Joseph Joanovici

Who was Joseph Joanovici?

Joseph Joanovici, also spelled Joinovici was a French Jewish iron supplier, who supplied both Nazi Germany and the French Resistance. He may also have been an agent of the Soviet Comintern. His activities made him a millionaire, but in 1949 he was found guilty of collaboration and sentenced to a prison term. In January 1958 he escaped from France to Israel after he was suspected of fraud. His request to naturalize in Israel under the law of return was denied under the clause of having a criminal past and in December 1958 he was returned to France. There he was acquitted from most of the charges against him and was finally sentenced to one year in prison. He was released in 1962 due to health problems, and died penniless in 1965.

Many details of his life are still mysterious today.