Sacred Treason

Race, Religion, and The Holocaust in France

What happens when trusted institutions fail in moments of moral crisis? Sacred Treason tells the untold story of how Catholic and Jewish leaders in France responded to the Holocaust—not just through public action or silence, but through the quiet negotiations, hidden doubts, and private assurances that shaped the fate of tens of thousands.
 

Drawing on years of archival research across four countries and three languages, Sacred Treason uncovers a gripping and often heartbreaking history of how religious and political leaders navigated the rise of Nazism and the collaborationist Vichy regime. At the heart of the book is a simple but urgent question: How do people make decisions when the world around them is falling apart?
 

Moving beyond traditional accounts that focus on top French and Nazi officials or heroic resisters, this book opens the doors of churches, synagogues, and government offices to reveal the messy, behind-the-scenes reality of institutional life during genocide. Catholic bishops sent mixed signals—offering private sympathy while staying publicly silent. Vichy officials made quiet promises they never intended to keep. And Jewish leaders, desperately trying to protect their communities, often placed hope in relationships that proved tragically misleading.
 

But Sacred Treason also challenges the idea that Jews were simply victims without agency. Instead, it shows how French Jewish leaders actively resisted Vichy and the Nazis’ racial agenda—not by opposing the consequences of antisemitic persecution, but by rejecting the very premise that they constituted a separate race. Many insisted they were French citizens who happened to be Jewish, not racial outsiders—a stance rooted in French Catholic and republican ideals and supported by centuries of civic integration.

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Through this lens, Sacred Treason sheds new light on how genocide unfolds—not only through violence, but through trust, misjudgment, and the quiet erosion of moral certainty. It shows how institutions can blur the line between safety and danger, loyalty and betrayal. And it raises pressing questions about how societies respond to rising hatred today.

This is not just a book of historical sociology. It’s a story about power, belief, and the devastating consequences of misplaced faith in the institutions we count on to protect us.