The Jews of Tunisia in the Turmoil of the Second World War (1940–1943)

Introduction: This course explores the experience of Tunisia and its Jewish community during the upheavals of the Second World War, from 1940 to 1943. It places this history within the wider context of the Holocaust and the spread of antisemitic policies under Nazi Germany and Vichy France, while paying particular attention to how these policies reached Tunisia and affected people living there. Across four modules, learners will examine the political and social context of the period, the implementation of Vichy’s antisemitic legislation in Tunisia, and the six months of German military occupation from November 1942 to May 1943. The course also looks at the different experiences and choices of people in Tunisia during this period — including forms of protection, resistance, collaboration, and everyday responses — and considers how this part of Tunisia’s history has been remembered, discussed, and understood over time.

Course developed with Dr. Habib Kazdaghli