Conflicting Identities: Algerian Jewish Migration to France as a Result of the Algerian War, 1954-1962
Open Access
Author:
Farber, Elinor
Area of Honors:
History
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Tobias Heinrich Albert Brinkmann, Thesis Supervisor Cathleen Denise Cahill, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Algeria France Jews Migration Decolonization Jewish History 1950s 1960s
Abstract:
In 1954, the Algerian War of Independence from France began. Algeria’s Jewish population, which numbered around 140,000 at its height in 1954, had lived in Algeria for centuries and gained French citizenship in 1870 with the passing of the Crémieux Decree. Although as a collective Algeria’s Jews remained neutral throughout the Algerian War, they faced violence and negative economic consequences. Additionally, representatives from both sides of the war met with Algerian Jewish leaders to try to win their support. Algeria gained its independence in 1962, and around 90% of Algeria’s Jewish population immigrated to France as a result. Once in France, they faced housing and job shortages, as well as some discrimination from the French Jewish community. However, they were able to integrate into French society rather quickly and reinvigorate the French Jewish community. Throughout the war and their migration to France, they experienced conflicting ideas about their identities and place in society.