Vel' d'Hiv Roundup

While reading this book I have noticed that the author brings up The Vel' d'Hiv Roundup a lot. I was not quite sure what that was exactly, so I researched it. I found out that the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup took place in July, 1942. There was about 13,152 Jewish men, women, and children forced out of their homes. The French police wanted this roundup to be done quietly so that they did not attract attention from the rest of the French population. This however was not the case. Many French people knew exactly what was going on because the word leaked out, and they tried to warn the Jews to flee or hide. The French Jews had no idea what was in store for them. They followed the law by registering for the census and made themselves available to deportation. For 70,00 Jews from France, their unknown stopover destination in the East was at Drancy. There is evidence of the brutality of the French guards in Drancy and the brutal conditions imposed on the people including small children. Parents and children were quickly separated upon arrival. Once the children were deported to Auschwitz, they were all killed because the Nazi's believed they were all unable to work. Thousands of adults were killed upon arrival as well if they were unhealthy and incapable of working.




Sites Used:
http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/france/JewsInFrance.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Drancy.html