Digital Studies of The Holocaust
This collaborative research project aims to introduce the process of data analysis to Holocaust studies to create new ways of seeing and remembering the Holocaust.
Women of the Holocaust – France
Digital Studies of the Holocaust Workshop Spring 2022
After France quickly fell to the Nazis in 1940, they established a puppet government known as the Vichy in collaboration with the Germans to, among other things, aid in the execution of the Final Solution of the Jewish question. At the time of the French defeat, there were around 350,000 Jews living in France, many of whom had immigrated in the previous decade in an attempt to flee Nazi Germany and its expanding sphere of influence. Initially, the French, though cooperative, were not willing to surrender Jews who were French nationals to the Nazis. +Instead, they preferred to deport the many foreign Jews that were living in their country. The initial deportations in 1942 heavily targeted foreign Jews. Following this, attitudes changed toward Jews who held status as French nationals. Eventually, both French national and foreign Jews fell into the hands of the Nazis and were murdered.
This dashboard highlights deportations of French women categorized in two ways—by age and by national or residential status. Women who were born in France and resided there and women who were residents who had immigrated to France prior to 1940 had different experiences under the Vichy government. An examination of the data reveals some specific trends. In particular, the timing of the deportations in relation to the age of the women deported is of note. The data reveals that early on in the occupation, beginning in 1942, younger women were among the first to be deported, specifically those younger than 20. This was followed by women aged 20-40. The trend drops off significantly with older women. The Nazi targeting of younger women early on is consistent between both native French Jewish women and those who were identified as foreign. The data indicates that women of a younger age were deported with a higher consistency than older women. The key difference is that deportations among those who were residents of France but not born in the country were far greater than among those who were born citizens of France. This is consistent with what we know about Nazi policy in France during this time. That is, the French were more protective of their own citizens, instead deporting foreign Jews first in an attempt to protect their native Jewish population.
Following the armistice that began with the Nazi occupation of France in June 1940, the Nazis set up a collaborative government known as the Vichy regime. The French initially thought a collaborative government would provide more autonomy for the unoccupied regions of France and a way to shield French Jews from falling into Nazi hands. It failed, however, on both measures. The Nazis did not differentiate between those who were French nationals and those who were foreign Jews in their quest to rid Europe of its Jewish population. In time, all Jews within France, regardless of nationality, were targeted for deportation.
In an effort to escape the terrible fate that awaited them under Nazi occupation, many Jews attempted to flee the country. When these attempts were unsuccessful, many parents instead sent their children away. One such child, whose story this case study highlights, was Rachel Goldman. After the death of her father at the hands of the Nazis, her mother sought to protect her youngest daughter by sending her to a summer camp outside of Paris and instructing her to conceal her name and Jewish identity. Three days later, Rachel’s mother Chaja, her teenage sister Sabina, and two older brothers, Adolph and Henri were taken by the Nazis and never seen again.
By design, there is not much evidence left behind to tell the story of Rachel’s family members. Because Rachel survived, however, when she was finally allowed to return to her family’s apartment, she was able to retrieve some family photos—a luxury not afforded to many others in her place. Also, as a survivor, she is able to preserve the memory of her family through her testimony which can be found in the Shoah Foundation’s Survivor testimony archives. We find the names of her mother and sister among those listed in the data for deportation in 1942.
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