75 per cent of French Jews survived the war in France. They received help within the framework of individual initiatives, mutual help structures, and the resistance movement — mainly Jewish. The author reconstructs the legal situation, administrative division, military operations, and the involvement of the SS, SD, and French collaborators during 1940–1944 which led to the specific legal conditions and the atmosphere that enabled the French to act. The main problem the SS faced during the final solution’ was the lack of regulations prohibiting the French from helping Jews and ones that would have separated Jews from non-Jews. In an attempt to threaten the French, the Germans arrested the Jews, dismantled the help organisations’ structures, and arrested those suspected of provision of shelter to Jews. In 1943 the SD joined the SS in the carrying out of the ‘final solution’ and managed to significantly increase the number of French collaborators. The Germans gained momentum to hunt down Jews, which led to more arrests. In 1944 the resuming of the military operations in France made it enemy territory to the Germans. Repressions became more brutal and the 'final solution' policy ceased to consist only in arrests and deportations and began to involve dozens of executions of Jews conducted by the Germans and their French supporters. Every intensification of the brutality and repressions led to increased help.