors get an accurate and concrete idea of "the enemy," photographs and models showed faces that corresponded to

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

stereotypes such as hooked noses or dirty hair. Presented as public service announcements, to "help" the "French to recognize Jews by their physical characteristics",L'exposition « Le Juif et la France
Akadem, Fonds social juif unifié. the propaganda initiative took advantage of this exhibition to try and justify various discriminatory measures against

French Jews The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but Persecution of Jews, persecution increased over time, includ ...

by the

Vichy regime 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 ...

. In reality the financial supporters of the exhibition were the Paris office of the German Security Service ''(

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

)'' and the information section of the German Embassy. Among other things, a spider symbolized "Jewry feasting on the blood of Our France", and as mentioned, a sculpture of a hideous

wandering Jew The Wandering Jew (occasionally referred to as the Eternal Jew, a calque from German ) is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Cruc ...

seizing the world in his talons at the feet of "New France" ... Besides that, the exhibition also stigmatized a number of personalities from various professions, and in particular the then-famous furniture merchant Wolff Levitan, radio journalist Jean-Michel Grunebaum, journalist

Pierre Lazareff Pierre Lazareff (1907–1972) was a French newspaper editor and publisher. He was the son of a Russian Jewish emigrant, David Lazareff, and an Alsatian Jew, Marthe Helft. He was passionate about newspapers from his childhood, even running a fam ...

, playwright

Henri Bernstein Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre. Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907) ...

, producer

Bernard Natan Bernard Natan (born Natan Tannenzaft; 14 July 1886 – 1942 or 1943) was a French-Romanian film entrepreneur, director and actor of the 1920s and 1930s. Natan worked in cinema from a young age, working his way up from projectionist and chemist ...

and politician

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

. Attendance figures differ according to the source consulted. Some spoke of 155,000 visitors, others claimed 500,000 paid entrants, with as many free and half-off tickets, as claimed by the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

authorities for the Paris region.Philippe Bourdrel, ''Histoire des juifs de France'' istory of the Jews of France volume II, ed. It seems however, that after some initial success in the first few days based on novelty, interest waned with the suspicion among the French populace of what the occupying force was trying to convey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juif et la France, Le 1941 in France 1942 in France Antisemitism in France France in World War II Propaganda in France Nazi propaganda Race-related controversies in art

See also

References