On Yom HaShoah, which began last night at sundown, much attention is usually paid to the millions of Jews who were murdered in Europe, and the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of European Jews who survived. But much of North Africa also came under the sway of the Axis powers, and although Jews there were less likely to meet their deaths, their situation was hardly enviable. The worst fate, note Aomar Boum and Sarah Abrevaya Stein, was reserved for those who were sent to European concentration camps. As for the others, Boum and Stein cite the following account, written by Eugène Boretz in 1944, of the joint Italian and German occupation of Tunis:
The most sumptuous hotels, Tunisia-Palace and the Majestic, are requisitioned, first in part, and then the civilians are [totally] driven out. In the entrance hall to the Tunisia Palace, signs in three languages inform interested parties that “Jews are unwanted.” The new Belvedere neighborhood has become a colony of Germans. First the Jewish villas are requisitioned, but soon the others are as well. In fact, it is rare for a building not to be either totally or partially occupied. The Germans camp in the superb Belvedere Park, the pride of Tunis. Entry there is forbidden.
It should be noted that, on the intervention of the Italian authorities, Italian Jews were not taken as hostages. On this subject, there arose a conflict between the Italian and German commands, and, in a rare twist, the Italians prevailed after Rome had been alerted. Italy intended to protect its Jews as best it could. It proved this on many occasions, despite its submission to its powerful and irritable ally. . . .
We easily appreciate that the spirit emerging from these official acts could only have the effect of unleashing the army rabble’s basest instincts and opening the gates to violence and arbitrariness. Without doubt, we will never be able to know the extent of all the excesses with which the occupation troops defiled themselves in the darkness of the Tunisian nights. But those who lived in Tunis during these months of shame know of isolated, controlled, undeniable events. They know that, revolver in hand, Germans entered Jewish homes and took their linens, clothes, and valuables, and threw the men out into the street in order to be one-on-one with the women.
Read more on Jewish Review of Books: https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/jewish-history/12273/north-africa-during-world-war-ii/