The Holocaust in North Africa: Antisemitic laws and forced labor camps

Despite their distance from European centers, the Jews of North Africa were forcefully displaced to detention and labor camps, subject to discriminatory legislation, and participated in armed groups.

By OHAD MERLIN JANUARY 26, 2025 20:23

YEMENITE JEWS living in an absorption camp in Israel in 1950 (photo credit: REUTERS)

Antisemitic legislation, suffering in forced labor and detention camps, and even fighting in underground organizations – these experiences were all shared by the Jews of North Africa during the Holocaust and World War II. The Jerusalem Post reached out to Haim Saadoun, a renowned historian, professor emeritus at the Open University, and director of the Documentation Center of North African Jews during World War II at the Yad Ben Zvi Center in Jerusalem, to shed light on this often-overlooked aspect of the Holocaust.

“Most of North Africa was under colonial rule during World War II, with some countries even experiencing direct control at some point,” Saadoun reminded, referring to France’s control over Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria and Italy’s control in Libya. “Hitler's aim was to destabilize France, a key colonial power in the region, as well as Britain – through their colonies, protectorates, and areas of influence. He did this to weaken them and divert their attention from the war in Europe,” he added.

“By fostering pro-Nazi elements within these colonized regions, Hitler hoped to create internal strife and weaken his adversaries,” Saadoun continued. “It's important to view the situation in North Africa not just through a European lens but also through a colonial one. In this context, the pro-Nazi incitement in these countries directly influenced Jewish-Muslim relations and further destabilized the situation.”

The different countries in North Africa were far from being monolithic entities: each country had its unique experience, shaped by its colonial history, whether French or Italian. “The common denominator among these countries was anti-Jewish legislation,” explained Saadoun. “The Vichy regime in France, for instance, enacted anti-Semitic laws that were also imposed on its North African colonies.”

Saadoun reminded that France had to pay huge sums of money to Germany as part of their surrender agreement to Germany. “The colonies in North Africa were a labor force that generated income for France. For this reason, they needed the forced labor camps to work properly. They established a committee made of dozens of German and Italian military officers who toured various camps throughout North Africa to oversee the work and make sure that there were no anti-German riots planned. In this context, The Jewish cause was always in the background, but wasn’t the immediate interest of France in the colonies.”

Saadoun continued: "There's a significant historiographical debate about the nature of Vichy's anti-Semitism. Was it merely a result of German pressure, or was it rooted deeper in French society? I believe the second option to be closer to the truth: as I see it, Germans didn't need to exert much pressure, as the Vichy regime was more than willing to implement anti-Jewish policies."

Tunisian Jews were enlisted into forced labor by the Nazis during their six-month occupation from November 1942 (credit: YAD VASHEM)

Antisemitic legislation

These policies, Professor Saadoun explained, had a profound impact on the lives of North African Jews. "The first step was to marginalize Jews from French society," he stated. "The law concerning the status of the Jews, for example, revoked the French citizenship of Jewish citizens, effectively excluding them from the French sphere. This had significant consequences. For instance, many Jews had served in the French army and were now stripped of their rights and even deported back to North Africa."

"The second phase involved the expulsion of Jewish students from the French education system," Professor Saadoun continued. "This had a devastating impact on the social and economic integration of Jews. While the Alliance Israélite Universelle provided an alternative educational system in Morocco, this was not the case in Algeria, where educational opportunities for Jewish students were severely limited."

"The third phase involved the exclusion of Jewish professionals from their workplaces," Professor Saadoun explained. "Jewish doctors, for example, were barred from working in French hospitals. This had a direct impact on public health, as the Jewish medical community played a crucial role in providing healthcare to the French settler population. For this reason, some local officials rejected the implementation of this law.”

Economic discrimination against Jews was not limited to their jobs. "In Algeria, the process of nationalizing Jewish-owned businesses was particularly severe. Owners were forced to sell their assets, often at a significant loss, through a highly formalized process, involving lawyers and accountants meticulously documenting every detail and every shard of ownership."

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Libya, under Italian rule, implemented similar anti-Semitic measures based on Italy's racial laws. "The Italian racial manifesto, similar to the Nuremberg Laws, was implemented in Libya," Professor Saadoun noted. "It outlined the superiority of the Italian race and restricted the rights of Jews in various domains, mirroring the Vichy legislation." In this context, the Giado concentration camp in Libya should be mentioned, where over 560 Libyan Jews died from hunger and poor sanitary conditions.

In Tunisia, a short period of direct German occupation also took place in 1942. “It brought with it the full force of Nazi antisemitic ideology. While there were no extermination camps per se in North Africa, thousands of Jews were rounded up and forced into labor camps and detainment camps. The Germans planned to use these Jews as forced labor," Professor Saadoun explained. "Ideologically, they always wanted to implement the Final Solution in Tunisia as well, but the military situation of the forces present in the region prevented them from carrying out their plans on a large scale."

"The Nazis placed Walter Rauff, the man who came up with the idea of exterminating Jews using gas vans, as commander in Tunisia,” Saadoun mentioned. “However, the German forces were not equipped for an extensive liquidation of the Jewish community, as they lacked the necessary logistical support."

Despite the dangers they faced, North African Jews also played a role in the resistance against the Axis powers. Some joined the French Resistance, and some even formed their own underground networks. "In Algeria, a significant number of Jews who had been dismissed from the French army due to the citizenship laws joined the Resistance. They formed an underground network that assisted the American forces during the Allied invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch."

"In Tunisia," Professor Saadoun continued, "there was also a resistance movement known as the 'Monier Resistance,' led by a French lawyer named Monier. This network gathered intelligence on German and Italian naval activities in the Mediterranean, contributing significantly to the Allied war effort. Alfredo Rossi, a Jewish lawyer and the commander of the Betar youth movement in Tunisia played a crucial role in this resistance network," Professor Saadoun added. "He transported vital intelligence to Sicily, but unfortunately, he was killed in action along with his commanding officer."

Commemoration and research

When asked about the commemoration and research of the holocaust of North African Jews, a topic usually untold, Saadoun showed careful optimism. “At the Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem established a documentation center for North African Jews during World War II twenty years ago,” he elaborated. “We travel around the world's archives and collect new material, as most of the material has only been made available in the last ten or fifteen years. There are still thousands of documents that the public is not yet familiar with and does not know about, and they’re all valuable for Holocaust research.

“We work with Yad Vashem to collect interviews and testimonies from the last remaining Jews who went through these ordeals,” Saadoun continued. “Three universities in Israel offer courses on this topic, and more and more publications about this subject are seeing light. There are conferences in Germany, France and the USA, The Holocaust Museum in Washington also organized workshops on this subject.”

Saadoun added that Yad Vashem’s permanent exhibition also features information regarding the North African Jews during the holocaust, and that the Valley of the Communities also holds names of communities from North Africa. “The Ministry of Education brought history teachers to hear stories and see how to teach it in schools. A lot has been done, but as far as I am concerned, nothing will ever be enough. The state and research institutions need to engage more, but this trend gives hope that this will continue. There is a lot to be done in the field thanks to the discovery of many materials.”