Provence 1940-1944
Published in February 2012 by Enigma Books: Hunting down the Jews - Vichy, the Nazis and Mafia Collaborators in Provence 1942-1944
Paru le 7 mai 2013 au Nouveau Monde : VICHY, LA PEGRE ET LES NAZIS - La traque des Juifs en Provence

Welcome to

Provence 1940-1944

Memories and documents

Click on “Older Site”, “Denouncing”, or “Not the Germans Alone”  to access the first part with carries my Holocaust child-survivor testimony. In 1992, long after the events, my childhood memories served as  a starting point for this testimony, but they did not provide its substance, and for a good reason. How could I indeed take seriously such incredible events anchored in a child’s remembrance? Many memories, few dates, no explanation, and particularly, a long postwar silence.

Archives, interviews, numerous witness accounts were necessary to research what had happened and to verify what I had retained. To my surprise, my memories, spotty like those of any child, fitted perfectly in the big picture, as do the first few pieces of a puzzle assembled here and there. Other discoveries completed what I had been missing. This is how my testimony unfolded, and if I provide it today, it is because the world badly needs it. True, Western Europe has somewhat become wiser, but only just. What about the rest of the planet?

A new plunge into the archives

This is what brought me to a new enterprise realized with Bernard Weisz and published in the US in February 2012 under the title Hunting down the Jews – Vichy, the Nazis and Mafia Collaborators 1942-1944 (Enigma Books) with preface of Serge Klarsfeld. The book has been published in French in May 2013 by Le Nouveau Monde under the title: Vichy, la Pègre et les Nazis - La traque des Juifs en Provence.

The mafia in Provence

As the title indicates, this is a research work about a less known aspect of the Holocaust in Vaucluse and Provence. It is a systematic study at the grass roots level of the Holocaust which will enable us to exhibit the partial loss of annihilation energy all along the chain of command connecting Berlin to Avignon and Vaucluse, through Paris and Marseille. However, this should not lead us to minimize the tragedy for the victims and their families. In addition, one can easily imagine what would have happened if the war had lasted longer.

To access this second work, use the “New Book” navigation button on the top left of this page.

Jewish children deported from Vaucluse

This section is still in French and can be accessed by clicking here until it is completely translated into English.

Here and there, across this site, you will find some personal thoughts.

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