Patrick Desbois

Hannah Rosenthal, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, recognizes the work of Father Patrick Desbois, President of the Yahad-In Unum Association of France, with a Tribute of Appreciation certificate (12 May 2011)

Patrick Desbois (born 1955, in Chalon-sur-Saône) is a French Roman Catholic priest, former head of the Commission for Relations with Judaism of the French Bishops' Conference and consultant to the Vatican. He is the founder of the Yahad-In Unum, an organization dedicated to locating the sites of mass graves of Jewish victims of the Nazi mobile-killing units in the former Soviet Union. He received the Légion d'honneur, France's highest honor and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit 1st Class), Germany's highest honor for his work with Yahad-In Unum documenting the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

Education Desbois attended the Université de Dijon, graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1977. He entered the Grand Seminary of Prado in 1981 and was ordained as a priest in 1986. That same year he earned a master's degree in theology from the Catholic University of Lyon. In 2024, he defended his PhD thesis in history at the Cergy-Pontoise University.

Career In 1978, Father Desbois worked as a math teacher for the French government in Africa. He later worked for Mother Teresa in Calcutta, where he helped set up homes for the dying. In 1986, he was ordained in the priesthood. In 1992, he became the Superior of the Grand Seminary in Prado, Lyon. From 1992-99, he served as Secretary of Jewish Relations for Cardinals Albert Decourtray, Jean Balland and Louis-Marie Billé. After he requested to work with the Jewish community of France, he was appointed secretary to the French conference of Bishops for Relations with the Jewish community from 1999 to 2016. Since 2016 he is a chargé de mission of the Cardinal of Paris. He serves as well as advisor to the Vatican on relations with Judaism.

In 2004, he joined leaders in the French Catholic and Jewish community in founding Yahad-In Unum ("together" in Hebrew and in Latin.) The organization's purpose is to further relations between Catholics and Jews. Its largest and most ambitious initiative is to locate the sites of mass graves of Jewish victims of the Nazi mobile killing units, the Einsatzgruppen, in the former Soviet republics and Eastern bloc.

Between 2015 and 2016, he taught at the Program for Jewish Civilization in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University as an adjunct professor. Since 2016 he is the inaugural holder of the Braman Endowed Professorship of the Practice of the Forensic Study of the Holocaust at the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University.

Work with Yahad–In Unum Father Desbois' interest in the Holocaust started at a young age, because his grandfather, who helped raise him, was a French soldier who had been deported to the Nazi prison camp in Rava-Ruska during World War II. His grandfather did not speak much of his time in the camp, and Father Desbois remained curious about the Holocaust and its victims. Criticisms leveled against Father Desbois include his acceptance of the confessions of complicity in war crimes by those whom he interviews. Professor Omer Bartov has stated: "Desbois doesn't ask a lot of the people that he speaks with. ...He gives the impression that it was the Germans doing all the killing, but in fact much of the organization of the genocide had a lot to do with auxiliary and local police forces. He is not interested in that". Paul Shapiro of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has countered that: "Some people have been critical of his methodology, but no one else is going out and doing this kind of work. It is easy to be critical; it is much harder to have the drive, stamina and commitment to go again and again to these places."

A moment ago, you honored Father Patrick Desbois. Through his own family history, he discovered the tragedy of Ukrainian Jews. He worked for the recognition of the 'Holocaust by Bullets' because the Holocaust had begun even before the camps, and furthermore, not only in Ukraine. It is very important to know how the genocidal process began, and how it came to the extermination camps.

In July 2017, Pope Francis sent a blessing and a message of encouragement to Father Desbois and Yahad-In Unum, writing:

The Holy Father encourages the members of ‘Yahad-In Unum’ to continue their struggle for the just recognition of the violence suffered by so many men and women belonging to different communities.

Work on Documenting Genocide in Ukraine Since March 2022, Patrick Desbois, has been investigating Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. His organization has expanded its focus to Ukraine, where they have conducted hundreds of interviews with victims and witnesses of Russian atrocities.

Debois and his team have been documenting the systematic use of torture by Russian forces in areas such as Kherson, Irpin, and the Kharkiv region. According to his findings, the tortures were part of a broader strategy aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity. The goal was not only to extract information but to force victims to abandon their Ukrainian identity and align with Russian ideology. This form of psychological and physical abuse, including threats against family members, has been seen as a form of genocide.

