Nice – Hotel Excelsior

When Italy withdrew from the war in early September 1943, the Germans immediately occupied the areas under Italian control, including Nice. Just a few days after the occupation, Gestapo arrived in Nice and Adolf Eichmann (who was responsible for the deportations of Jews from occupied territories) sent one of his closest associates, Alois Brunner, to Nice. Brunner’s task was to conduct round-ups of Jews living or hiding in the city. Brunner established his headquarters at the hotel Excelsior a few hundred meters from the train station. From there, Brunner organized the hunt for Jews and suspected Jews. During 80 days of hunting 2,142 Jews were arrested and detained at the hotel before being deported to the Drancy detention camp in northern Paris and then to eastern Europe. As early as August 1942, some 650 foreign Jews seeking refuge in Nice had been arrested by French police working for the Vichy regime. These Jews were sent to Drancy and then on to Eastern Europe. But when the Germans occupied Nice, even Jews who were French citizens were affected.