We’re honored to share an incredible story of resilience and bravery from the family of our Executive Director, Dr. Gabriel Scheinmann. In the post below, Dr. Scheinmann reflects on the life of his grandfather, André Joseph Scheinmann—a German Jew, French Resistance fighter, and British spy during World War II. His grandfather’s extraordinary journey is captured in a newly released memoir, “I am André." https://lnkd.in/eS7i-pTF
My grandfather, André Joseph Scheinmann, was a hero in an age of cowardice. Born in Germany in 1915, Joseph Scheinmann and his family left for France in 1933 after his father had spoken out against Hitler. With war imminent, he joined the French army and was given a pseudonym, André Peulevey, to hide both his German and Jewish identities. He fought in Belgium and escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp after the French surrender in summer 1940. He quickly joined the French resistance, becoming a spy and saboteur for the British and Free French, overseeing a network of 300 operatives, while working undercover as a translator and liaison with the German high command at the Brittany headquarters of the French National Railroads. Summoned by the British, he clandestinely crossed the Channel for initiation and training as an MI6 agent in England. In his absence, he was betrayed and arrested on his return to France. He then spent over a year in Gestapo prisons, including 11 months in solitary confinement and 33 interrogations, then another 14 months in the little-known Natzweiler concentration camp in Alsace, before finally being transferred to Dachau and Allach. Even in the camps, where punishment was certain death, my grandfather worked to slow or sabotage Nazi operations and save his fellow campmates. André was ultimately liberated by the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions of the U.S. Army on April 29, 1945. His parents, Max and Regina, perished in Auschwitz. I was 15 when he passed away, and only in the last decade of his life did he begin sharing his war experience and service. Until then, I only knew my grandfather, well, as my grandfather. He would treat us, charm us, and never ever complain about the physical pain he was in. Only later did I realize it was these very same characteristics–wit, guile, and resilience–that led him to choose fight over flight, and to survive. Last week, I was in London for the launch of I Am André: German Jew, French Resistance Fighter, British Spy, published by Chiselbury Publishing and Stuart Leasor. The book, written by our family friend and extraordinary author and researcher Diana Mara Henry, was three decades in the making and is based on my grandfather’s memoir. I Am André is an amazing real-life story of espionage, courage, and resistance, and of friendship and love. I am so proud to share his story. You can purchase the book here: https://lnkd.in/egrpJcEC “Freedom of mind and physical freedom are a must, yet only when we lose them do we value them. No matter what the odds, these are worth fighting for. Even if the fight seems impossible to win, one must never, never give up. This is why so many women and men went to the ends of the earth, never to come back. And we few survivors must make sure their sacrifice was not in vain.” My grandfather wrote these words nearly 30 years ago. They are even more important today.