Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Occupation and Camps in Tunisia
November 1942 - May 1943 (Helpful (Arab)…
-
-
- Tunisia was a protectorate of France/Vichy whose leaders had little to no independence
- Tunisia was occupied by Nazi Germany for a six month period.
- During those six months, the Germans imposed "The Final Solution" upon Tunisian Jews.
- Jews were rounded up, sent to concentration or labor camps now run by the Nazis (harsher)
- SS Obersturmbannführer Walter Rauff implemented the use of mobile gas vans to murder Tunisian Jews
- Germans set up brothels to sexually enslave Tunisian Jewish women and girls
- Sympathetic to plight of Jewish subjects, but was bound by law to do as Vichy demanded
- Signed anti-Jewish Statutes (had no choice)
- Publicly supported Jews despite Statutes
- Found loopholes in which he could grant exemptions to exceptional Jews who had served the state (exempted Roger Nataf & Paul Ghez)
- Died 19 June 1942, shortly before the Nazi occupation
- Succeeded by his cousin Muhammed VII "Moncef" Bey
- Like his cousin, Ahmed Bey, Moncef Bey did what he could to help Tunisian Jews
- In his ascension speech, he discussed his concern for "all" Tunisians
- Within the first 8 days of his rule, he awarded the highest royal distinction to 20 prominent Jews in order to save them
- Appeased Nazis by refusing FDR's request to join Allies (saved many Tunisian lives)
- Warned Jewish leaders of German plans/ roundups
- Helped Jews avoid arrest & deportation
- Hid individual Jews and encouraged his Royal Court to do the same
- As a Tunisian nationalist, he promoted unity between Arabs & Jews as he thought of his subjects as Tunisians first
- Although he was exiled as a collaborator, he is remembered fondly by the Jewish community
- Some Arabs would applaud Germans when they rounded up Jews or call out anti-Semitic remarks
- Within Tunisian concentration and forced labor camps, there were Arabs who treated Jewish prisoners inhumanely
- Some Arab camp guards took pleasure in torturing, beating, and even murdering Jews
- Some Arabs, like Hassan Ferjani, betrayed Jews for profit by turning them over to Nazis. Ferjani's betrayal resulted in the deportation (Dachau) and murder of three Tunisian Jewish men (Jo, Gilbert & Jean Scemla)
-
- There were ~ 15 camps in Tunisia including Gabes, Agareb, and La Marsa
- Camps were fenced in and heavily guarded, often by Arabs
- All camps were notorious for their abhorrent living conditions marked by terrible sanitation and hygiene along with a lack of proper medical care
- This led to rampant disease, including typhus
- Many Arabs helped the Jews of Tunisia
- Muslim religious leaders in many mosques encouraged Tunisians not to take advantage of or profit from the Jews' misfortune
- Arabs fed starving Jews who were denied rations both in and out of camps
- Moncef Bey's Cabinet members issued special dispensations to help young Jewish men avoid forced labor
- Members of the Royal Court hid Jews who had escaped from German labor camps
- 1911-1997
- Used his wealth, good looks, and cultured nature to help Jews
- Helped out several Jewish people, including the Boukris, Uzzan, and Chlaifa families by hiding them on his property. He also fed and cared for them.
- Maintained "friendly" relations with Germans so he could learn their plans (often by getting them drunk with fine spirits)
- Despite his many good deeds, he is still not recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations
- Nobleman, descendent of the prophet Muhammad, former mayor of Tunis, and royal court Ministre de la Plume et la Consultation
- Retired from public service in 1920s to a large hacienda-style farm
- During Battle for Tunisia (1943) took in/saved 60 Jews who had escaped from a nearby Axis forced labor camp
- Family secret because other Arabs (esp. modern Arabs) would not understand why he helped Jews.