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After Defacing, France Renews Pledge in Marking 1942 Atrocity
Newser • • world
Key Points:
- France commemorated the Vel d'Hiv roundup, a 1942 mass arrest of Jews by French police during WWII, recognizing it as one of the darkest acts of the Vichy government’s collaboration with Nazi Germany.
- The roundup involved over 4,500 police officers detaining more than 13,000 Jews, including children, who were confined at the Winter Velodrome before deportation to Nazi death camps.
- Amid rising antisemitism in France, especially following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, a plaque honoring rescuers recognized as Righteous Among the Nations was vandalized ahead of the ceremony.
- French officials condemned the vandalism, affirming the country's commitment to preserving the memory of Holocaust victims and resisting all forms of antisemitism.
- France officially acknowledged its state's role in the Holocaust only 50 years after WWII, with ongoing political debates about responsibility continuing into recent years.
