L'Association des Karaïmes à Paris: de l'entraide amicale (1923-1939) à la lutte contre « la menace monstrueuse suspendue sur nos têtes » (1939-1945)

At the beginning of the 1920s an active émigré community of 324 Karaims (275 Karaims from Crimea and 49 Karaims from Constantinople) had established itself in France. In 1923 they formed an organisation called the Karaims’ Association in Paris (Association des Karaïmes à Paris), headed by Salomon Krym and Boris Saratch. From its initial foundation until 1938, its goal was to promote mutual assistance, foster community ties and support the Karaim religion. However, in 1938, in response to increasing racial persecution and antisemitism in Europe, the Association assumed a new outlook and devoted greater time and effort to trying to help and protect Karaims in distress, mainly those based in Germany and Czechoslovakia.