Le Juif et la France

[1][2] This exhibition was based on the work of Professor George Montandon at the School of Anthropology in Paris, author of the book Comment reconnaître le Juif?

As its focal point, it included a huge sculpture of an old, bearded Jew with exaggerated features, clutching a globe as if intent on world domination.

The exhibition opened two weeks after the second large Paris roundup of Jews[6] The antisemitic propagandist Paul Sézille, general secretary of the IEQJ, wrote the introduction to the catalog:[7]By presenting the Jew in his various manifestations, by showing by means of irrefutable and carefully chosen documents how deep the Jewish hold on all the activities of France was, by revealing the depth of the evil which was eating away at us, we wish to convince those of our fellow-citizens who are still of sound mind and good judgment, of the urgency of seeing things as they are and then to act accordingly.The general theme is the supposed corrupt influence of the Jews on French institutions and business activity: the army, the cinema, the economy and literature: "sexual inversion, destruction of our traditions are the favourite themes of Jewish writers"[8][page needed].

To help visitors get an accurate and concrete idea of "the enemy," photographs and models showed faces that corresponded to antisemitic stereotypes such as hooked noses or dirty hair.

[13] It seems however, that after some initial success in the first few days based on novelty, interest waned with the suspicion among the French populace of what the occupying force was trying to convey.