Publier sous l'Occupation I. Autour du cas de Jacques Feldbau et de l'Acad\'emie des sciences

TL;DR

This paper examines how French mathematicians, especially Jacques Feldbau, navigated censorship and anti-Jewish laws during the German occupation, focusing on their publishing strategies and institutional responses.

Contribution

It provides a detailed case study of mathematicians' responses to censorship and anti-Semitic laws during WWII in France, highlighting their strategies and institutional dynamics.

Findings

Mathematicians developed specific strategies to continue publishing under censorship.

The Vichy laws significantly impacted the operations of the Académie des sciences.

Jacques Feldbau's case exemplifies the challenges faced by Jewish scientists during occupation.

Abstract

This is an article on mathematical publishing during the German occupation of France. Looking at the cases of four of them and especially at the case of Jacques Feldbau (one of the founders of the theory of fibre bundles), we investigate the way censorship struck the French mathematicians who declared jewish by the Statut des juifs of october 1940, and the strategies these mathematicians then developed. The way the Vichy laws have been discussed and applied at the Acad\'emie des sciences is investigated.