The Grey Book Part 19

[329]

b. Ma.s.s Deportations

On July 16, 1942, ma.s.s raids struck the stateless Jews living in Paris.

In two days 12,884 of them, including 4,051 children, were rounded up by the French police. [330]

Thereupon, the President of the Protestant Federation in the occupied zone, Rev. Bertrand, sent the following letter to Mr. de Brinon, General delegate of the French Government to the Occupation authorities:

"When the German authorities made it inc.u.mbent upon the Jews living in the occupied zone to wear a distinctive badge, the Council of the Protestant Federation of France submitted a letter to the French Chief of State which was well received by him and of which I enclose a copy.

One would have thought that now the anti-Jewish laws have reached their climax with this humiliating measure designed to place the Jews apart from the rest of the nation and to single them out for the kind of malevolence, systematically meted out to them since the beginning of the occupation.

However, the month of July has seen an increase of personal violence on a scale never before attained; and we have noted among the general population of Paris a feeling of distress and disapproval which the present generation undoubtedly will never forget.

The Churches of Jesus Christ to whom G.o.d has entrusted the message of peace, love, and mutual respect among men, cannot keep silent in view of events which for many years have threatened any possibility of a normal relationship between two great nations. Because Frenchmen at present have no means of making their opinions and feelings known, it should not be inferred that they are indifferent onlookers at the extermination of a whole race, and at the undeserved martyrdom of its women and children.

The men who profess to be working towards closer relations between the conqueror and the nations over which he exercises his authority, surely should be able to make the occupying forces understand that declarations of good will during these years cannot efface the effect of the cruelties we have witnessed. <143> A Christian Church would be failing in its vocation were it to let the seeds of hatred be sown in this fashion without raising its voice in the name of Him who gave His life to shatter all barriers between men.

I leave it to Your Excellency to judge whether the appeal I have made to you to-day should be brought to the notice of the occupying authorities, and whether the voices of Christians, who are solely concerned with seeking to alleviate suffering and hatred, ought to be ignored, rather than those of men who know no other response to violence than that of hatred.

Before concluding this letter I wish expressly to state that the message to Marshal Petain was the only subject of the deliberations of the Council of the Protestant Federation, which has just ended its sessions and it is collectively responsible for it. With regard to the present letter, I take upon myself full responsibility for it, not only before the Church and the French nation but also - eventually - before the German authorities." [331]

Rev. Boegner relates: "Events succeeded one another precipitately. After the occupied zone came the turn of the so-called 'free zone'. We saw a new wave of horror unleashed in camp, town and village. Our chaplains, together with the 'Cimade' [332] and the parish pastors, in the face of tremendous suffering, accomplished a task of Christian love which was a powerful testimony to Jesus Christ. I supported their efforts to the best of my ability. But renewed appeals became necessary.

I thought that at this tragic juncture the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches should at least unite in making their appeals.

I spoke of this to Cardinal Gerlier on August 13th. It was agreed that each of us should write an urgent letter to Marshal Petain. Mine was sent on August 20th." [333]

The letter read as follows:

"When you did me the honour of receiving me on June 27th, I placed in your hands a letter whereby the Council of the Protestant Federation of France entrusted to your soldier's heart the pain and agitation caused in the Protestant Churches by measures taken in the occupied zone against the Jews, and those Christians whom the law has marked as Jews. <144> To-day it is my regrettable duty to write to you in the name of the same Council in order to express the unspeakable sorrow felt in our Church, in face of new measures ordered by the French Government and directed against the foreign Jews (baptised and unbaptised), and the ways and means of their execution. No Frenchman can remain unmoved in view of the events occurring since August 2nd, in concentration and internment camps.

As is known, the reply is that France is only returning to Germany those Jews whom the latter had sent in autumn 1940. In truth, however, man and women who for political and religious reasons fled to France, and who know the terrible fate awaiting them, are now being deported or facing immediate deportation to Germany.

