Toulouse was in the so-called "free zone", which saw no battles and occupation forces till November 1942, but had local "milice" set by the Vichy regime. The attitude toward Jews was so tense that Knuts stopped speaking Russian and used French even with their children. Most Jews tried to flee through Marseilles to South America; Knuts tried too, but failed.Khazan, p. 257 Life was poor and hard, and they took any jobs available.Lazaris, pp. 304–306
