Description

Year 1942 – In the summary are listed Circulars 319 to 368 relating to a wide variety of subjects. Following are the texts of some dealing with the census of Jews, requests for reinstatement of French nationality, organizations representing the profession – Jewish members, and the regime for the eviction of Jewish civil servants and agents from public services :

– Circular n° 323 of April 16, 1942 relating to the census of Jews. The Prefect asks that the census check be carried out on the occasion of the renewal of ration cards “by only issuing new cards to Jews upon presentation of the declaration receipt”. He specifies: “Jewish surnames are sufficiently well known in Algeria for there to be little possible confusion in this regard”.

– Circular n° 362 of April 9, 1942 relating to the issuance of certificates of non- belonging to the Jewish race. The Prefect asks to no longer issue certificates of non-belonging to the Jewish race, and although frequently requested, that the requests be addressed to him directly to the “Service for Jewish Questions and Secret Societies”.

– Circular n° 363 of April 9, 1942 relating to the representative bodies of the Profession. – Professional unions. – Jewish members. The Prefect instructs that Jews can be part of professional unions but they cannot take part in general assemblies nor, consequently, in votes intended to settle a question which interests the profession.

– Circular n° 364 of April 16, 1942 relating to the regime of eviction of Jewish civil servants and agents of the Public Services. It refers to other circulars of 1941 which “specified the conditions of application of the eviction regime instituted with regard to Jewish civil servants and agents by the laws of October 3, 1940 and June 2, 1941 relating to the status of Jews” . A decree of February 3, 1942 “came to fix the conditions and the duration of the receipt of the salary after termination of service in the absence of the right to pension or allowance”. Then is described in a very detailed way “the situation of the various categories of Jewish civil servants and agents governed by the aforementioned texts”, civil or military, at the level of the calculation of pensions, allowances for family responsibilities, family allowances, various benefits, etc. ..

A letter of May 29, 1941 from the Governor General of Algeria to the Prefect of Constantine is appended to the circular. It gave the general framework of the above instructions and concluded as follows : “I would be grateful if you would review the situation of the Jewish officials and agents placed under your authority, taking into account these indications, in order to regularize, if necessary, their situation and to settle their fate definitively ”.

– The following circulars of April 9, 1942 are included in the file : n° 365 is “relating to the distribution of food rationed in April 1942”, n° 366 is “relating to the use of eggs in pastry making”, n° 367 is “relating to the sheep market and the export campaign”, and they do not refer to the status of the Jews.