HMMSA Special Exhibit - Times of Betrayal and Defiance: The Occupation of France

TELEGRAM (ABOVE)

This telegram is from the Jewish business owners Lucien worked for.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum is proud to host a special exhibit featuring the occupation of France during the Second World War. Following Nazi occupation the Jewish population in France lost their homes, businesses and freedom. This exhibit follows the story of one man who risked his life to help his Jewish employers, and how he was betrayed by those closest to him. This exhibit covers the invasion of France in July of 1940 and its impact of the Jewish community throughout France. Prime Minister Henri Petain arranged an armistice with the Nazi government on June 22 that divided the nation in half and led to the creation of the Vichy government under Petain.[1] The German occupation of France led to the forced closure of Jewish-owned businesses and confiscation of raw materials for use by the Nazi military. [2] The exhibit features telegrams and other artifacts from the period immediately following the Nazi occupation to the Allied liberation in 1944. We encourage visitors to take a moment to view this informative exhibit on their next tour of the museum. To schedule your visit to the museum, contact bookings@hmmsa.org.

[1] History.org

[2] HMMSA.org