A Hidden Chapter of History
On February 13, 1943, a chilling order echoed through the streets of Tunis. The Jewish community was commanded to pay 10 million francs to the German occupiers. This was more than extortion—it was a stark reminder that the horrors of the Holocaust stretched far beyond Europe.
The Holocaust’s Reach into North Africa
Many believe the Holocaust was confined to Europe, but North African Jews also faced Nazi oppression. When Vichy France aligned with Nazi Germany after the 1940 Armistice of Compiègne, anti-Semitic laws spread across Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, threatening the centuries-old Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities. Meanwhile, Italian Libya became a dangerous place for its Jewish population.
The level of persecution varied by region, but historian Robert Satloff notes that few North African Jews escaped its effects:
“Virtually no Jew in North Africa was left untouched by the Axis Powers.”
Despite opposition from figures like King Mohammed V of Morocco, thousands of Jews suffered. Satloff estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 North African Jews were executed, while 1,200 Jews who had fled to France were deported to Nazi death camps. He warns:
“If Allied troops had not driven the Germans from the African continent in 1943, two years before the fall of Berlin, then the 2,000-year-old Jewish communities of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya—and perhaps Egypt and Palestine, too—would almost certainly have met the fate of their brethren in Europe.”
The Tragedy of Tunisian Jewry
Of all North African nations, only Tunisia fell under full Axis occupation. According to Yad Vashem, Tunisian Jews endured forced labor, property confiscation, and public humiliation. Over 5,000 Jews were sent to forced labor camps, where they were subjected to starvation, torture, and execution. Others were forced to build the Trans-Sahara Railway under grueling conditions.
Adding to the cruelty, Jews in Tunis were compelled to establish a Judenrat, a council forced to select members of their own community for labor camps. Even sacred sites were desecrated. The Great Synagogue of Tunis was turned into a horse stable, and Jewish men and women were tortured within its walls.
Widespread Persecution Across North Africa
In Italian Libya, thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps, where many died of starvation and disease. The Jewish Quarter of Benghazi was ransacked, leaving its residents destitute. Meanwhile, in Algeria, Jews were stripped of French citizenship, forced to wear identifying badges, and subjected to educational quotas. Even in Morocco, despite the King’s resistance, anti-Jewish policies were implemented.
The Righteous Among the Nations
Despite these horrors, some righteous Arabs risked their lives to protect Jewish families. One such hero was Khaled Abdelwahab. Upon hearing that Nazi officers planned to abduct a Jewish woman, Odette Boukris, and take her to a brothel, he acted swiftly. He warned Odette’s family, sheltered them on his farm, and kept them safe until British forces expelled the Nazis four months later.
For his bravery, Abdelwahab became the first Arab recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. His story is one of many collected by Robert Satloff in Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust’s Long Reach into Arab Lands. These accounts remind us that, even in humanity’s darkest moments, courage and compassion endured.
Honoring the Forgotten Victims
The Holocaust left deep scars on North African Jewish communities. Without the intervention of the Allies, their fate would have mirrored that of European Jewry. As we remember these events, we honor both the victims and the heroes who stood against tyranny, ensuring their legacy is never forgotten.