Adolfo Kaminsky

by Oded Fleischer

Joined Jan 2020
Published Books 1

Who Is He?

Adolfo Kaminsky was born on October 1st, 1925. He was born in Argentina to a Jewish family from Russia. When he was 7, they moved to Paris, and from there to Vire(a small town in France) to his uncle. Adolfo worked in a dye shop and became fascinated by the chemistry of colourants.

He later created his own lab at his uncle’s house and worked in a butter-shop as an assistant to a chemist who taught him the basics.

In 1940, after the German invasion of France, the family house in Vire was taken by the Germans and Kaminsky temporarily lived in another house. His mother was killed by the Nazis in 1941. Aged 17, Adolfo Kaminsky entered the French Resistance.

In 1943 his family was interned in the camp of Drancy, as a prelude to deportation. Thanks to support from the Consul of Argentina, which had broken diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany under pressure from the United States, they were freed on 22 December 1943, and moved on to Paris.

Adolfo then worked in an underground laboratory in Paris where he passed the rest of World War II forging identity papers for Jews and people sought by the Nazis. The Kaminsky Lab became the main producer of false IDs for northern France and Benelux.

Today he lives in France, with his wife and 5 kids.

Jacques Falck has made a documentary film about his life, Forging Identity.

His Achievements

Adolfo Kaminsky joined the French resistance after the nazis killed his mother. At first he watched the german trains and kept track of where they went. Then he worked in an underground laboratory where he forged identity documents for jewish people and people sought by the nazis. He forged 30 new identity documents in one hour and by the end of the war he manage to save the lives of 14,000 jews. After that he fought for the French army and marched to Germany. At the end of the war he made fake identity papers for the French secret service. After the war he helped to forge documents for jewish to immigrate to Israel. he was awarded the combatants cross for fighting for the french army and the cross of the resistance volunteer combatant for his help in the french resistance.

Bibliography

Wikipedia, “Adolfo Kaminsky”.

mahJ, “Adolfo Kaminsky. Forger and photographer”.

blind, Adolfo Kaminsky: The photographer forger.

Kazan Today, “Adolfo Kaminsky: How he and his three-person team saved more than 14,000 Jews and others during World War ll. “

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