Italian French Holocaust History

1 University of Arizona The Department of French & Italian Dr. Kara Tableman tableman@email.arizona.edu THE HOLOCAUST IN FRANCE AND ITALY FREN ITAL 150B1: Online Course Summer 1 June 8 to July 9, 2020 2 The Holocaust in France and Italy FREN ITAL 150B1: Online Course Summer 1: June 8 to July 9, 2020 Instructor: Dr. Kara Tableman Email: tableman@email.arizona.edu Contact Phone: 480-430-4572 Required Texts: (Available at the University of Arizona Bookstore or through Amazon.com; Order the books as soon as possible so that you have them by the time you need them. Books can be read in French and Italian for French and Italian majors.) Kofman, Sarah. Rue Ordener, Rue Labat. Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. Se questo è un uomo. (Public domain PDF file provided on d2l course website.) (Sections 16, 17, 18, 19) (All other reading materials will be downloaded from your D2L course website. See attached reading and viewing assignments.) Historical and Cultural Resource Websites for the Shoah: www.yadvashem.org www.memorialdelashoah.org (French) www.memorialdelashoah.org/en/english-version.html United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: www.ushmm.org www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-french-vichy-regime Bibliography for consultation and research located on D2L course website Course Description: This course will span the history of the Holocaust in France and Italy (Shoah) emphasizing the difference and specificity of each country during World War II. We will focus on the implementation of discriminatory practices and policies, and the national complicity and participation in the internment and deportation of Jews residing in these countries. The term Holocaust is defined as the extermination of European Jewry decided by Nazis at the Wannsee Conference (Wannseekonferenz) held in a suburb of Berlin in January 20, 1942, when senior Nazi Leaders decided to implement what they called the “Final Solution.” This was the culmination of a process of de-legitimization through restrictive laws that identified and isolated Jews, expropriated their properties, and stripped them of their rights. One could ask how this exclusion, persecution, and participation of the extermination of a community of people occurred in France and Italy, advanced societies where Jews had successfully integrated socially and professionally since the 19th century and had a sense of belonging and participation as full French and Italian citizens. Although this is a difficult topic, authoritarian regimes and policies of discrimination and genocide need to be studied to understand present societies and to ensure that our own legal and political systems don’t collapse into lawlessness, despotism, exclusion and collective murder. http://www.yadvashem.org/ http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/ http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/en/english-version.html http://www.ushmm.org/ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-french-vichy-regime 3 The first two weeks will focus on the collapse of the French Republic into collaborationist Vichy examining how codified anti-Semitism became central to the organization of the new French government. The next two weeks will focus on Italy, on how Fascism came to power pre-dating the Nazi movement by over a decade, and the changing conditions of Jews under the stringent anti-Jewish laws under Mussolini and Badoglio. The fifth week will explore the concepts of memory, forgetting, trauma, and testimony in relation to the Holocaust. After understanding the historical and political context, we will begin to focus our examination of the Holocaust in France and Italy on the ways in which Italian and French Jewish communities, and those individuals who allied themselves with them, experienced persecutions, deportations and, if they were fortunate enough to live to tell their stories, firsthand experiences of the Nazi genocidal project. We will read two memoirs from survivors to better understand the lived experience of the Holocaust. Whether as testimony, or to aid in understanding deep memory and trauma, these testaments of life in crisis provide us a way to understand the personal history of the victims, the responses of bystanders, and the minds of perpetrators. Course Objectives: Students in FREN/ITAL 150B1, The Holocaust in France and Italy will: • become knowledgeable about cultural, political, and historical factors that led to widespread discrimination against Jews in France and Italy in the 20th century and to the governments of these nations’ collaboration to the “final solution;” • relate arguments and ideas from literary texts, films, virtual exhibits, and historical documents to the circumstances under which they were produced; • examine criteria used to define, embrace, or impose personal and group identities; • develop informed opinions about moral and ethical challenges human beings face under the stress of war, economic plight, and propaganda. Learning Objectives: After taking FREN/ITAL 150B1, The Holocaust in France and Italy students will be able to: • develop a solid understanding of the