In the 1940s and '50s hundreds of thousands of Jews, many still reeling from the Holocaust, arrived in France. Officials urged Jewish emigres to change their names to sound more French. There was no legal obligation for them to drop their family names, but they often were encouraged to do so.
Two generations later, Jews are feeling a need to reconnect with their roots. They are trying to persuade France's State Council to allow them to return to the family names their parents and grandparents gave up when they arrived here after World War II. There is but one problem: French law doesn't allow for reverting to "foreign sounding" names.
Two generations later, Jews are feeling a need to reconnect with their roots. They are trying to persuade France's State Council to allow them to return to the family names their parents and grandparents gave up when they arrived here after World War II. There is but one problem: French law doesn't allow for reverting to "foreign sounding" names.
You can read more in an article by Kim Willsher in the Los Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-france-jews-20100718,0,307074.story
