In 1941, a group of photographs documenting one of the earliest mass roundups of Jews in Paris has emerged, offering new insights into a lesser-known chapter of the Holocaust in France. These 98 images, taken by a Nazi propaganda photographer during the so-called "green ticket roundup" on May 14, 1941, are now on display at the Shoah Memorial in Paris.

The roundup targeted approximately 3,700 foreign-born Jews who were summoned to various Parisian locations, including police stations and administrative offices, under the pretense of verifying their immigration and identity papers. Organized by Theodor Dannecker, an official envoy of Adolf Eichmann, the operation sought to detain Jewish men and separate them from their families. Women were instructed to return home to collect personal belongings, only to be barred from reuniting with their detained relatives upon their return. The images capture the anguish, confusion, and heartbreak experienced by those caught in this operation.

Among the photographs is a striking image of a kiss between two Jews facing imminent separation by Vichy police. Discovered on a contact sheet purchased at a flea market in Reims in 2020, the photograph stands in contrast to the more sanitized and staged images of Parisian life from that era, revealing a raw and desperate moment amid the unfolding tragedy. The photographer, identified as Harry Croner—a half-Jewish Berlin native who later achieved renown as a cinema and opera photographer—documented the roundup with a sensitivity that belies the intended purpose of Nazi propaganda.

Following their initial use by the German Propaganda Unit in Paris, the photographs were scattered across various European archives, with only a few previously known. Their rediscovery has prompted efforts by historians and the Shoah Memorial’s photo collections director, Lior Lalieu, to identify individuals depicted in the images. First and second-generation survivors were invited to assist, leading to a handful of successful recognitions that serve as poignant connections to personal histories within the vast tragedy.

The roundups captured in these photographs mark the early phase of what historian Raul Hilberg described as the "concentration" stage of Nazi genocide—characterized by methodical separation and imprisonment rather than overt violence. The men detained on May 14 were later transported to internment camps such as Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. A minority managed to escape or were liberated, but the majority were eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where few survived.

This roundup preceded the more infamous mass arrest at the Vélodrome d’Hiver in July 1942, when thousands of Jews—mostly women and children—were subjected to brutal conditions before deportation. While only one known photograph of the Vélodrome roundup existed, the recent discovery of this new collection enriches the visual record of the Holocaust in France, deepening the historical understanding of the systematic persecution carried out under Vichy collaboration.

Exhibited through December, these images no longer serve their original propaganda intent but stand as crucial historical documents. They bear witness to the suffering endured by victims and confront the enduring challenge of preserving memory against the erosion of time. The photographs underscore the power of visual evidence in reminding future generations that the realities of the Holocaust cannot be forgotten.