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France remembers Vel d’Hiv roundup, a dark chapter in history
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- France commemorated the Vel d’Hiv roundup, a 1942 mass arrest of Jews by French police that led to thousands being sent to Nazi death camps, highlighting one of the country’s darkest wartime actions.
- The roundup involved over 4,500 police officers detaining more than 13,000 Jews, including many children, who were held at the Winter Velodrome before deportation.
- Amid rising antisemitism in France following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, a plaque honoring rescuers during the roundup was vandalized, prompting condemnation from officials.
- France officially acknowledged its role in the Holocaust 50 years after WWII, with President Jacques Chirac apologizing for the state’s complicity in the Vel d’Hiv raids.
- French authorities reaffirmed their commitment to combating antisemitism and preserving the memory of Holocaust victims despite recent incidents of hate and vandalism.
