Marisa Dolmatch ’15, a European studies major, is writing her senior thesis on current anti-Semitic sentiments in France. She is studying whether reactions and responses to today’s anti-Semitism are influenced by the memory of the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Her adviser is Professor of French and European Studies, Ronald C. Rosbottom.
Q: In a little more detail, what is your thesis specifically trying to investigate?
A: France has a very interesting history in terms of the Holocaust because it was occupied by Germany during World War II. The Vichy government collaborated a lot with the Nazis and was responsible in many ways for the deportations of France’s Jews during the war. It has been a very long process for France coming to terms with its history and reaching a place where they can talk about it in a self-aware and apologetic way. It was as recent as 1995 that France, for the first time, apologized and took responsibility as a country — not just on behalf of the Vichy government. Given that the history of World War II has been so long coming in being told, [this subject] is still relevant in the country today. Right now, there has been a big resurgence of anti-Semitism in France and in Europe. I’m looking at how the history of World War II for France and how the anti-Semitism of today are interacting with each other, if at all.
Q: Were there any surprising insights that you found that you weren’t expecting throughout your thesis work?
A: I’m surprised at how much this subject of collaboration and anti-Semitism is still a sensitive and touchy subject in France. I knew that France had a problematic relationship with its role in the Holocaust, but I didn’t realize how persistent this feeling was until I sat down and discussed the matter with people from France. The four years of occupation were not a proud time for France. They’re referred to as the “Dark Years,” and it can seem as if students and the rest of the world continue to gripe on that period when there’s also this long and glorious history that France has, aside from those four years.
Q: How did you end up choosing this topic?
A: I studied abroad as a junior in Paris, and I took a class called France under Hitler, in which I learned about France under the Occupation, as well as the process of remembering the Occupation in the years afterwards. Because I learned about World War II in America, I never learned the history from France’s perspective, and I found the story of the Occupation fascinating, particularly how memory can be so fragile and difficult to pin down. So, I really wanted to focus on how France discusses and remembers the Occupation. Then, this summer, I learned that there were violent anti-Semitic demonstrations occurring in France. Knowing the country’s history and how I’d thought they were extremely conscious of the Vichy government’s past, my first thought was: How is this possible? How could there be anti-Semitic demonstrations in France, given its self-consciousness about its collaboration with the Nazis?
Q: Based on the research you’ve done, do you think a sense of national shame regarding the “Dark Years” stems more from French pride or an issue with the idea of anti-Semitism?
A: I think that it’s likely both. But the thing is, it’s very easy to look on a country and judge it from afar, but when you’re living in a country, one that is yours, you don’t want to always think about the worst years in its history. All countries have reprehensible periods, and one thing I’ve learned is that, whether it’s anti-Semitism or another issue, it’s still your country’s history and it seems only normal that you would want to think well of it. No one wants to dwell on the most negative and upsetting parts.
Q: Do you draw any parallels with anti-Semitism in France and anti-Semitism as a more global phenomenon?
A: Today’s anti-Semitism in France is in many ways specific to its own history — the country has a particular history of anti-Semitism that includes the Dreyfus Affair — but it is also a global matter because the current anti-Semitism is extremely different from the anti-Semitism that came about in World War II. Rather than the more “traditional” anti-Semitism that came about during the Holocaust, a lot of the anti-Semitism today comes from associations with Israel. However, though to a much lesser extent, there is also a rise in neo-Nazism. It’s pretty complicated and I’m still figuring it out.
Q: I realize that in addition to your junior year abroad, you recently visited Paris over interterm. What was your most significant experience?
A: The week that I was in Paris happened to be the week of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the supermarket shooting. Being there was on the one hand frightening because of the tragedy, but also a strange coincidence that I was there at the time — it seemed extremely related to my work. Part of my research included reading archives at the Holocaust memorial in Paris. One day during my research, I left to meet my adviser and his friend for coffee. When I came back, men with machine guns wouldn’t let me back inside because they had shut it down for being “unsafe.” Little did I know, at the time was the hostage situation at the kosher supermarket, so the Holocaust Memorial was considered a dangerous spot. Those two events definitely added an unexpected element to my trip.
Q: Did you feel that traveling to Paris over interterm made a big impact on your thesis?
A: Absolutely. One reason I went to France was to look at how the government right now is telling the story of the Occupation. To do this, I visited the Holocaust memorials as well as an exhibition at the National Archives, which for the first time had released over 300 documents illustrating French collaboration with the Nazis. One thing I looked at was the way that the memorials are set up. Their tone seemed very conscious of France’s role in the Holocaust, and also self-critical. On the other hand, the exhibition that I visited at the National Archives was less hard-toned. You could see that these were designed by two groups that have different agendas and different audiences that they catered to. That experience helped me shape how this is still a very complicated history that is told in different ways, and that there still may not be a common consensus on France’s history with anti-Semitism.
Q: What’s been the most exciting part of your thesis writing?
A: The most exciting was definitely the Charlie Hebdo incident and being able to live in France as this event was happening. Another exciting part is that my advisor has recently published a successful book on France under the Occupation, and it’s been a really exciting process working with him and having the book as a resource.
