Many of the extras (including Madeleine Lebeau, whose face is arguably the symbol of that scene) had recently fled Nazi occupation in Europe, so their emotions

Many of the extras (including Madeleine Lebeau, whose face is arguably the symbol of that scene) had recently fled Nazi occupation in Europe, so their emotions were genuine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Lebeau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Lebeau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)#Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)#Cast