TheArmée Juive (Jewish Army), was aZionistresistance movement inNazi occupiedVichy France duringWorld War II which was created during January 1942 inToulouse. It was established and led byAbraham Polonski and his wife Eugénie, the socialistLucien Lublin,[1] Russian poetDavid Knout, and his wifeAriadna Scriabina[2] (daughter of the Russian composerAlexander Scriabin).
Armée Juive was originally called theMouvement des Jeunesses Sionistes (M.J.S.). Its intention was to protect threatened Jews and take their fighting skills back toPalestine to help create a Jewish State there. At its height,[when?] it had over 2,000 members[3] and was primarily concerned with helping Jews escape to Spain via thePyrenees although it also conducted attacks and sabotage operations.
The first members of the AJ were recruited from aTorah study group headed by RabbiPaul Roitman (1920). They includedArnold Mandel,Elie Rothnemer,Claude Strauss (writer Claude Vigée) andMaurice Hausner. They received funds to finance their activities fromMarc Jarblum, the socialist president of the refugeeZionist Organization of France which operated fromSwitzerland.[citation needed]
The Army became theOrganisation Juive de Combat[when?] and was officially registered under theFrench Forces of the Interior (FFI).[citation needed]
Placing my right hand on the blue and white flag,
I swear fidelity to the Jewish Army
And obedience to its leaders.
May my people live again,
May Eretz-Israel be reborn.Liberty or death. - the oath of the Armée Juive.
