Staaten als Täter

During the first stage of the Nazi regime, between 1933-35 in Germany, and during the Vichy regime in 1940-42 in France, the policy in regard to the Jews was segregation, characterized by a quasi-legal exclusion of the Jewish population from professional and social life, designating the Jews as a potential danger to the state. The anti-Jewish policies were mainly shaped by the traditional government bureaucracies in both countries, while radical Nazis were not yet very influential. In 1935 in Germany and 1941 in France, the "Jewish question" seemed to have been resolved. Further measures were deemed unnecessary and were advocated only by radical antisemites. During the second, racial stage, beginning in 1938 in Germany and 1942 in France, radical Nazis began to make life impossible for the Jews; they attempted to force them to emigrate, and then prepared deportation for those who did not leave. However, while the French administration participated in the deportation of Jews, the government never actively developed an annhilation policy. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)