The history of antisemitism and the Left in France has its roots in the 19th Century and the issue continues to be alive today, as some sections of the French Left refuse to face it when it involves acts or speeches by members of the Muslim or Black African Communities. I shall concentrate on the Thirties and Forties when the extraordinary circumstances of the defeat and the ensuing German Occupation pushed some leaders of the Left to the head of two of the main pro-Nazi parties. I shall describe the cause of their trajectory from left to extreme right and their fate.
Daniel Lines was born in Geneva in 1952. His father was a Londoner; his mother was born in Geneva, a daughter of Jewish refugees from the Tsarist Empire. He was educated in Geneva, obtaining a PhD in mathematics in 1981. He then occupied various academic positions, the last active one being that of Senior Lecturer in mathematics at the University of Dijon (France). He retired early in 2004 and came to live with his partner in Glasgow. He also studies Yiddish, his grandparents’ mother tongue, with Heather Valencia’s group.
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society 