Joseph Joanovici (also Ioinovici or Joinovici, 1905 –1965) was a Russian-born Romanian-French
scrap metal
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...
merchant who supplied
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and funded the
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
with the proceeds during the
German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
He made a fortune during the four years of the occupation, and spent it entertaining high-ranking officials. He sold the Germans metal, bribed Nazis officers, financed the Resistance, and may also have given information to Soviet intelligence.
Early life
Joseph Joanovici was born on 20 February 1905 in
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...
, then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, now the capital of
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
. His parents were killed in the
1905 Chișinău pogrom. He married a fellow orphan named Eva and in 1925 emigrated to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, settling in a suburb of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
[
][
]
He got his start in scrap metal at a low-level job in a business owned by his wife’s uncle. Although he was illiterate, and would remain so until late in life, Joanovici was adept at running a business and pushed the uncle out and took over with the help of his brother, Marcel. He began to supply the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
with metal, which made him a millionaire.
According to various sources, he also developed close ties with the
French mafia.
Despite his illiteracy, through hard work and affability,
Joanovici became ''Monsieur Joseph'', a well-known scrap metal merchant in the Paris suburb of
Clichy.
Metal supplier to Germans
When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
broke out, Joanovici understood that as a Jew he would need protection and that the Germans would need sources for metal. He began delivering it to the buying agency of the
Abwehr
The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
at the
Hotel Lutetia.
Joanovici
collaborated with Nazi Germany, while also supporting the Resistance.
[
] In 1941 he was arrested by the German authorities for selling defective materials to the Nazi-owned
WIFO company. At his post-war trial, he characterized this and other transactions as acts of wartime sabotage against the Germans. He spent several months in captivity before he managed to bribe his way to his release.
Around this time he also became associated with
Henri Lafont
Henri Lafont (born Henri Chamberlin, 22 April 1902 – 26 December 1944) was an underworld figure who headed the '' Carlingue'', French auxiliaries for the German security services, during the German occupation of France in World War II.
He w ...
, a leader of the
Carlingue, the Bonny-Lafont Paris black market gang run from 93 rue Lauriston. This greatly increased his social standing in occupied Paris, and Lafont protected him from deportation.
Starting in 1942, Joanovici put himself under the protection of Lafont, who declared after his arrest: "I got him several times out of the Germans' hands, as well as those of the French. Everyone knew I was protecting him. At dinner once, Lafont needled him: "After all, Joseph, you're nothing but a dirty yid!" Joanovici raised his flute of champagne and asked: "How much to not be one anymore, ?
The
DST said it had had in its possession a German file registering him as an agent of the Gestapo.
He was sometimes called an "
honorary Aryan
Honorary Aryan () was a semi-official category and expression used in Nazi Germany and its territories to justify certain individuals who, according to the Nuremberg Laws, were not recognized as belonging to the Aryan race, but who were nonethe ...
". When Henri Lafont co-founded the Brigade nord-africaine the Gestapo, despite its approval, offered little material support, so Joanovici provided it, including the uniforms. This unit later committed several massacres in
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
, and one of its officers, the former team captain of the national football team, was charged with war crimes.
Certainly Joanovici moved in Nazi social circles, took German officers drinking, and made friends through sheer affability and a talent for losing at cards.
Resistance figure
Joanovici also quite early on became involved with the Resistance. Joanovici used his wealth and the privileges he enjoyed as an associate of the Carlingue to support the Resistance in several ways, bribing German officials into releasing a number of potential deportation victims and using his papers of safe-passage to transport weapons to Resistance members in Paris. In addition, credible claims have been made that he was a principal financier of the insurrection that resulted in the
Liberation of Paris
The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...
.
In July 1941 his name already appeared in the police files of the police Resistance network. When that crumbled and Inspector Albert Dhalenne of Clichy and Brigadier Émile Gaget faced a firing squad at in January and February 1942, it came to light that Joanovici had been financing an
escape line of their network that got deserters and escaped prisoners to England via his nephew Ivrail (or Avraili), who ran the
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
subsidiary of his business. Joanovici had also employed Gaget at his
Saint-Pierre location, after he lost his police badge for abandoning his post. Avraili was sentenced by a German court to five years in prison. As the
Liberation of France
The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance.
