__NOTOC__
The Law of 3 October 1940 on the status of Jews was a law enacted by
Vichy France
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 ter ...
. It provided a legal definition of the expression ''Jewish race'', which was used during the Nazi occupation for the implementation of Vichy's ideological policy of "
National Revolution" comprising
corporatist
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
and
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
racial policies. It also listed the occupations forbidden to Jews meeting the definition. The law was signed by Marshall
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
and the
main members of his government.
The Vichy regime was nominally independent, unlike the northern,
Occupied zone
Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...
, which was under direct
occupation by Nazi Germany; but the Pétain regime didn't wait to be ordered to draw up antisemitic measures by the Nazis, but took them on their own initiative. Antisemitic measures began to be drawn up almost immediately after Pétain signed the
Armistice of 22 June 1940
The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June.
Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel ...
, ending hostilities and establishing the terms of France's surrender to the Germans, including the division of France into the occupied and free zones.
The law was signed one day before the
Law regarding foreign nationals of the Jewish race
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The Law of 4 October 1940 regarding foreign nationals of the Jewish race was a law enacted by the Vichy regime, which authorized and organized the internment of foreign Jews and marked the beginning of the policy of collaboration of t ...
which authorized and organized the internment of foreign Jews and marked the beginning of the
policy of collaboration of the
Vichy regime
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 ...
with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's plans for the
extermination of the Jews of Europe. These two laws were published simultaneously in the
Journal officiel de la République française
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
on 18 October 1940.
This was enacted in defiance of the positions of the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
. The Council of State was still in place since the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
was no longer in power after 11 July 1940 when it
granted full powers to Philippe Pétain.
The law was replaced on 14 June 1941 by the
Second law on the status of Jews
Second French Jewish Statute, Act of 2 June 1941 (La Loi du 2 juin 1941, Statut des Juifs), was an anti-semitic Act that was created by Vichy France and signed into law by Marshall Philippe Pétain, Pétain, that replaced the Law on the status of ...
.
See also
*
Collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II
*
French Fourth Republic
The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the Republicanism, republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of ...
*
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...
*
German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
*
History of the Jews in France
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 increased over time, including multiple expulsio ...
*
Vichy anti-Jewish legislation
Anti-Jewish laws were enacted by the Vichy France government in 1940 and 1941 affecting metropolitan France and its overseas territories during World War II. These laws were, in fact, decrees of head of state Marshal Philippe Pétain, since Parli ...
*
Vichy France
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 ter ...
*
Vichy Holocaust collaboration timeline
Led first by Philippe Pétain, the Vichy regime that replaced the French Third Republic in 1940 chose the path of collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. This policy included the Bousquet- Oberg accords of July 1942 that formalized the collaborati ...
*
Zone libre
The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered by ...
References
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;Footnotes
Works cited
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Further reading
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External links
1940 in France
Antisemitism in France
France in World War II
Jewish French history
Judaism in France
Legal history of France
Modern history of France
October 1940 events
Politics of World War II
Vichy France
Philippe Pétain
{{France-law-stub