Marseille as a Sanctuary: Sephardi Francophilia and the Jewish Heritage of Marseille

• In Event: France and Algiers

Abstract

Marseille holds a significant place in European Jewish history and holocaust studies. As one of the largest Jewish communities in France, Marseille served as a critical refuge during pivotal moments. During the Second World War, it was a primary escape route for Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. As the biggest city in the Free Zone, its Jewish population grew to 30,000 Israelites in 1941, earning it the nickname "La nouvelle Jérusalem de la Méditerranée" (The New Jerusalem of the Mediterranean). In the 1960s, following the Algerian War of Independence, hundreds of thousands of Jews arrived in Marseille from Algeria. These waves of immigration have shaped the city to this day. In recent years, associations have been established to preserve the rich history of Marseille's Jewish community and to honor the memory of its Holocaust survivors. This paper will analyze the role of contemporary associations and government initiatives in preserving this Jewish heritage. It will focus especially on Massilia Memory Cloud and the prix Mizrahi, inaugurated in May 2024. Furthermore, it will analyze : SAUVÉS ! MAIS À QUEL PRIX ? RÉCIT DE DEUX ENFANTS CACHÉS (2007) by Haïm Mizrahi. This novel narrates the story of Robert and Edmond Mizrahi, who testify to their experiences as hidden children during the occupation from 1939 to 1945 in Marseille. By unearthing this history, this paper contributes to scholarship on Holocaust Studies and Francophone Sephardi writers by suggesting that a distinct Sephardi Francophilia developed during the interwar period in Marseille, continuing to influence French and Francophone literature and thought well into the twenty-first century. The migration of thousands of Sephardic Jews from North Africa and the Ottoman Empire to Paris during the interwar years is well-documented by historians and sociologists, such as Annie Benveniste, who have examined their adaptation to urban life in Paris, particularly in the Sephardic ghetto along rue de la Roquette. By extending this analysis to the literary domain and to the city of Marseille, this paper contends that Marseille deserves a prominent place in Jewish history and Holocaust studies that needs further development.

Author

• Maïté Marciano, Centre College