Nazi Germany in ...
drew closer, Joanovici financed other Resistance networks such as
Honneur de la police.,
as well as some communist groups.
In June 1944, he had
Françoise Giroud
Françoise Giroud (born Lea France Gourdji; 21 September 1916 – 19 January 2003), was a French journalist, screenwriter, writer, and politician.
Biography
Giroud was born in Lausanne, Switzerland to immigrant Sephardi Turkish Jewish parents; ...
freed from
Fresnes prison. He also denounced the members of the French Gestapo known to him, triggering the arrest of
Pierre Bonny
Pierre Bonny (25 January 1895 – 27 December 1944) was a French police officer. As an inspector, he was the investigating officer in the 1923 Seznec case, and was accused of falsifying the evidence. He was once praised as one of the most ta ...
and Henri Lafont on 31 August 1944 at a farm in
Bazoches-sur-le-Betz (
Loiret
Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434. ).
Joanovici was arrested and interrogated several times about his business dealings with the Nazis, then always released. , then the director of the DST, said he was protected by the
préfecture de police
In France, a Prefecture of Police (), headed by the Prefect of Police (), is an agency of the Government of France under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior. Part of the National Police, it provides a police force for an area limi ...
On 5 March 1947 the DST tried to detain him at the Prefecture itself, inside accomplices helped him escape investigators
and leave the country. A purge followed that reached all the way to prefect , who retired for health reasons.
Joanovici avoided arrest after the war, and testified against other
collaborators, most notably
Pierre Bonny
Pierre Bonny (25 January 1895 – 27 December 1944) was a French police officer. As an inspector, he was the investigating officer in the 1923 Seznec case, and was accused of falsifying the evidence. He was once praised as one of the most ta ...
and
Henri Lafont
Henri Lafont (born Henri Chamberlin, 22 April 1902 – 26 December 1944) was an underworld figure who headed the '' Carlingue'', French auxiliaries for the German security services, during the German occupation of France in World War II.
He w ...
, leaders of the Carlingue. For years, he had been financing a Resistance network inside the
Paris Police Prefecture
The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the po ...
, named ''Honneur de la Police,'' and by the time the war was over, he was on such intimate terms with the police that he had his own office at the Prefecture and was awarded the
Resistance Medal
The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...
.
Other institutions were less fond of his wartime activities, with Roger Wybot, the head of French counter-intelligence, in particular seeking his arrest. Aided by employees of the Prefecture, he managed to avoid arrest by fleeing to the American-occupied zone of Germany.
Arrest and imprisonment
Wybot accused the
Paris Police Prefecture
The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the po ...
of protecting him and delaying his arrest. The ensuing scandal led to the resignation of Charles Luizet, the police prefect.
Joseph Joanovici returned to France to surrender to the police: he set up a fake rendezvous in
Phalsbourg on 26 November 1947, but instead went directly to the Préfecture de police, to avoid being arrested by the DST. He was jailed on 28 November at
La Santé prison
La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) ( or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice (France), Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14th arr ...
and charged with economic collaboration in July 1949, was tried without excessive enthusiasm and with contradictory findings: while he collaborated, he also armed the Resistance with the proceeds. "I didn't sell out to the Germans, since I was the one paying them!" he said, and also "What are is one supposed to do against the Germans? What I did was make a fortune." Joanovici was sentenced to five years in prison, but was freed in 1952. France tried to expel him, since he had presented himself variously as Soviet or Romanian,
but no country would accept him. Sentenced to house arrest in
Mende, he tried to rebuild his business. But tax problems arose and he went on the run in October 1957, arriving in
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
via
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
. Because of his past as a Nazi collaborator, he was expelled from Israel, becoming, with
Robert Soblen and
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...
one of the only three Jews to whom Israel refused to apply the
Law of return
The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...
, giving Israeli citizenship to all Jews within its borders.
