In mid-July, the Vichy government of France executed a calculated mass arrest of Jews living in Paris, resulting in the capture of 13,152 individuals, including men, women, and children. This operation, known as the Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv, occurred from July 16 to 17, 1942, and was part of a broader antisemitic campaign endorsed by the Nazi regime. French police, motivated by both collaboration with German authorities and deep-rooted anti-Jewish sentiment, conducted these arrests primarily in the city’s Jewish neighborhoods. The round-up was part of a larger operation aimed at deporting Jews to concentration camps, specifically Auschwitz, for extermination.The victims of the Vel' d'Hiv roundup were transported to the Vélodrome d'Hiver, a large indoor cycling track in Paris, where they were held under inhumane conditions without proper food or sanitation. Many were separated from their families, creating a chaotic and distressing environment. Over the next few days, these individuals were systematically deported to various camps, contributing to the genocide that characterized the Holocaust. The event highlights the complicity of the Vichy regime in the Nazi extermination efforts and the social and political context that enabled such atrocities to occur.The roundup starkly illustrated the dangerous intersection of state-sponsored antisemitism and law enforcement, laying bare the role of local authorities in the implementation of Nazi racial policies. The profound impact of this operation reverberated throughout Jewish communities in France and significantly shaped the narrative of collaboration versus resistance during the occupation. Despite the initial silence on these events post-war, the Vél' d'Hiv roundup later became emblematic of France's wartime complicity in the Holocaust, prompting ongoing discussions about memory, accountability, and the necessity of recognizing such historical injustices.