Christianity has. .h.i.therto inspired nations, and especially France, with respect for the hallowed right of sanctuary. The Christian Churches, irrespective of their different confessions, would be disloyal to their original calling if they did not raise a protest against the abandonment of this principle.

I am forced to add that in several places these 'deliveries' have occurred under such inhuman conditions that they shock the most hardened consciences, and brought tears to the eyes of witnesses: herded together in goods trucks, without the slightest hygienic precautions, foreigners intended for deportation were treated like cattle.

The Quakers, who were doing the utmost possible for those who suffer in our country, were refused permission to feed the deportees at Lyons.

The Israelite Consistorium was not allowed to give them foodstuffs.

Respect for the human personality which you intend to maintain in the Const.i.tution and which you want to grant to France has often been trodden underfoot. Here, also, the Churches see themselves obliged to protest against such a grave misunderstanding of undeniable duties.

The Council of the Protestant Federation appeals to your high authority to order the introduction of absolutely different methods in the treatment of foreigners of the Jewish race, whether baptized or not, whose deportation has been admitted. The tenacious fidelity of France, especially during the tragic days which it has lived through in the past two years, towards its traditions of human generosity and n.o.ble-mindedness, remains one of the main grounds of respect which certain nations still have for us.

As Vice President of the World Council of Churches which includes all great Christian Churches, with the exception of the Roman Catholic Church, I am compelled to inform you of the deep emotion felt in Swiss, Swedish, and American Churches, in face of the events now occurring in France, and with which the entire world is acquainted.

I beg you to dictate the indispensable measures in order that France may not inflict upon herself a moral defeat of unfathomable weight." [334]

Some days later, the letter was broadcast over the American and British radio, and subsequently reproduced in the foreign press. <145> The deportations continued. By September 1, 1942, the Vichy authorities had handed over 5,000 Jews to the Germans and another 7,100 had been arrested. [335]

On August 27, 1942, Rev. Boegner sent the following letter to the Chief of the Government, Laval:

"Authorized to speak on behalf of the Protestant Churches of the entire world, many of which have already asked for my intervention, and aware of the events of the past few days, I beg to urge you to give me your a.s.surance that in no event shall foreigners be convicted in their own countries for political reasons, and those who have sought refuge in France, for similar reasons, be expelled to the occupied zone." [336]

He then had an interview with Laval, who said that foreign Jews must be handed over to the Germans in order to save the French Jews.

"Would you agree that we save their children?", asked Rev. Boegner "The children must remain with their parents", was the reply. Laval then asked: "What would you do with the children?" Rev. Boegner. answered: "French families will adopt them". Laval retorted: "NO, not one must remain in France".

Rev. Boegner than had an interview with the Charge d'Affaires of the United States, who promised him to cable to Washington, to be authorized to tell Laval that the United States would accept the children of deported parents. [337]

As the Council of the Federation of Protestant Churches in France could not be convened, Rev. Boegner then urgently called a gathering of the National Council of the Reformed Church. It addressed to the faithful the following Message, dated September 22, 1942, which was read from nearly all the pulpits: <146>

"The National Council of the Reformed Church of France, being convened for the first time since the application of measures against the Jews, among whom are many Christians, was informed of the demarches which its President had made, in writing and verbally, to the highest State authorities in the name of the Federation of French Protestants. The Council a.s.sociated itself fully with the President.

Without ignoring or belittling the extreme complexity of the situation with which the authorities of our country are faced and more than ever determined to exercise loyally - among the people - the spiritual vocation to which G.o.d has called her; although composed of people faithful to the old principle of abstaining from any intrusion into the sphere of politics, the Reformed Church of France cannot keep silent in face of the suffering of thousands of human beings who have received asylum on our soil.

A Christian Church would lose its soul and the very reason for its existence, were it not to maintain - for the safeguard of the whole nation in the midst of which G.o.d has placed it - the Divine law above human contingencies.

