Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses antisemitism and the Holocaust.

Paris has long had a Jewish population; a Jewish community was documented in Roman Gaul, and the Marais, the Jewish quarter, existed at least from the 13th century. Jewish people were often persecuted and occasionally expelled by the French king, reflecting the bias of Christian belief, but the French Revolution granted civil rights to Jews and permitted the establishment of Jewish-run businesses and synagogues. An estimated 320,000 Jews lived in France before the start of World War II (WWII); 200,000 of them lived in Paris, where they met a rising tide of antisemitism in the 1930s.

Around the 17th century in Europe, the emblem called the Star of David, two overlapping triangles, was adopted by Jewish communities as an official seal. By the 19th century, it had come to represent Judaism. The Nazis of Germany required Jews to identify themselves by wearing a yellow badge in the shape of the star on their clothing; this was designed to permit discrimination.

After invading Austria in 1939 at the beginning of WWII, the German army entered Paris in June 1940, forcing the surrender of the French. Officials agreed to an armistice which split the country in two.