Casablanca: City of Refugehttps://ephe.academia.edu/YigalBinNun/MarocThough Morocco was ruled by the long arm of pro-Nazi Vichy France, the Jews of Casablanca somehow sheltered thousands of their fugitive European brethren. A forgotten rescue storyOn July 5, 1940, after France fell to the Germans, Jewish lawyer Hélène Cazès-Bénatar founded the Committee for Assistance of Foreign Refugees in Casablanca. Originally from Tangiers, Cazès-Bénatar had visited the city’s British Consulate two weeks earlier to place herself at Britain’s disposal in the war against Germany, even if France surrendered.That month, thirty ships docked in Casablanca’s harbor, their decks packed with refugees – many Jewish – from France and Belgium, which Germany had just occupied. The local authorities had no idea how to deal with the fugitives, who were dying of thirst and starvation. Cazès-Bénatar convinced Casablanca’s mayor to allow them to disembark, promising she would take responsibility for housing. He even allotted her a modest budget. Three hundred or so young people immediately volunteered to help the Jews aboard, who were hoping to reach America. Dr. Leon Benzaquen provided emergency medical attention