Jewish deportation in wartime France

Abstract

We analyze the individual-level determinants of Jewish deportation and survival in wartime France using newly digitized census records from Vichy's wartime Jewish population registry, matched to data on 78,930 Jews imprisoned and deported to concentration camps. Our analysis reveals systematic patterns in selection for internment and deportation under Vichy and German policies. Men, urban residents, foreign nationals—particularly German and Eastern European Jews—and those living near French internment camps faced earlier deportation, while French citizens and individuals in skilled occupations were deported later. We then examine how local contexts shaped persecution and rescue outcomes. We consider the role of occupational skills and local economic disruptions, prior histories of persecution, administrative capacity and regime loyalty among local authorities, and the strength of local social networks. Our findings offer new quantitative evidence on how economic factors, geography, and state capacity influenced implementation of the Holocaust in France, while illuminating the protective role of human capital under state-sponsored persecution.