The Youth Punk Subculture that Rebelled Against the Nazis
How a group of jazz-loving youth resisted imposed rules in World War 2 France
On Sunday, June 7th, 1942, all Jews in occupied France were ordered to wear yellow stars distinguishing them from the non-Jewish population.
The announcement came after a torrent of anti-Semitic legislation was passed. Two years earlier, the French cabinet had begrudgingly requested an armistice with the Germans after the humiliation of multiple military defeats and watching Nazi soldiers triumphantly march down the famous Champs-Elysées in Paris — a moment that would persist in the collective French memory for years to come.
The country had then been divided into two territories: one occupied by the Germans, as well as the “free zone” that would come to be known as Vichy France.
Unfortunately, this zone would be anything but free.
The advent of the Nazi Occupation in France coincided with an explosion of anti-Semitic policies, though anti-Semitism had existed in the country for centuries.
The Germans advised the Vichy government to establish a department on Jewish affairs…
