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war and social upheaval: World War II -- refugees countries France
World War II Refugees: Country Trends--France (1939-45)
Figure 1.--The Germans evacuated most of France afer the Normandy breakout. The only exceptions was ports and border areas near the Rhine. This mother and her children are evacuating Haguenau in Alsace, located near the Rhine in extreme northeastern France (February 20, 1945). The U.S. Army temporarily moved out of the town and helped civilians to leave. The Germans moved back in. It proved to be one of the last French towns still in German hands. The last German soldier was cleared out in house-to-house combat (March 19), only days before the Allies began to cross the Rhine.
With the rise of the NAZIs in Germany France did not dare confront Germany alone (1933). France was forced to follow Britain's strategy of appeasement. And the desire to avoid another war meant that was domestic support for this approch. Hitler's racist NAZI police state caused people to flee the country. Many but not all were Jews. Many sought safety in France. The outbrek of the Spanish Civil War (1936) resulted in a refugee flow from the south. The NAZI Kristallnacht pogrom created a flood of more desperate Jewish refugees. France did not have the resourcs to take care of foreign refugees. The British who still clung on to the idea of appeasing Hitler, accepted almost no refugees. The only exception was the Kindertansport children. Most went to Britain because the Netherlands, Belgium, and France were already overflowing with refugeees. The Germns and Soviets invaded Poland, launching World War II (September 1939). Britain and France declared war on Germany. The French moved people out of likely battle areas in the north. Strassburg was evacuated. When the Germans launched their Western offensive (May 1940), people in Belgium and northern France as in World war I flooded the roads heading south. Luftwaffe plances straffed them to disrupt French units moving toward the front. This time the Germans moved faster and had a different tactical doctrine. After the Allied Dunkirk evacuation, the Germans turned south. Refugees streamed out of Paris. And the French asked for an Armitice and formed a new goverment in Vichy (June 1940). Most of the Belgian refugees trickeled back to Belgium. France had large numbers of refugees inclusing anti-NAZI Germand. The Germans demanded a provision in the Armistice that the French turn over anti-NAZI Germans to the German occupation authorities. Anti-Semetic laws sought to isolate and concentrte the Jews and Vichy crassly cooperated. when the NAZI and Vichy roundups began, the jews who had not already done so went underground (1942). At about the same time, the Germans bgan conscripting French workers for war work in the Reich. This caused many young men to also go into hideing, many joining the Resistance. The principal objective of the Resistance was to help prepare for the Allied cross Channel invasion. The Allies D-Day invasion occurred in Normandy (June 1944). For 2 months, the Germanss bottled up the allies in Normandy. Fighting there was intensse and there was enormous damage. Refugees fled the combat area, but at first there were few safe area. Allied Civil Affairs units did their best to help. Civil . After the breakout, France was very quickly liberated. The Germans were primarily interested in getting back to the Reich and protection of the West Wall. Significant fighting did not occur until the Allies neared the Reich in the north. And again refugees again appeared as civilians fled the fighting (September 1944). Here we see refugees in Alsace near the Rhine (February 1945).
Pre-War Refugees (1933-39)
With the rise of the NAZIs in Germany France did not dare confront Germany alone (1933). France was forced to follow Britain's strategy of appeasement. And the desire to avoid another war meant that was domestic support for this approch. Hitler's racist NAZI police state caused people to flee the country. They were mostly Jews, but not only Jews. Many sought safety in France withnsmallerbnumbrsinnother countries, espcially the Netherlands. Smaller numbers went to other counties but they were lmited by restrictive immigration policies. The outbrek of the Spanish Civil War (1936) resulted in a refugee flow from the south. The NAZI Kristallnacht pogrom created a flood of more desperate Jewish refugees from Germany. France did not have the resourcs to take care of foreign refugees. The British who still clung on to the idea of appeasing Hitler, accepted almost no refugees. The only exception was the Kindertransport children. Most went to Britain because the Netherlands, Belgium, and France were already overflowing with refugeees.
The Phoney War (1939-40)
The Germans and Soviets invaded Poland, launching World War II (September 1939). Britain and France declared war on Germany. The French moved people out of likely battle areas in the north. Strassburg was evacuated. Little action occured on the West. Journalists began Calling it the Phoney War. It was of course not phoney for the Poles. But the Poles were basically surrounded. Few refugees could make it to France.
The French people were aprehensive about the War but most felt safe behind the vaunted Maginot Line and the French Army which was widely regarded by many as the most powerful in Europe. The French evacuated people from Alsace. This changed quickly after the German break through in the Ardennes and crossing the Meuse (May 10-15). Civilians began heading south, convinced that the the French Army would stop the Germans again as they did in World War I. French roads became clogged with refugees. Cars pilled with matresses and furniture tied to the roofs and packed with the entire family. There were also carts of all kinds. Many people were on foot. Most headed for Paris. Welfare facilities were overwealmed with the number of refugees. Families tried to stay together, but this was not always possible. Parents were in some cases killed ior injured. In other instances, families were separated in the growing chao. As panic spread the numbers only increased. The refugees made it difficult for the French Army to move forces forward to restablish the front. And the Luftwaffe stafed the regugee filled roads to create further chaos. The fast moving Panzers were beyond anything that General Gamelin, who was still using couriers rather than radio to communicate, was capable of confronting. Rommel as he drove to the Channel, wrote, "We passed refugee columns, the carts abandoned by their owners, who had fled in panic into the fields." Such a disaster had not been anticipated. After Dunkirk the Germans turned south. Now Parisians began to pour out of the city in large numbers and head south to escape the advancing Germans. Trains carried refugees south as well as vehicles of every sort. Huge numbers of people were involved. And there was no provisions or accomodations for the refugees. The French Governmrnt was debating what to do. Prenier Renard wanted to resist from North Africa. General Weygand and Petain objected. In the mean time the French people did not know what to do.
(May 1940), people in Belgium and northern France as in World war I flooded the roads heading south. Luftwaffe plances straffed them to disrupt French units moving toward the front. This time the Germans moved faster and had a different tactical doctrine. After the Allied Dunkirk evacuation, the Germans turned south. Refugees streamed out of Paris. And the French asked for an Armitice and formed a new goverment in Vichy (June 1940). Most of the Belgian refugees trickeled back to Belgium. >
Occupation (1940-44)
France had large numbers of refugees inclusing anti-NAZI Germans. The Germans demanded a provision in the Armistice that the French turn over anti-NAZI Germans to the German occupation authorities. Anti-Semetic laws sought to isolate and concentrte the Jews and Vichy crassly cooperated. when the NAZI and Vichy roundups began, the jews who had not already done so went underground (1942). At about the same time, the Germans bgan conscripting French workers for war work in the Reich. This caused many young men to also go into hideing, many joining the Resistance. The principal objective of the Resistance was to help prepare for the Allied cross Channel invasion. The Germans began building the Altantic Wall to defeat the Allied invasion.
Liberation (1944)
The Allieds D-Day invasion occurred in Normandy (June 1944). For 2 months, the Germanss bottled up the allies in Normandy. Fighting there was intensse and there was enormous damage. Refugees fled the combat area, but at first there were few safe area. Allied Civil Affairs units did their best to help. Civil . After the breakout, France was very quickly liberated. The Germans were primarily interested in getting back to the Reich and protection of the West Wall. Significant fighting did not occur until the Allies neared the Reich in the north. And again refugees again appeared as civilians fled the fighting (September 1944). Here we see refugees in Alsace near the Rhine (February 1945).