One of the key reports released by "Yahad-In Unum" highlights the scale and methodical nature of these crimes. According to Desbois, the Russian forces aimed to erase the cultural and national identity of the Ukrainian people, which is a central element of genocide as defined by international law. In his research, Desbois draws parallels between the current situation in Ukraine and past genocides, including the tactics used by Nazi forces during the Holocaust and ISIS against the Yazidis.

Desbois' organization is working with international legal bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Public Prosecutor General (Germany), to ensure that these crimes are documented and prosecuted. The organization has collected substantial evidence to support claims of genocide, including testimonies from victims who were subjected to brutal interrogations and psychological manipulation.

Work with Action Yazidis Action Yazidis is led by Patrick Desbois and collects the words of survivors to document and offer evidence of every step of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL. Father Desbois was interviewed in Sinjar in 2016 by Lara Logan on an episode of 60 Minutes. Until July 2018, nearly 300 semi-directive interviews of Yazidi victims of all ages were conducted by Desbois and his team.

French president Emmanuel Macron praised his work in November 2017:

I salute the importance and seriousness of the highly documented work you and your association are doing to highlight the gravity of the tragedy of the Yazidi genocide.

Patrick Desbois' book reflecting the work of Action Yazidis (with Costel Nastasie: The Terrorist Factory – ISIS, the Yazidi Genocide, and Exporting Terror) was published in 2018.

Bishop's committee for relations with Judaism Due to his position as Director of the French Episcopal Conference's Committee for Relations with Judaism, Father Desbois has had to deal with the controversy following negationist comments made by SSPX bishop Richard Williamson. However, since Desbois has positive relations with the Jewish community, he has been able to maintain a great deal of trust during an otherwise difficult period.

Awards May 1, 2007: he was honored by the American Jewish Committee with its "Jan Karski Award" for his "efforts to identify the mass graves of Jewish victims of the Shoah" and "his dedication to furthering understanding between Christians and Jews" Press Releases - American Jewish Committee. May 4, 2008: Rabbi David Ellenson handed over the Roger E. Joseph Prize to Desbois in New York . May 7, 2008: At the annual National Tribute Dinner the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles presented the Jewish Medal of Valor to Desbois for his commitment to religious tolerance and cooperation . June 12, 2008: He received the Légion d'honneur for his work on the Holocaust October 9, 2008: He won the Shofar of Freedom Award Annual Shofar of Freedom Awards presented today 2008: He won a National Jewish Book Award for The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews May 12, 2009: honorary doctorate from the Bar Ilan University (Israel) Bar-Ilan University - BIU | Israel 2008: Recipient of the Jewish Book Council's National Jewish Book Award June 7, 2009: honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University (Israel) Catholic.co.il May 16, 2012: honorary doctorate from the New York University (United States) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to Speak at NYU’s 2012 Commencement May 3, 2013: honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg (Canada) Honouring Human Rights Leaders Roméo Dallaire and Father Patrick Desbois 2013: LBJ Moral Courage Award from the Holocaust Museum Houston March 4, 2014: he was honored by the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France) with its Award Le Prix du CRIF 2014 attribué au Père Patrick Desbois. May 21, 2015: honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (United States) The Jewish Theological Seminary - JTS Announces 2015 Commencement Honorary Degree Recipients April 28, 2017: honorary doctorate from the St. Francis College (United States)News Post October 24, 2017: Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize from the Lantos Foundation 2017 Prize - Father Patrick Desbois November 8, 2018: Anti-Defamation League Award at the ADL In Concert Against Hate March 26, 2019: Raphael Lemkin Award for exemplary work in the fight against genocide in honor of his dedication to investigating and exposing crimes of genocide around the world from the World Jewish Congress and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations World Jewish Congress January 25, 2023: Annetje Fels-Kupferschmidt Award from the Dutch Auschwitz Committee Nooit Meer Auschwitz lezing June 12, 2023: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit 1st Class) February 5th, 2024: Eternal Flame award from the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, University of Texas at DallasRenowned Researchers Highlight Holocaust Studies at 54th ASC July 11, 2025: Promotion to Officer of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur)

Publications (english) Father Patrick Desbois, The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews, English translation by Catherine Spencer. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. (trade paper edition) Father Patrick Desbois, In Broad Daylight: The Secret Procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets, English translation by Hilary Reyl and Calvert Barksdale. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2018. (hardback) Father Patrick Desbois and Costel Nastasie, The Terrorist Factory: ISIS, the Yazidi Genocide, and Exporting Terror, English translation by. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2018. (hardback)