98 previously unseen photos on

the roundup of the "Billet vert"

The Shoah Memorial announces the recent acquisition of five contact sheets, representing 98 photographs. This unpublished report details precisely each stage of the first mass arrest of Jews in Paris, on 14 May 1941, 80 years ago, at the initiative of the German authorities, by the forces of the French police.

THE DISCOVERY IN DETAIL

The Shoah Memorial has acquired 5 contact sheets, tracing the locations of the roundup known as the "Billet vert" – on May 14, 1941 – from two specialized collectors. These plates acquired by the Memorial, numbered from 182 to 187 – plate 185 is missing -, represent 98 photos.

The photographer’s five films bring a reality very different from the only photos released by the collaborationist press. For the first time, the places of arrest are immortalized from several angles as well as the protagonists of the roundup. Previously dehumanized by propaganda, or even completely erased from news reports, the families of the victims are represented in the emotion of the farewell, under the eyes of curious people and neighbors.

Above all, this discovery, essential to history and the duty of remembrance, allows us to follow the path taken by these men who were rounded up, from their arrival at the Gymnase Japy, where the mouse was kept, until their internment in the camps of Loiret.

WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHS REVEAL

The 98 photographs, drawn as contact sheets, allow us to follow the progress of the roundup in all these stages and over time.

  1. The first images show the protagonists of the roundup inside the Japy gymnasium under discussion. The two German and French sponsors are perfectly recognizable: Théodor Dannecker (1913-1945), represents Eichmann in France, and head of section IV J of the Gestapo, responsible for the Jewish question.   Admiral François Bard (1889-1944), freshly appointed prefect of police in Paris.
  1. The series of photos of Japy: the men arrested are parked in the bleachers upstairs. The first stage of the roundup has already taken place: the summoned Jews have entered the mousetrap. These unpublished photos reveal the interior of Japy and the hundreds of Jewish men crowded together, as well as their companions, often their wives.
  2. Outside Japy: men still arrive, carrying their summons and are received by the police at the entrance of the gymnasium. They say goodbye to their families as a line of women and children forms. They wait to give clothes back to their loved ones.
  3. The neighborhood is closed off. The neighbors are at the windows. Families are pushed to the back of the street and waiting for news from their loved one. Faces are anxious and the police block, then evacuate the street.
  4. The men of all ages, arrested, go out one by one, supervised by police officers and enter, loaded with their packages, in buses parked just in front of the entrance to the gymnasium on Japy street.
  5. Arrival at Austerlitz station from the back of the station.
  6. At Pithiviers, an unseen view of the black hangar, of which no image had existed until now, during the internment of the Jews, which would later be the location of the recording of the Vel d'Hiv raids and deportations.

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Discover the cultural program around the 80th anniversary of the "green ticket" roundup

Discover some of these photos:

Inside the Gymnase Japy, Paris XIth, place of arrest of foreign Jews on 14 May 1941. A German delegation with the SS Theodor Dannecker, responsible for Jewish affairs in France, and French led by the police prefect François Bard, came to inspect the system.

Gymnase Japy: the arrested men are parked in the bleachers upstairs. The gymnasium center is cleared out. Only police officers circulate. The first stage of the roundup has already taken place: the summoned Jews have entered the mousetrap. We discover for the first time inside Japy and the hundreds of Jewish men crowded together.

Gymnase Japy: some men still arrive carrying their summons and are received by the police officers who guard the entrance of the gymnasium. Women with children arrive with suitcases and packages. The following scenes show that they are in line and waiting for their turn to give away the suitcases.

Gymnase Japy: some men still arrive carrying their summons and are received by the police officers who guard the entrance of the gymnasium. Women with children arrive with suitcases and packages. The following scenes show that they are in line and waiting for their turn to give away the suitcases.

Men arrested waiting for their fate from the mousetrap that has become the Japy gymnasium

The residents of the neighborhood witness the fate reserved for their neighbors now captive and the unusual emotion that reigns around the gymnasium Japy, Paris XIth

After a few hours, the men left the premises under the guard of the police officers and had to board requisitioned buses for their transfer to Austerlitz station.

After a few hours, the men left the premises under the guard of the police officers and had to board requisitioned buses for their transfer to Austerlitz station.

After a few hours, the men left the premises under the guard of the police officers and had to board requisitioned buses for their transfer to Austerlitz station.

The 3,710 men arrested in Paris at the various summoning places were transferred to the Gare d'Austerlitz to be interned in the camps of Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. Four convoys of passenger wagons were formed, two convoys with 2,140 men to the camp of Beaune-la-Rolande and two convoys with 1,570 men to that of Pithiviers. These convoys arrive on May 14 in the afternoon.

The 3,710 men arrested in Paris at the various summoning places were transferred to the Gare d'Austerlitz to be interned in the camps of Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. Four convoys of passenger wagons were formed, two convoys with 2,140 men to the camp of Beaune-la-Rolande and two convoys with 1,570 men to that of Pithiviers. These convoys arrive on May 14 in the afternoon.

The photos were taken the day after the roundup at the Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande camps. The men had to move into cold, unsanitary barracks under construction. The straw that will serve as a mattress in the cabins is still outside the barracks.

The photos were taken the day after the roundup at the Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande camps. The men had to move into cold, unsanitary barracks under construction. The straw that will serve as a mattress in the cabins is still outside the barracks.

The gendarme to the left of the photo, posted in a watchtower, overseeing the camp of Beaune la Rolande, is the emblematic photo of the film Nuit et Brouillard, censored upon its release in 1955.

The camp of Beaune-la-Rolande and view of the city.