« L’incident Ducas ». Un conflit de loyautés au sein du judaïsme consistorial français, 1943-1947

Abstract

Between 1944 and 1947, the Consistoire Central des Israélites de France, the flagship institution of French Judaism, internally assessed the responsibilities of one of its members, Raymond Ducas, whose escape from the Drancy internment camp and flight to Switzerland in 1943 allegedly led to the arrest of his cousin by marriage André Baur. This case questions an individual conduct, which was subject to divergent interpretations. On the one hand, Ducas’ choice was considered disloyal and dishonorable by Baur’s relatives, and on the other, heroic and patriotic by the former escapee and his supporters. Drawing on the abundant documentation this case has generated, this article explores the conflict of loyalty between “Religion and Fatherland,” the Consistoire’s motto, triggered by the disloyalty attributed to one of its members

Keywords

• Holocaust
• French Judaism
• Postwar Period
• Purge
• Honor Court