France a "spiritual community"

http://archive.jta.org/article/1940/10/24/2852257/baudoin-defends-legislation/

October 24, 1940


Baudoin Defends Legislation

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (JTA) –

The Petain Government's anti-Jewish legislation was defended by Foreign Minister Paul Baudoin in an interview with American newspapermen, in Vichy, the New York Herald Tribune reported today. The Vichy Government handled the Jewish question "not as a race problem but as a problem of national security," he said.



"The nation is a spiritual community," he went on. "Jews constitute a spiritual community distinct from the community of France that belongs to the soil. Therefore, as a matter of national security, we removed Jews from posts of command and from the teaching profession, which is entrusted with the mission of shaping and moulding future generations of Frenchmen.



"But we sought to avoid humiliating the Jews. We are not putting signs on the streets and shops branding them as Jews. Jews can still pursue most professions and careers, subject to the limitations in regard to the percentage of Jews to be admitted, which each profession will decide for itself."



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"Baudoin Defends Legislation." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 24 Oct 1940.