The Germans bombed the city on May 18-19. Many people including a number of Jews fled south. The center of the city was reduced to rubble. A particular obsession with the Jews on the part of the German authorities in France was evident from the start. Jews were commanded by law to register at police headquarters: Name, sex, birth date, birthplace, address, occupation, religious confession, length of continuous residence in France. Jewish businesses were at first placarded to discourage patronage then after being placed in the hands of non-Jewish administrators (commissaires gerants), were placarded again with a different sign to encourage patrons to return. Refugees from Germany and Austria who had fled or been driven out of their homelands were assisted by the philanthropic committee of the synagogue (comite de bienfaisance). In December 1940, however, these individuals were driven out of Amiens toward the south, possibly in company with other foreigners.
