Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2008-0626-500, Frankreich, Paris, deutsche Besatzung

The Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs (french: Commissariat général aux questions juives; C.G.Q.J.) was a special administration established in March 1941 by the collaborationist

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 Theodor Denecke (also spelled 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 Denecke first served at the Reich Security M ...

, ''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 Xavier Vallat (December 23, 1891 – January 6, 1972), French politician and antisemite who was Commissioner-General for Jewish Questions in the wartime Vichy collaborationist government, and was sentenced after World War II to ten years in pr ...

as Commissioner-General, followed by

Louis Darquier de Pellepoix Louis Darquier (19 December 1897 – 29 August 1980), better known under his assumed name Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, was Commissioner-General for Jewish Affairs under the Vichy Régime. Biography A veteran of World War I, Darquier had been ac ...

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 The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

, likewise targets of Nazi racial policies. After Darquier de Pellepoix was expelled from office on 26 February 1944,

Charles du Paty de Clam Charles Mercier du Paty de Clam (16 February 1895 – 8 April 1948), was a French soldier and civil servant who served as Commissioner-General for Jewish Affairs under the Vichy government between March and May 1944. Biography Charles du Paty d ...

was appointed Commissioner-General on 1 March 1944, mainly because he was the son of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

' accuser,

Armand du Paty de Clam Charles Armand Auguste Ferdinand Mercier du Paty de Clam (21 February 1853 – 3 September 1916) was a French army officer, an amateur graphologist, and a key figure in the Dreyfus affair. Early life Armand du Paty de Clam's father and grandfat ...

. Accused of passivity and disinterest towards the aryanisation process, he was quickly replaced with

Joseph Antignac Joseph Antignac (29 July 1895 – 16 July 1976), was a French soldier and businessman who served as Commissioner-General for Jewish Affair under the Vichy government between May and August 1944. Biography Joseph Antignac was born on 29 July 189 ...

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 Holocaust in France was the persecution, deportation, and annihilation of Jews and Romani (people), Roma between 1940 and 1944 in German military administration in occupied France during World War II, occupied France, metropolitan Vichy Fra ...

: the paramilitary

Milice The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy regime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) t ...

. 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 The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...

two days later.

List of Commissioners-General

(29 March 1941 – 8 May 1942) *

(8 May 1942 – 26 February 1944) *

(1 March 1944 – 17 May 1944) *

(17 May 1944 – 17 August 1944), with the title "Secretary-General".

Bibliography

* *

References

{{Authority control Antisemitism in France The Holocaust in France Holocaust perpetrators in France French collaborators with Nazi Germany

History

List of Commissioners-General

Bibliography

See also

References