What happened to Jewish People living in France during WW2 Michael Dixon

France In 1940 the Germans invaded and occupied half of France and the part they did not own was called unoccupied France. The Germans lost their hold on France in 1944 and from then on the Germans went on to lose the war.

Jewish Discrimination In France the Jews were treated harshly by the Germans. A number of laws meant that the Jewish people had no freedom and were labelled with stars of David. Jews were bullied by the police force who would arrest them for doing nothing wrong.

Jewish Imprisonment When a Jew was arrested he would be taken to a massive village surrounded by armed guards were he could be kept until they moved him. These holding areas were called Ghettos. One of the largest was Drancy.

Drancy Drancy was a holding camp which then deported its captives to concentration camps to be murdered. 65,000 Jews were deported to Drancy – 63,000 of them were murdered – 6,000 of them were children – 2,000 of them survived Drancy when the Allies liberated it. 17 km

Drancy Memorial What the Drancy memorial symbolises: – 3 stone blocks make the hebrew letter SCHIN. – The two lateral blocks symbolize the Gate of Death. – The central block features 10 people - the required number for prayer. A man and a woman in the foreground stand for Suffering and Dignity Two overturned heads at the bottom symbolize death. – Two flights of 7 narrowing steps lead to the Gate of Death. They symbolize the ascent of the victims' souls.

Drancy Memorial