auric hellman

The French State was responsible for deporting Jews during the Second
World War, the top judicial authority ruled for the first time yesterday,
but it dismayed families of victims by declaring that they had already been
compensated.

The decision by the Council of State, the final arbiter on civil law
matters, made formal a doctrine that has been accepted by successive
governments since 1995.

It was advising on a case brought by Madeleine Hoffman-Glemane, 75,
one of hundreds of victims who have sued recently for damages over their
arrests and deportation during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944.

The council called for a "solemn recognition of the responsibility of
the State". France was "responsible for damages caused by actions which did
not result from the occupiers' direct orders but facilitated deportation
from France of people who were victims of anti-Semitic persecution", it
said.

The ruling endorses a view that was proclaimed by the former President
Jacques Chirac when he took office in 1995. Before that the crimes of the
collaborationist Vichy Government had been acknowledged but they had been
ascribed widely to an outlaw regime and not to the French State.

The late President Mitterrand who left office in 1995 and who served
as an official of the Vichy regime, refused to accept the responsibility of
the nation for more than 75,000 people who were taken to Nazi death camps.
Most were arrested by French police on the orders of state officials and few
survived.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5748523.ece


It's not often that I'm in agreement with the French but this time I'm in
full agreement; compensation has been paid and accepted by the victims
families. The debt France owes it's Jewish citizens has been paid in full.

--
Dr. Auric D. Hellman
adhellman@volcanomail.com