historical and political background of Italian Fascism and the Franco-German collaboration in Vichy France; • analyze primary and secondary sources in formal and informal ways; • understand more clearly issues of identity, racial and social difference, and the effects non-democratic institutions can have on a racial minority, individually and as a group; • demonstrate knowledge of the formal and informal structures and processes that make social systems break down; • have informed opinions about anti-Semitism, as demonstrated in discussions and essays, and based on knowledge of social, cultural, political, and religious theories presented in class and in related materials; • demonstrate the ability to apply insights gained through the course to other contexts; 4 Assessment and Evaluation: Online Exams: There will be two online exams in this class constituting the midterm and final exam. Each exam will consist of 20 multiple choice and/or true/false questions. While the exams are not cumulative you should expect that there are themes that carry through the entire course and you will be required to recall information presented in the earlier portion of the semester. The two exams together will count 30% toward your final grade. The questions for both exams will be drawn from the readings, films, videos and viewing materials included in the content for each week. Term Paper: You will write a paper on François Truffaut’s film The Last Metro (Le Denier Metro). The specifications and guidelines for your term paper are posted on your d2l class website. Weekly Assignment Submissions: A main component of this class will be weekly written assignments that you submit as a Word file at the end of each module. Each student will answer a set of questions based on the readings and other activities for the week. In fact, use these questions to help focus and guide your reading and viewing activities. See the Assignment Tab on D2L. For each question I expect you to write a response betwee100 and 250 words. (You can go over if necessary). Each response must include at least one reference (citation) from the material. Proper citation format according to the MLA citation guide can be found on the UA library website under the tab “Research and Writing Help.” URL: http://www.library.arizona.edu/applications/quickHelp/tutorials/search/learning_goal:7/page All assignments, exams, and final research paper must be submitted by the due date and time. No assignments will be accepted after the due date and time! How can you write an effective response to a question? Your short answers will be akin to writing a very short essay. This means that you must write clearly and avoid casual remarks and platitudes. The way to do well on weekly assignments is to definitely read the “Readings and Film Guide” for each module and follow my guidance and suggestions; and above all, let the focus points/questions guide your reading and studying activities. Take notes for each one and when done, you will see that you have much of the material that you need to answer the assignment questions. When writing your answers, do not cut and paste from the readings. That is plagiarism which is illegal and unethical and could lead to expulsion! I will run your assignments through a program to check for plagiarism. Synthesize and use your own words. “A” assignments will not only analyze the material, but write about it in an elegant manner without using jargon. Assignment % of Overall Grade Online Exams (2) 30% Weekly Assignments 50% Term Paper 20% http://www.library.arizona.edu/applications/quickHelp/tutorials/search/learning_goal:7/page 5 Standard grading scale used in this class A 90-100 B 89-80 C 79-70 D 69-60 F below 60 Policies: Academic Dishonesty Academic Dishonesty occurs whenever any action or attempted action is pursued that creates an unfair academic advantage or disadvantage for you and/or any member or members of the academic community. All forms of academic dishonesty are subject to sanctions under the Code of Academic Integrity. Sanctions include: written warning, reduction in grade for work involved, disciplinary probation, loss of credit for work involved, failing grade in the course, suspension, and/or expulsion. Various forms of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and/or plagiarism. Definition of Plagiarism: In college courses, we are continually engaged with other people’s ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use • Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory; • Any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings—any pieces of information—that are not common knowledge; • Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words; or • Paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words. Academic Misconduct Academic Misconduct is defined as any behaviors not conforming to prevailing standards or rules within the academic community. All forms of academic misconduct are subject to sanctions under the Code of Conduct. Sanctions include: classroom conduct, interim action, program/support, organizational sanctions, restricted access to university property, administrative hold, warning, probation, suspension, and/or