Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

January 27, 2025

The Story of a German Jew Who Worked with the French Resistance and MI6 to Fight the Nazis

André Scheinmann’s tale of heroism.

One advantage Yom HaShoah has over Holocaust Remembrance Day is that its full name—Yom ha-zikaron la-Shoah vela-gvurah, or the day of remembrance for the Holocaust and the heroism—encapsulates that basic truth: Jews must be allowed to defend themselves against their would-be exterminators. Thus it is a good day to dwell on a story of gvurah, like that of Joseph “André” Scheinmann, a German Jew who joined the French resistance during World War II while working for British intelligence, and survived capture and torture by the Nazis. Scheinmann’s biographer, Diana Mara Henry, and his grandson, Gabe Scheinmann, discuss this remarkable life with Aaron MacLean. (Audio, 65 minutes.)

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