During his 1949 trial, at least 27 individuals testified that they were released from German captivity due to Joanovici's intervention. These testimonies, along with his support for the ''Honneur de la Police,'' his role in the capture of Bonny and Lafont, and his Resistance Medal, contributed to his exoneration on charges of
intelligence with the enemy. He was, however, found guilty of economic collaboration, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison, as well as confiscation of his property. Since the annexation of his native
Bessarabia
Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
by
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
during the war made his nationality uncertain, he avoided deportation. Furthermore, his poor health rendered him no longer suitable for a prison environment, so the decision was made to keep him under house arrest in a hotel room in the southern town of
Mende. Using the telephone in his hotel room, he was able to rebuild his fortune in the scrap-metal trade and became a very visible philanthropist who enjoyed immense popularity in Mende.
In January 1957, he fled France and sought refuge in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
using a fake passport. After the Israeli authorities became aware of his fake documentation and the false pretenses under which he entered the country, his permit of residence was not renewed, and he was forced to return to France in late 1958. There he was once again arrested and subjected to a trial, which resulted in his acquittal of most of the charges and finally being sentenced to one year in prison.
He was jailed in 1958 at the
Baumettes Prison. Weakened by a long hunger strike, and suffering from arteriosclerosis, he was freed in May 1962 on humanitarian grounds due to his health, and lived quietly thereafter at his modest two-room apartment on
avenue Anatole-France in Clichy, cared for by his former secretary and mistress Lucie Schmidt, nicknamed "Lucie-Fer", Iron Lucy. Ruined, he died impoverished on 7 February 1965.
Legacy
Joanovici's dealings with both the occupying German forces and the French Resistance during the war led to a mixed legacy both during his lifetime and after his death. Both historical and fictional depictions of Joanovici vary immensely, creating a complicated modern image which philosopher
Jeffrey Mehlman described as "an almost unfathomable bundle of contradictions".
While sometimes described as a shady, corrupt and unscrupulous businessman who did not shy away from collaborating with the Nazis, commentators have also noted his efforts as a means to survive under the anti-semitic regime. According to the ''Times of Israel'',
Films and literature
In 1998 the French writer
Alphonse Boudard published the novel ' based on Joseph's life. In 2001 it was adapted as a TV film of the same name, directed by
Josée Dayan
Josée Dayan (born 6 October 1943 in Toulouse, France) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.
Life
Dayan grew up in Algiers, Algeria, where her father Albert Dagnant, who came from a Jewish family, worked as a television direc ...
from a script by
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (; born 28 March 1960) is a French people, Franco-Belgians, Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His Play (theater), plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the wo ...
, with
Roger Hanin as Joseph Joanovici. This adaptation was criticised for what was perceived as an over-sympathetic portrayal of Joanovici.
Between 2007 and 2012 a six-volume graphic novel by and titled ''“”'' was published, dealing with his exploits during the war. An omnibus edition was released in 2015. An English translation was released in 2019 under the title "Once Upon a Time in France".
Films
* 2004: ' television film produced by
Denys Granier-Deferre, with as Joseph Joanovici.
* 2001: ''
:fr:L'Étrange Monsieur Joseph'', television film produced by
Josée Dayan
Josée Dayan (born 6 October 1943 in Toulouse, France) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.
Life
Dayan grew up in Algiers, Algeria, where her father Albert Dagnant, who came from a Jewish family, worked as a television direc ...
from a screenplay by
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (; born 28 March 1960) is a French people, Franco-Belgians, Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His Play (theater), plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the wo ...
adapting
Alphonse Boudard's book, with
Roger Hanin in the role of Joseph Joanovici. This adaptation was criticized for a portrayal of the Joseph Joanovici character some considered too flattering.
* 1996: ''
Un héros très discret'', film produced by
Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the most awarded French filmmakers in history, his international accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and three ...
, based on the novel by
Jean-François Deniau
Jean-François Deniau (; 31 October 1928 – 24 January 2007) was a French politician, diplomat, essayist and novelist. Until 1998, he was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF).