expulsion. Various forms of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to disruptive behavior, threatening behavior, and/or the theft or damage of University property. For more specific examples go to: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/studentcodeofconduct Students with Disabilities: If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/studentcodeofconduct 6 me so that we can discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that disability-related accommodations are necessary, please register with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then plan how best to coordinate your accommodations. All students will have the availability of course power points at their disposal. This online class is also closed captioned. Incomplete Policy: In accordance with University policy, the grade of Incomplete (I) can only be awarded in cases of students whose circumstances prevent them from finishing the required work for the course. The instructor has the right as to whether to award the grade and to judge that the circumstances did indeed prevent the student from completing the coursework and that the reason was valid and worthy to give an incomplete. Any incomplete grade given must be verified with a written agreement with the student that specifies the work to be done and a timetable for completion. Majors and Minors in the Department of French & Italian The Department of French and Italian offers student-centered degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in French and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Italian, as well as minors in French or French and Francophone Studies, and in Italian or Italian Studies. Students majoring in French and Italian are trained as specialists in their field; that is, as individuals with communicative proficiency in the target language, informed knowledge of the target culture(s) and intercultural competence, and the skills necessary for a successful professional life and/or career in graduate school. At the University of Arizona, our French and Italian majors double major or pursue dual degrees in 51 different majors in 10 different colleges. Our double/dual degree majors are very marketable when looking for jobs and when applying for law school, medical school, and other graduate programs. The UA Department of French and Italian gives students the opportunity to study abroad and explore the world through UA study abroad programs. We offer faculty-led programs in Paris, Orvieto (Italy), and the French Caribbean. We also offer exchange programs in several sites throughout France and Switzerland. Scholarships for study abroad are also available. To learn more about our French programs: https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/ba-french To learn more about our Italian programs: https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/italian- programs Why you should major or double major in French or Italian: https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/why-study-french https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/why-study-italian Information on career possibilities with a French or Italian degree: https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/careers-french-major https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/careers-italian-majors To declare a major or minor: https://french.arizona.edu/undergraduate/declare 7 SECTION I --THE HOLOCAUST IN FRANCE: THE SHOAH Week 1 Historical Context for Vichy France • The Defeat of France in WWII • The History of Jewish Presence in France • Antisemitism in France: Cultural, political, and religious • Vichy Government and The National Revolution • Anti-Jewish Laws: • Definition of who is a “Jew” according to Vichy • The Laws of Prohibitions and Restrictions • Laws of Expropriation of Jewish Property (Aryanization) Watch: The World at War—France Falls May- June 1940 Bernstein, Catheryn. Assassinat d’une Modiste (Murder of a Hat Designer) Read: Begin reading Rue Ordener, Rue Labat and If this is man (Survival in Auschwitz) which need to be completed for Week 5's assignment. Benbassa, Esther. “Breaches in Franco-Judaism” Zuccotti, Susan. “War Begins, 1939-1940” Burrin, Philippe. “Vichy” (The National Revolution) Zuccotti, Susan. “Racial Laws, 1940-1941” Tableman, Kara. Excerpts from Epistolary Hate: Letters of Denunciation against Jews in Vichy France. (Lecture notes) - Historical Considerations of Jewish presence and anti-Semitism in France - Anti-Jewish Legislation in Vichy and Occupied France Chronology of Important Events and Laws 1939 - 1944 Primary Sources (peruse): The terms of the armistice: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/frgearm.asp Preamble to the Vichy Statutes against the Jews written by Petain: document on D2L. This was published along with the first set of anti-Jewish laws, le Statut des Juifs, in the major newspapers in both zones of France. The first anti-Jewish laws: La loi de 3 Oct. 1940 portant sur le Statut des Juifs: http://www.yadvashem.org/fr/docs/loi-d-octobre-1940-portant-statut-des-juifs.html Historical resource: This site provides a very clear and concise overview of the