..Most of the photos contrast sharply with the history books recalling the Vel d’hiver roundup and deportation in July 1942. Where are the snaking lines outside food stores? Where are the witnesses of the occupation? Rare are the photos where a yellow star sewn on coat lapels is seen on passers-by. This unexpected take on “German France” does not leave one indifferent.”…see here.
korzac at 16:01 on April 26th, 2008jordan thanks for the comment and the GS.
The curators of the exhibition trayed to minimize their mistakes, “..A large excerpt from the preface to the exhibition catalogue (Ed Gallimard / Paris Library), prepared by Jean-Pierre Azema, a specialist historian of this period is included in the exhibition since its opening and also recalls the historical context in which these photographs were taken, for more see here ..
…A weak palliative for bad conscience.
korzac at 17:12 on April 26th, 2008Barry Artiste, thanks for the comment and the GS.
korzac at 17:35 on April 26th, 2008Karen Hatter, the exhibition is a form of visual deceit under the decent patronage of ‘culture’. But the french living witnesses of those years denounced the fraud..
Thanks for the comment and the GS.
I think all governments contribute propeganda to their citizens.
History reveals many things, sometimes it takes a while to come out. Many Germans, I believe, had no idea what was happening far away.
Of course they would prfer to be thinking of good things happening from their nations actions, just as we all are wishing to belive good things are happening from current conflict zones.
korzac at 16:37 on April 27th, 2008Matte, about your..”Many Germans, I believe, had no idea what was happening far away”..
Look at this ..”In a seminal study published thirty-five years ago, The Destruction of the European Jews, Raul Hilberg observed that the perpetrators of the Nazi holocaust were “not different in their moral makeup from the rest of the population…. [T]he machinery of destruction was a remarkable cross-section of the German population.”..see here.
Or look at this ..”To think that the Germans were unaware of the genocide is ignorant and absurd. The Germans saw as well as the Jews did what was going on. Why do you think so many Jews fled the country? They knew that death awaited them in the hands of the Nazis. The Germans saw the Jews being humiliated, corralled through the city, loaded up in trains and sent off to die horrible deaths in the concentration camps.’.. see here.
And look at the link with the title ..’The Genocide Generals: secret recordings explode the myth they knew nothing about the Holocaust“…see here.
I think Matte perhaps is stating that German civilians and soldiers far away from the conflict of the cities, perhaps the countryside and soldiers stationed outside of Germany may not have known about the concentration camps. Though I am sure rumours circulated, and perhaps even the rumours were infathomable to believe that humans could do that to humans.
Propeganda means different things to different people, and people belive what they want to believe. A study after a war cannot accuratly deduce what was going on inside people’s heads at the time. Yes people were being taken away – but at the time I belive NO ONE knew to where or for what fate.
People belive until they know otherwise, as has happened with the Iraq situation – people are fed propeganda and lies, until the truth is finally revealed. There is no blame for this on the part of the population, they just belive what they are told.
Just as in the Seconf World War the Japanese being portrayed as devils….but they were only following their leaders and fighting their war the way they were told, as is the US military, the Chinese military etc.
korzac at 07:42 on April 28th, 2008Matte about your “Yes people were being taken away – but at the time I believe NO ONE knew to where or for what fate.” What I most liked in this sentence is the irrevocable absoluteness of “..NO One knew..”
Well, by ‘my what I where told by myself’ I know that SOME know what where the fate of the people taken away…
For example, the Belgian Benedictine priest, Reverend Henry Reynders who saved my life and the life of many other children from deportation, he and the whole Belgian rescues organisations knew perfectly well what would be our fate..see here So,It would be very comforting that you indulge yourself in upgrading your knowledge from ‘No One knew’ to Some knew. The remaining question will then be: how many is some..
korzacsol 
After reading the above comments, I must confess I find both sides intriguing. Here is why: On the one hand, our society doesn’t take responsibility for its actions as a whole. We label everything, we blame everything, other than ourselves, that is. “I am like this because of my childhood,” “My parents didn’t love me enough so now it’s okay that I act this way,” etc. Thus, we are taught to look back and say, “These people are not responsible. The times were hard, people were only following orders, they believed what they wanted and it’s okay.” On the other hand, whether or not we choose to accept responsibility does not mean it doesn’t exist. There are consequences to our actions. No action at all is still a form of action. It’s a choice. Though I am young and did not live through this time, I have spent time in Germany, in France, talking to the people about these very subjects. And I think the Germans, as well as others, did know to an extent. I don’t think many could fathom the absolute horror and the mechanisms of it all, but they knew it was bad, and some knew exactly how bad, and so many did nothing. Thank God there were those who stood up, who fought back, who recognized their ignorance and changed it.
I loved reading this page and looking through the pictures and the comments because, quite frankly, korzac, I couldn’t agree with you more. And I love that you’re “calling their bluff,” so to say.
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Kendra Johnson,
Thank you for your interesting comment about a difficult subject as the Holocaust.
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Actually the need for such an exhibition in terms if history education itself is very evident just in this report alone.
The Occupation of Paris was not from 1940 – 45 as stated but from June 1940 to August 1944.
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