Marseille 1900-1943. La mauvaise réputation

The first major roundup of French Jewish families in January 1943, the evacuation of 20,000 people from the northern neighborhoods of the Old Port, and their destruction. Nearly 1,500 people were deported and 14 hectares destroyed.

Nearly two months after the Germans arrived in Marseille, in January 1943, following a series of attacks, Hitler himself ordered unprecedented repression. With the collaboration of the Vichy regime, the first major roundup of French Jewish families took place, along with the evacuation of 20,000 people from the northern neighborhoods of the Old Port and their destruction. Nearly 1,500 people were deported and 14 hectares destroyed.

This exhibition aims to help visitors understand how such a series of events could occur, without overlooking the ideological and strategic stakes of the Nazis. It seeks to explore the beginnings of the catastrophe, showing that, although nothing was predetermined, the unthinkable was made possible by the accumulation of representations attached to Marseille’s history and to an overwhelming imaginary: a very particular image of Marseille, especially its old neighborhoods, that had been developing for decades—a bad reputation.

Marseille, an ungovernable and ung­overned city, a rebellious city, a den of bandits. It is the symbol of political and moral degeneration. An infamous blemish that must be erased from the landscape through a vast purge presented as urgent and beneficial, in order to wipe from the map this ghetto of the poor and “metics,” a refuge for all those persecuted between the two world wars: Italian antifascists, Spanish republicans, German opponents, stateless Jews, and finally, one of the centers of the Marseille Resistance during the Occupation. It is through exploring this complex interplay of reflections, unfolding over half a century, that exhibition visitors will be invited to approach the reality of these neighborhoods and the imaginary they generated, and to understand the path toward the destruction of a symbolic district.

Texts and images, along with 8 sound creations, convey the tone of the period. Two actors, Claude Leprêtre and Jean-Rémi Chaize, perform a selection of texts by novelists, reporters and editorial writers from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as several dissident voices that escape this stigmatizing view of working-class neighborhoods. These highlight the ambivalence of the view of Marseille, caught between exotic fascination and phobic repulsion, where hatred of foreigners and class contempt often go hand in hand. An original musical composition, written and performed by Singhkeo Panya, accompanies the voices.

The exhibition is divided into 4 themes: Cosmopolitanism The colonial port A whiff of scandal In the dock

Since July 9, a second section of the exhibition "Marseille 1900-1943. la mauvaise réputation": PRÉMICES, an immersive and artistic audiovisual creation. PRÉMICES evokes the atmosphere of an era through the eyes of photographers. Two slide shows and a film essay reveal popular Marseille’s old neighborhoods before the war, the turning point in the 1930s when views of foreigners and undesirables became more radical, and the postwar period, as immortalized by photographers such as Jacques Windenberger, Pierre Ciot and Kamar Idir, as well as through the vision of filmmakers. An ode to the city of Marseille and a lyrical, dreamlike tribute. A nomadic journey through cosmopolitan Marseille. Audiovisual creation by Edouard Mills Affiff, senior lecturer in Film Studies (Université Paris-Cité/Aix-Marseille Université), documentary filmmaker and director. Free

► To be sure of being able to enjoy the complete tour of all our exhibition rooms, we invite you to contact the Museum before your visit.

► To promote access to culture for everyone, the City of Marseille offers free admission to temporary exhibitions on their opening day and on the first Sunday of every month.

► All tours and activities related to the exhibition are available on the musees.marseille.fr website