The Holocaust was one of the most devastating moments in our history. The Vel d’Hiv roundup greatly impacted so many Jewish lives, mainly during the year of 1942. Millions of people died during the Holocaust a the Vel d’Hiv was just a small portion of these deaths. Vel d’Hiv, which is short for Velodrome d’Hiver, was built in the early 20th century in Paris, France. It would soon be used as a place to keep all of the Jews in Paris and its suburbs. The Velodrome d’Hiver had a known reputation of famous rallies, cycling competitions, and roller-skating tournaments. This made it a popular French place to witness culture and tradition. It was a happy place that many families went to, to watch and enjoy the atmosphere. Until July 16 and 17 of 1942 when everything changed. “The French police carried out a mass arrest of over 13,000 Jewish people, including children.” stated paragraph 3 of “Revisiting the Vel d’Hiv roundup through the camera lens.” Many Jewish families were held there in horrifying and crammed conditions until July 22, when they were transported to French internment camps in Loiret. French police and Nazi soldiers later took children, who were under the age of 16, away from their families and deported then to Auschwitz, were most children were killed.…show more content… After Vel d’Hiv was destroyed, it was definitely not forgotten. Jewish organizations gather every year at the velodrome site to remember what horrible events had once happened there. “In 1993 a parliamentary bill introduced a National Day of Commemoration of the Racist and Anti-Semitic Persecutions as a way of remembering not to forget what the Jews had gone through.” said the article “Revisiting the Vel d’Hiv roundup through the camera
