5. L’Aumônerie générale des israélites de France, la préservation des rites funéraires et l’entretien des cimetières des Juifs morts dans les camps d’internement français, 1940-1944

Abstract

The Law of October 4, 1940 regarding “foreign nationals of the Jewish race” authorized the imminent internment of foreign Jews in France. The internment camps were quickly filled up. In February 1941, 40,000 Jews were confined to the internment camps in the Free Zone. Jewish chaplains, who had just been demobilized from the French military, were the first people authorized to enter the camps to assist the prisoners. The first chaplains joined in June 1940, even before the official establishment of the Aumônerie générale des israélites de France (Jewish Chaplaincy). Throughout the war, chaplains assumed numerous and varied roles covering spiritual aid, material assistance, rescue, and resistance. However, the Vichy government only authorized them to act in a religious capacity. The official responsibilities of the Jewish Chaplaincy consisted of providing spiritual support to the prisoners, organizing religious services, and overseeing religious rites within the camps. The difficult sanitary conditions, overcrowded barracks, and spread of disease led to the deaths of 3,000 Jews in the internment camps in France. The elderly population, especially in the Gurs camp, was particularly vulnerable. In this camp alone, 1,000 deaths were recorded. Respect for funeral rites became a concern for the Jewish Chaplaincy throughout the war. Chaplains worked hard to protect this basic right despite the many obstacles standing in their way.As part of a larger study of the efforts of the Jewish Chaplaincy in southern France during World War II, this article focuses specifically on the role of chaplains with respect to the burial rites of Jews who died in French internment camps between 1940-1944. Their efforts went beyond performing funeral rites, as they also worked to establish cemeteries and provide grave markers in accordance with Judaism. Moreover, when the camps closed, the chaplains became concerned about the fate of the abandoned cemeteries and helped maintain these burial sites.By relying on archival documents, especially the abundant correspondence of the chaplains (with each other, with Catholic and Protestant religious leaders, with family members of the deceased, and with the Vichy authorities), this article demonstrates how important burials and the preservation of customs were to the chaplains throughout the war.