history of France from the interwar years to the end of WWII. The chronology of salient events and ideas are clearly expressed. This site is provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005429 http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/frgearm.asp http://www.yadvashem.org/fr/docs/loi-d-octobre-1940-portant-statut-des-juifs.html https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005429 8 Week 2 Living under Occupation • Roundups, deportations, and internment camps • Jewish Organizations and Responses to Persecution • Resistance • Survival and Death • French collaboration and participation in the Shoah • French Public Opinion towards the Plight of the Jews Watch: Bosch, Roselyne. La Rafle (The Roundup) Fanny’s Journey. (Rent on Amazon.com) Chetwynd, Lionel. Varian’s War. (Streamed though D2L) Read: Zuccotti, Susan. Excerpts from The Holocaust, the French, and the Jews “The July Roundup, Paris, 1942” (La Rafle du Vel d’Hiv) (Since the Roundup of Vel d’Hiv did not yield the numbers that both German and French authorities had hoped for, Vichy looked to the Free Zone to find 10,000 more Jews to fill the German demand) “Nice Roundup” (September 10-14, 1943) Poznanski, Renee. “The Roundup of Jews in Marseilles” (January 22-24, 1943) Klarsfeld, Serge. “Table III: Chronology of Deportation Convoys” Marrus, Michael and Robert Paxton. “Camps” Zuccotti, Susan. Excerpts from The Holocaust, the French, and the Jews “Jewish Rescue Organizations” “Survival and Non-Jewish Rescuers” Laborie, Pierre. “Was the France of 1940-42 Anti-Semitic?” Peschanski, Denis. “Was There Massive Collaboration of Top Administrative Officials?” Primary Sources (peruse): Camps des Milles (internment/deportation camp) (French or English versions) http://www.campdesmilles.org/ http://www.campdesmilles.org/home2.html Map of internment and concentration camps in France: http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/carte-france-memorial-shoah pdf.pdf Photographs of Andre Zucca whose color photographs of Paris under the Occupation were gathered in the exhibition Les Parisiens sous l’Occupation in the Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris, March 20- July 1, 2008. Many of these images can be found in this site: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2417335/Paris-Nazi-lens-Propaganda-images-occupied- French-capital-citizens-thriving-German-rule.html http://www.campdesmilles.org/home2.html http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/carte-france-memorial-shoah%20pdf.pdf http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/carte-france-memorial-shoah%20pdf.pdf http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2417335/Paris-Nazi-lens-Propaganda-images-occupied-French-capital-citizens-thriving-German-rule.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2417335/Paris-Nazi-lens-Propaganda-images-occupied-French-capital-citizens-thriving-German-rule.html 9 French Resistance: the Press (peruse): The following web sites are from Warwick University Digital Collections containing extracts from French pamphlets and newspapers: France's uncensored press, December 1942: Link to a booklet containing English translations of nine bulletins issued by French resistance groups between November 1941 and September 1942: http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/tav/id/3293 Resistance in France: English translations of extracts from clandestine newspapers published in occupied France: http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/tav/id/3322 SECTION II --THE HOLOCAUST IN ITALY Week 3 Historical considerations for the Shoah in Italy • The Risorgimento and the Jewish Participation in Italy • History of Jews in Italy and Judeo-Italian Identity • The Futurist and the Fascist Manifestos • Mussolini and his Rise to Power • Mussolini and the Jews • Advent of World War II Films: Biography: Mussolini, Italy’s Nightmare Italy and the Road to War Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini's rise to power in 1922 and taking Italy: 3 minute documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq2PUHGj3a8 Read: Toscano, Mario. Italian Jewish Identity from Risorgimento to Fascism, 1848-1938 Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso. “The Futurist Manifesto” (1909) Futurism: The Italian Avant-Garde Art Movement of the early Twentieth Century (Website) Fabre, Giorgio. “Mussolini and the Jews on the Eve of the March on Rome” Mussolini, Benito. “The Doctrine of Fascism” (1932) “The Fascist Decalogue” (Version 1934 and Version 1938) Zuccotti, Susan. “The Holocaust Comes to Italy” “Italy's Jews" Stille, Alexander. “The Double Bind of Italian Jews: Acceptance and Assimilation” Primary Source (peruse): The Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution (La Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista (1932-1934): Two interesting web sites: http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/tav/id/3293 http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/tav/id/3322 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq2PUHGj3a8 10 https://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/library/libspc_weingrow_std_marzigliano.pdf