The Pletzl (פלעצל, "little place" in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

) is the Jewish quarter in the 4th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. The

Place Saint-Paul Officially, there is no such place as the Place Saint-Paul in Paris. Nonetheless, to the citizens of this 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th-arrondissement neighborhood, the Place Saint-Paul is a real place near the Saint-Paul (Paris Métro), Sain ...

and the surrounding area were unofficially named the Pletzl when the neighborhood became predominantly Jewish after an influx of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The area hosts a diverse Jewish community, assembling traditional Jewish families as well as many more who arrived through immigration from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

through the past centuries. The area is now characterised by its

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

butchers A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

delicatessens Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

, and

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...

vendors, which provide a social and cultural fabric for its inhabitants. The darkest days for the Pletzl came during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when

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 ...

's collaboration with the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

resulted in raids that saw many residents abducted and sent off to

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. Today, the community is a religious

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

one, and most citizens belong to one of the three local synagogues: one located at 17

Rue des Rosiers The Rue des Rosiers, which means "street of the rosebushes," is a street in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It begins at Rue Malher and proceeds northwest across Rue Pavée, Rue Ferdinand Duval, Rue des Écouffes, and Rue des Hospita ...

, another at 25 Rue des Rosiers, and the last one at 10 Rue Pavée; the latter is an ''

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

'' temple designed by

Hector Guimard Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building ...

, famous for his work on the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...

Name

At an unknown date,

installed a plaque at the corner of the

and the Rue Ferdinand Duval that explains why the Jewish quarter is known as the "Pletzl". Translated, it reads:

Metro station

The Pletzl is:

The streets of the Pletzl

* Rue Pavée *

* Rue Ferdinand Duval * Rue des Écouffes * Rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais * Rue Vieille du Temple

Notable attractions

L'As du Fallafel L'As du Fallafel (English: ''The Ace of Falafel'') is a kosher Middle Eastern restaurant located at 34, Rue des Rosiers in the "Pletzl" Jewish quarter of the Le Marais neighborhood in Paris, France. The restaurant is acclaimed for its falafel san ...

- a popular

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...

restaurant located on rue de Rosiers known for its acclaimed

sandwich. * Synagogue at 17 rue de Rosiers, fondly known as "Zibetzin" (lit. 17) which was frequented by many of the

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

rebbes during their time in Paris.

Bibliography

*Etude remarquable de Nancy Green : ''The Pletzl of Paris : Jewish immigrant workers in the Belle époque'', New York ; London : Holmes and Meier, 1986, IX-270 p. ; éd. fr., ''Les Travailleurs immigrés juifs à la Belle époque : le " Pletzl " de Paris'', Paris, Fayard, 1985, 360 p.

References

External links

* *{{Commons category-inline, Pletzl 4th arrondissement of Paris Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Paris Jewish communities Jews and Judaism in Paris Yiddish culture in France