Biography
Minister and diplomat
In 1958, he became ...
. The character of Monsieur Jo, played by
François Berléand, was inspired by Joseph Joanovici (foreign Jewish origin, double agent, controversial after the Libération...).
[.]
See also
*
Useful Jew
*
Carlingue
References
Notes
*
*
Citations
Sources
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* Philippe Bernert, ''Roger Wybot et la bataille pour la DST'' (Roger Wybot and the battle for the DST), Presses de la Cité, 1975.
* Philippe Bernert, "Honneur et police" (Honor and Police), in ''Le roman vrai de la IIIe et de la IVe République'' (The True Story of the 3rd and 4th Republic) - volume 2, s.d. Gilbert Guilleminault, Robert Laffont, collection "Bouquins", 1991.
* Jacques Bonny, ''Mon père, l'inspecteur Bonny'' (My Father, Inspector Bonny), Robert Laffont, Paris, 1975.
*
Alphonse Boudard, ''L'étrange Monsieur Joseph (Joseph Joanovici)'' (The Strange Mr Joseph (Joseph Joanovici)), Robert Laffont, Paris, 1998.
*
Pierre Boutang, ''La République de Joinovici'' (The Republic of Joinovici), Amiot-Dumont, 1949.
*
*
*
* André Goldschmidt, ''L'affaire Joinovici: collaborateur, résistant... et bouc émissaire'' +The Joinovici Affairz: Collaborator, Resistance Fighter...and Scapegoat), Toulouse, Privat, 2002.
* ''Historia'', numbers 26 & 27, "La Gestapo en France" (The Gestapo in France), Tallandier, Paris, 1972.
*
*
Roger Maudhuy, ''Les Grands procès de la Collaboration'' (Important Trials of the Collaboration), Lucien Souny, 2009.
* (about Roger Griveau)
* Patrice Rolli, La Phalange nord-africaine (ou Brigade nord-africaine, ou Légion nord-africaine) en Dordogne: Histoire d'une alliance entre la Pègre et la Gestapo; 15 March-19 August 1944, Éditions l'Histoire en Partage, 2013, 189 pages (mostly about Alexandre Villaplane and Raymond Monange)
* Henry Sergg (pen name of
Serge Jaquemard), ''Paris Gestapo, Laffont, Bonny et les autres'' Gestapo Paris, Lafont, Bonny and the others), Jacques Grancher, 1989.
* Henry Sergg, ''Joinovici: l'empire souterrain du chiffonnier milliardaire'' (Joinovici: The Underground Empire of the Millionaire Rag-picker), Fleuve noir, 2003.
*
Dominique Venner, ''Histoire de la collaboration'' (History of the Collaboration), Pygmalion, Paris, 2002.
Graphic novels
* ''
Il était une fois en France'' (Once Upon A Time in France), by
Fabien Nury and
Sylvain Vallée
** Volume 1: ''L'Empire de Monsieur Joseph'' (The Empire of Mr Joseph), Glénat 2007.
** Volume 2: ''Le Vol noir des corbeaux'' (The Black Flight of the Crows), Glénat 2008.
** Volume 3: ''Honneur et Police'' (Honour and Police), Glénat 2009.
** Volume 4: ''Aux armes, citoyens !'' (To Arms, Citizens!), Glénat 2010.
** Volume 5: ''Le Petit Juge de Melun'' (The Little Judge of Melun), Glénat 2011.
** Volume 6: ''La Terre Promise'' (The Promised Land), Glénat 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanovici, Joseph
Black markets
1905 births
1965 deaths
Businesspeople from Chișinău
People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd
Moldovan Jews
Bessarabian Jews
Romanian emigrants to France
Romanian industrialists
French industrialists
French collaborators with Nazi Germany
French prisoners and detainees
French people of Moldovan-Jewish descent
French people of Romanian-Jewish descent
Jewish collaborators with Nazi Germany
Romanian collaborators with Nazi Germany
People convicted of treason against France
French Resistance members
Jews in the French resistance
Romanian participants in the French Resistance
Gangs in Paris