http://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.in/2013/06/italian-modernism-and-fascism- very.html “Fascist Propaganda Virtual Exhibit”: U of Wisconsin, Madison https://www.library.wisc.edu/exhibits/online-exhibits/special-collections/italian-life-under fascism-selections-from-the-fry-collection/fascist-propaganda/ Historical resource: This site provides a very clear and concise overview of the history of Italy from the rise of Fascism and Mussolini to the end of WWII. The chronology of salient events and ideas are clearly expressed. This site is provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005411 Week 4 The Two Periods of Jewish Persecution in Italy: Jews under Fascism and First Phase of WWII in Italy (1938-1943) • The firming up of Fascist anti-Semitism; Italy as Nazi ally, Unoccupied by Germany • Racial and Anti-Jewish Laws 1938 • Persecution of Italian Jews • Life in Internment Camps German Occupation in Italy, 1943-1945 • The Italian Social Republic also known as the Republic of Salò • Roundups, Internment, and Deportation • Confiscation of Jewish Property • The Vatican’s Participation in the Shoah • Survival and Resistance Films: Montaldo, Giuliano. The Gold Rimmed Glasses (1987) De Sica, Vittorio. The Garden of the Finzi Continis (1970) Jacobey, Oren. My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Documentary: The Vatican and the Third Reich: An Unholy Alliance Read: “The Manifesto of Racial Scientists” (1938) Anti-Jewish Legislation and Persecution of the Italian Jews under Fascist Rule: Important Website: Servi, Sandro. “Building a Racial State: Images of the Jew in the Illustrated Fascist Magazine, La Difesa della Razza, 1938-1943” Zuccotti, Susan. “The War Years, 1938-1943” Picciotto Fargion, Liliana. “The Persecution of Jews in Italy, 1943-1945” Villani, Cinzia. “The Persecution of the Jews in Two Regions of German-Occupied Northern Italy, 1943-1945” https://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/library/libspc_weingrow_std_marzigliano.pdf http://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.in/2013/06/italian-modernism-and-fascism-very.html http://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.in/2013/06/italian-modernism-and-fascism-very.html https://www.library.wisc.edu/exhibits/online-exhibits/special-collections/italian-life-under%20fascism-selections-from-the-fry-collection/fascist-propaganda/ https://www.library.wisc.edu/exhibits/online-exhibits/special-collections/italian-life-under%20fascism-selections-from-the-fry-collection/fascist-propaganda/ https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005411 11 Coppa, Frank J. “The Papal Response to Nazi and Fascist Anti-Semitism, Pius XI and Pius XII Zuccotti, Susan. “Survival in Italy” Primary Source (peruse): Italy and the Holocaust Foundation Racial Laws: http://www.italyandtheholocaust.org/italian-racial-laws.aspx The Jewish Virtual Library: The law of who belongs to the Jewish Race: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/italian-municipal-manifest-for-the-denunciation-of- belonging-to-the-jewish-race The laws for the defense of the Race: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-laws-for-the-defense-of-the-race-in-italy Internment and Concentration Camps in Italy, article located on the Primo Levi Center Web Site: From Internment to Deportation: Concentration Camps and Jews in Italy during World War II (1940-1945): http://primolevicenter.org/printed-matter/the-fascist-concentration-camps/ SECTION III -- MEMORY, MEMOIR, TRAUMA, and TESTIMONY Week 5 Memory, Memoir, Trauma, and Testimony of the Shoah • Sites of Memory, Remembering and Forgetting • Trauma and Life after the Shoah • Writing Trauma • Testimony Watch: Rescue of the Jews in Italy: testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6krwrVrrlGQ Read: Complete the readings of Sarah Kofman's Rue Ordener, Rue Labat Complete reading the assigned sections Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz/If this is a man (Sections 16, 17, 18, 19) Nora, Pierre. “Between memory and history, Les Lieux de Memoire” LaCapra, Dominick. “Trauma, Absence, Loss” Laub, Lori. “Bearing Witness or the Vicissitudes of Listening” Primary Source (peruse): Exhibit at Le Memorial de la Shoah about life after the Holocaust for deportees who returned to France: After the Holocaust: Survivors and refugees (1944-1947) http://apres-la-shoah.memorialdelashoah.org/ Italian Sites of Remembrance: http://www.memorialmuseums.org/laender/view/10/Italy http://www.italyandtheholocaust.org/italian-racial-laws.aspx http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/italian-municipal-manifest-for-the-denunciation-of-belonging-to-the-jewish-race http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/italian-municipal-manifest-for-the-denunciation-of-belonging-to-the-jewish-race http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-laws-for-the-defense-of-the-race-in-italy http://primolevicenter.org/printed-matter/the-fascist-concentration-camps/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6krwrVrrlGQ http://apres-la-shoah.memorialdelashoah.org/ http://www.memorialmuseums.org/laender/view/10/Italy