In mainland France, the Resistance enjoyed support from only a small minority of people until the Germans’ 1943 introduction of forced labour persuaded many young men to flee to join maquis groups, for which they afterwards fought with varying degrees of enthusiasm. To challenge the occupiers was difficult and highly dangerous. Given the strong French tradition of anti-Semitism, there was little appetite for assisting Jews to escape the death camps. Much of France’s aristocracy collaborated with the Germans, as well as with the Vichy regime which governed central and southern France until the
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