This course explores the specifics of the Holocaust in Western Europe with a particular focus on France.  The course examines the events of the Holocaust as they unfolded in France between 1940-1944, in course of World War II. The study of France will highlight the complex relationship between the German occupying forces and the French State, the complex attitude of the Vichy government towards the French Jewry, the relations between Jews of foreign nationality who had found refuge in France in the interwar period, and the long standing French Jewish communities. The specificities of the Holocaust in other Western countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy will serve us as a point of comparison, with a focus on the number of victims and rescue attempts, as well as mechanisms of persecution.

In addition to use of central studies written on different aspects of the Holocaust in Western Europe, in the course we will also rely widely and utilize relevant firsthand accounts and archival documentation, and we will engage with digital tools that connect with the course topics.

2024-2025 Course Syllabus