That Divine law does not permit families created by G.o.d to be broken up, children to be separated from their mothers, the right of human beings to asylum and pity to be disregarded; nor respect for human rights to be trodden upon, nor defenceless beings to be delivered to a tragic fate.

Whatever the problems may be which are beyond the scope of the Church and which the Church is not called upon to resolve, it is its duty to a.s.sert that they shall not be resolved by means which contravene the law of G.o.d.

The Gospel commands us to consider all men, without exception, as our brothers, for whom our Saviour has died on the cross...

How can the Church ever forget that it was among the people from whom the Jews are physically descended, that the Saviour of the world was born? And how can it be anything but profoundly grieved - as a Church which must affirm the unity of the body of Christ - by measures which also effect non-Aryan Christians, who are members of our Protestant parishes?

In the face of these painful facts the Church feels compelled to make heard the cry of its Christian conscience, and to implore, in the name of G.o.d, those who exercise authority in the world, not to aid to the natural horrors of war - in itself a violation of Christ's commandments - still worse violations which will in the most fearful manner hinder reconciliation between the nations, in a repentant and peaceful world, submissive to G.o.d.

It calls upon the faithful to incline toward the distressed and the suffering with the compa.s.sion of the good Samaritan, and to intercede ceaselessly with G.o.d on their behalf, for He alone can deliver us from evil by the grace He has revealed in Jesus Christ." [338] <147>

Everybody knowing the parable of the Good Samaritan [339] must have fully understood that the last sentence of this message was a call to practical and effective acts of rescue, on behalf of those who had fallen "among thieves" and murderers.

No public protests were issued by the French Protestant Churches after that of September 22, 1942. On November 11, 1942, the Germans seized unoccupied France. The demarcation line had disappeared. The deportations continued.

c. Practical Help

It is difficult to a.s.sess the practical results of public messages such as the one mentioned above. They certainly made more impact than protests sent by Churches to the authorities. S. Lattes is of the following opinion:

"Also, as might have been expected, when the first anti-Semitic measures were taken by the Germans and the Vichy government, many authoritative voices, Catholic and Protestant, were raised in demonstration of their sympathy towards the Jews...

These written manifestos had hardly any practical effect, but they were a display of true courage and by their distribution exercised a deep influence on the conscience of the French. They also afforded moral encouragement to the Jewish victims." [340]

L. Poliakov gives the following account of the results of the public appeal, made by Rev. Boegner in the name of his Church, and he also gives an interesting a.n.a.lysis of what moved the ordinary Protestant to help the Jews:

"A picturesque little town of 2,000, Chambon-sur-Lignon lies at the foot of Mont-Lisieux, in the centre of a little plateau almost exclusively inhabited by Huguenots.

The word Huguenot immediately calls to mind the thousands of victims of persecution who, escaping from France in the 17th century, settled in Prussia, the Netherlands and the United States. One section, however, instead of leaving their country, fled to the savage region of Velay.

Protected by practically impa.s.sable ravines, they hid in the woods, and remained faithful to their religion. Only in the 19th century were they able to resume their religious worship openly. This period of persecution has made them deeply pious, melancholic and austere; they are suspicious of any authority but unquestioningly follow their pastors. It is here that they have preserved almost intact the customs and virtues of the past centuries. <148> immediately after the terrible raids of July 1942, Pastor Boegner, President of the Federation of Protestant Churches of France, issued an appeal to all this followers, asking them to do everything in their power to help the Jews. The appeal was heeded.

Nearly every Sunday the pastors of Chambon, Mazet and Fay-Le-Froid, exhorted their congregations to renewed efforts.

The country-people never tried to evade their responsibility. The persecutions which their own grand-parents had suffered were still alive in their memory. They provided food and lodging for the persecuted; in certain small hamlets in the area there was not a single farm which did not give shelter to a Jewish family...

On the evening, at the hotel May, I witnessed a spectacle typical of the whole region of Chambon: a social worker arrived with several children whose parents had either been deported or were in hiding in Ma.r.s.eille.

They huddled together in fear, in a corner of the room.

A couple of country people first came in. 'We should like a little girl of eight or ten,' explained the woman. Little Miriam is called.

'Would you like to go with this uncle and auntie?' Intimidated, the little girl does not answer, but she was m.u.f.fled up in blankets and carried into the sledge; and so she left for a home where, until the end of the war, she would live a simple, healthy life with temporary foster parents.

And as if by sleight of hand, all the other children were taken care of in the same way." [341]

Perhaps France was the only occupied country where an official Protestant organization rendered direct and practical help to the persecuted Jews.

The Cimade [342] was a Protestant Youth organization which sent teams of young Protestants into the camps, in order to render relief to the internees.

Miss Madeleine Barot, general secretary of the Cimade, states: "All racialism is inadmissable from the Christian point of view. It was necessary to give tangible signs of this conviction, to alert public opinion, to protest to the responsible authorities, to mobilize the forces of <149> Protestantism, and, above all things, to help those who suffered most." [343]

The first relief team was installed in the camp of Curs. It was partly justified to the police by the presence of a number of baptized internees, who were registered as Protestants. "Our work was labelled as 'Protestant a.s.sistance', which was of a great help, though we ourselves did not even consider for one moment restricting our help to the Protestants." [344]

Thanks to the financial support of the Ec.u.menical Committee for Aid to Refugees, Geneva, the number of rations to be distributed in Gurs could be increased. [345] In 1941, teams were also placed in the caps at Rivesaltes, Brens, le Recebedou, and Nexon.

In the spring of 1942, the Cimade opened four houses (at Chambon-sur-Lignon, Tarascon, le Tarn and Ma.r.s.eilles) for the accommodation of old or sick people and women with little children, who were permitted to leave the concentration camp if an authorized organization took charge of them. The Swedish Church and the World Council of Churches rendered financial aid. [346]

The leaders of the Cimade permanently kept in touch with the Rev. Marc Boegner so that he, when he intervened with the Vichy Government, could make proposals which corresponded with the actual situation in the camps.

[347]

After ma.s.s deportations had begun, the members of the Cimade became more and more involved in "illegal" activities. The Secretariat of the Cimade at Nimes provided false ident.i.ty cards. "We set up a record by once producing fifty ident.i.ty cards in one night." [348] Several members of the Cimade were active as guides, bringing refugees through the mountains to safety in Switzerland. "According to my estimations, we helped to evacuate about four hundred persons, from August, 1942, until December, 1943." [349]

After the Swiss Government had ordered that refugees who had illegally entered into Switzerland be returned to France [350] the Rev. M. Boegner obtained in Berne the agreement that non-Aryans coming from France for whom he had given personal guarantee, would be admitted. [351] <150>

24 YUGOSLAVIA

On April 5, 1941, Yugoslavia concluded a treaty of friendship with Moscow, and within hours Belgrade was bombed by the German air force. Yugoslavia was dismembered by the n.a.z.is.

The north-eastern part, the Backa basin, with 20,000 Jews, came under Hungarian annexation. Old Serbia, where 12,000 Jews lived, came under German occupation. In Croatia, with 21,000 Jews, a puppet regime was established. The Bulgarian-annexed territory of Yugoslavia (Serbian Macedonia) contained between 7,000 to 8,000 Jews. Before the war, Yugoslavia harboured some 70,000 Jews. Fifty-five thousand of them were murdered. [352]

The greatest non-Roman Catholic Church in Yugoslavia is the Serbian Orthodox Church. Much smaller Churches are: the Reformed Christian Church of Yugoslavia and the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Yugoslavia. None of these Churches replied to my circular letter.

The persecution of Orthodox Serbs matched the persecution of Jews, both in cruelty and fanaticism. [353]

I hardly found any material about the att.i.tude of the Churches in Yugoslavia; only the following quotations can be mentioned: