Adolfo Kaminsky
Encyclopedia
Adolfo Kaminsky or Adolphe Kaminsky (born in Argentina
on October 1, 1925) is a former French Resistance
, specializing in the forgery of identity document
s, who later went on to assist Jewish emigration to Israel
and then to forge identity documents for the National Liberation Front and French draft dodger
s during the Algerian War (1954–62). He forged papers for thirty years for different activist groups, mainly national liberation front
s, without ever claiming money for it.
, in the Calvados
department, in 1938, where his uncle was established. Adolfo worked in a dye
shop, being fascinated by chemistry
of colourant
s. He bought at that time a treatise from Marcellin Berthelot
at a flea market
. He later created his own lab at his uncle's house, and worked in a butter
-shop as assistant of a chemist who taught him the basics.
was taken by the Germans, and he temporarily lived in another house, in which Michel Drucker
's father was also hosted. His mother was killed by the Nazis in 1941. Aged 17, Adolfo Kaminsky entered the Resistance
. At first, he watched the train-station of Vire
from where railcars of the Todt Organization, loaded with material for the Atlantic Wall
, transited. He sent messages to London about these trains. However, his family was interned
in the camp of Drancy
, last stop before deportation, in 1943. Thanks to support from the Consul
of Argentina, which country had broken diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany
under pressure from the United States, they managed to be freed on 22 December 1943, and moved on to Paris.
Adolfo then worked in an underground laboratory in Paris (17, rue des St Pères) where he passed the rest of the war
forging identity papers for Jews and people sought by the Nazis. He was introduced to the network, the Resistant group, while researching false ID for his father. This group, made up of Jewish people from the General Jewish Union (including Marc Hamon, alias "the Pingouin", Suzie, Loutre, René, etc.) and called La Sixième, was having problems deleting Waterman
blue ink stains on papers. Adolfo told them to use lactic acid
, and thereafter joined the group, finally becoming responsible for the chemical forgery lab. They notably had to respond to the challenge of the invention of the watermark
. Kaminsky also quickly learned photogravure
under a false pretext, and set up a new lab in order to create "real-false" documents. The Kaminsky Lab became the main producer of false ID for northern France and Benelux
, although ties with other clandestine groups were discontinued, each group working as a cell.
He used to say: "Keep awake. The longer possible. Struggle against sleep. The calculation is easy. In one hour, I make 30 false papers. If I sleep one hour, 30 people will die."
After the Liberation of Paris
(August 1944), he joined the French Army
and marched to Germany. He was awarded the Médaille de la Résistance
, and was engaged by the French military secret services, who charged him with making false IDs for spies
sent behind the lines in order to investigate and detect the location of concentration camps
before their dismantlement by the Nazis.
giving an important role to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
, and became a photographer.
He resigned from the military services at the beginning of the Indochina War, unwilling to collaborate in a colonial war
. He thereafter continued to forge papers for various groups, working first with the National Liberation Front of Algeria and French draft dodger
s by setting up a clandestine lab in Paris. He collaborated with the Jeanson network
and Henri Curiel
during the war. In 1962 he produced a cubic meter of 100 Franc notes (estimated value 100 million Francs) to help the Algerian fight by destabilising the French currency and thus economy. When the cease fire was declared in March 1962 the notes were burnt in a huge bonfire. "It never entered our heads to keep the notes. Money always leads to problems."
Starting in 1963, he assisted various leftist movements from Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Saint-Domingue
, Haiti), Africa (Guinea-Bissau, Angola, South Africa) and from Portugal (then under Salazar
's dictatorship) and Francoist Spain. He trained a lot of people in forgery in order to support them in their struggle against dictatorships. He always worked for free, in order to be able to refuse a job if he didn't support the ideas - the only exception being during World War II, when the lab took up all his expenses in order to make him able to dedicate himself full-time to this job.
He also supported the Greeks struggling against the regime of the Colonels, and made false ID papers for American draft dodger
s during the Vietnam War
. In 1968, he also made false ID for Daniel Cohn Bendit to allow him to speak at a meeting - he would later on say : "It was certainly the least useful, but a way of showing that there is nothing more porous than a border
and that idea
s don't know them".
He made his last false ID in 1971, putting an end to his career. He lived 10 years in Algiers
, married to an Touareg woman, with whom he had five children. In 1982, he moved to France with a temporary residence permit. All his family was naturalized
French in 1992.
Adolfo Kaminsky has been awarded with the Croix du Combattant
, the Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance
, and recently the médaille de Vermeil de la ville de Paris for his acts during the Resistance.
Jacques Falck has made a documentary film on his life, named Forging Identity. Kaminsky's son is a well known hip-hop singer, Rocé. Among other themes close to conscious hip hop, his lyrics highlight his various origins (Jewish, Argentinian, Russian, French, Algerian, Muslim, etc.) and support peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recall history of the US civil rights movement
and of Black Power
, sometimes not well known by French youth, and defends feminism
.
His daughter, Sarah, born in 1979, is an actress and writer, who wrote her father's biography, Adolfo Kaminsky, une vie de faussaire (Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 2009).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on October 1, 1925) is a former French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, specializing in the forgery of identity document
Identity document forgery
Identity document forgery is the process by which identity documents issued by governing bodies are copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those who would view the documents about the identity or status...
s, who later went on to assist Jewish emigration to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and then to forge identity documents for the National Liberation Front and French draft dodger
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
s during the Algerian War (1954–62). He forged papers for thirty years for different activist groups, mainly national liberation front
National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front may refer to:* National Liberation Front for South Vietnam * National Liberation Front * People's Liberation Front , sometimes referred to as the National Liberation Front...
s, without ever claiming money for it.
Before the war
Born in Argentina in a Jewish family from Russia, his family moved to Paris in 1932, where his father worked as a tailor, then to VireVire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
, in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
department, in 1938, where his uncle was established. Adolfo worked in a dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
shop, being fascinated by chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
of colourant
Colourant
A colourant or colorant is something added to something else to cause a change in colour. Colourants can be:* Dyes* Pigments* Biological pigments* Inks* Paint* Coloured chemicals...
s. He bought at that time a treatise from Marcellin Berthelot
Marcellin Berthelot
Marcelin Pierre Eugène Berthelot was a French chemist and politician noted for the Thomsen-Berthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substances and disproved the theory of vitalism. He is considered as one of the greatest chemists of all time.He...
at a flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
. He later created his own lab at his uncle's house, and worked in a butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
-shop as assistant of a chemist who taught him the basics.
World War II
After the German invasion of France, in 1940, his house in VireVire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
was taken by the Germans, and he temporarily lived in another house, in which Michel Drucker
Michel Drucker
Michel Drucker, CQ is a popular French journalist and TV host.Michel Drucker was born in Vire, Calvados, in Normandy. Jacques Drucker, a doctor, is Michel's younger brother, and Jean Drucker, a TV top executive, is Michel's older brother. He started a journalistic career in 1965 at the ORTF as...
's father was also hosted. His mother was killed by the Nazis in 1941. Aged 17, Adolfo Kaminsky entered the Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. At first, he watched the train-station of Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
from where railcars of the Todt Organization, loaded with material for the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
, transited. He sent messages to London about these trains. However, his family was interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in the camp of Drancy
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
, last stop before deportation, in 1943. Thanks to support from the Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
of Argentina, which country had broken diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
under pressure from the United States, they managed to be freed on 22 December 1943, and moved on to Paris.
Adolfo then worked in an underground laboratory in Paris (17, rue des St Pères) where he passed the rest of the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
forging identity papers for Jews and people sought by the Nazis. He was introduced to the network, the Resistant group, while researching false ID for his father. This group, made up of Jewish people from the General Jewish Union (including Marc Hamon, alias "the Pingouin", Suzie, Loutre, René, etc.) and called La Sixième, was having problems deleting Waterman
Waterman pens
The Waterman pen company is a major manufacturer of fountain pens. Established in 1884 in New York City by Lewis Edson Waterman, it is one of the few remaining first-generation fountain pen companies, as Waterman S.A.. It is currently owned by Newell Rubbermaid.- History :The initial years of...
blue ink stains on papers. Adolfo told them to use lactic acid
Lactic acid
Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...
, and thereafter joined the group, finally becoming responsible for the chemical forgery lab. They notably had to respond to the challenge of the invention of the watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
. Kaminsky also quickly learned photogravure
Photogravure
Photogravure is an intaglio printmaking or photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a...
under a false pretext, and set up a new lab in order to create "real-false" documents. The Kaminsky Lab became the main producer of false ID for northern France and Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
, although ties with other clandestine groups were discontinued, each group working as a cell.
He used to say: "Keep awake. The longer possible. Struggle against sleep. The calculation is easy. In one hour, I make 30 false papers. If I sleep one hour, 30 people will die."
After the Liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
(August 1944), he joined the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
and marched to Germany. He was awarded the Médaille de la Résistance
Médaille de la Résistance
The French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
, and was engaged by the French military secret services, who charged him with making false IDs for spies
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
sent behind the lines in order to investigate and detect the location of concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
before their dismantlement by the Nazis.
After the war
After the German capitulation, he helped Jews to emigrate to the British Mandate for Palestine from 1946 to 1948, at a time when the United Kingdom was imposing quotas limiting immigration (see also Bricha). After the foundation of Israel, he stopped this job, refusing a "religious state" endorsed by the Secular-religious Status quoStatus quo (Israel)
In Israel, the term status quo refers to the political understanding between religious and secular political parties not to alter the communal arrangement in relation to religious matters, in a predominantly secular population...
giving an important role to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme halakhic and spiritual authority for the Jewish people in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two chief rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious...
, and became a photographer.
He resigned from the military services at the beginning of the Indochina War, unwilling to collaborate in a colonial war
Colonial war
Colonial war is a blanket term relating to the various conflicts that arose as the result of overseas territories being settled by foreignpowers creating a colony...
. He thereafter continued to forge papers for various groups, working first with the National Liberation Front of Algeria and French draft dodger
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
s by setting up a clandestine lab in Paris. He collaborated with the Jeanson network
Jeanson network
The Jeanson network was a group of French communist militants led by Francis Jeanson who helped Algerian National Liberation Front agents operating in the French metropolitan territory during the Algerian War. They were mainly involved in carrying money and papers for the Algerians and were...
and Henri Curiel
Henri Curiel
Henri Curiel was a left-wing political activist. Born in Egypt, Curiel led the communist Democratic Movement for National Liberation until he was expelled from the country in 1950. Settling in France, Curiel aided the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale and other national liberation causes...
during the war. In 1962 he produced a cubic meter of 100 Franc notes (estimated value 100 million Francs) to help the Algerian fight by destabilising the French currency and thus economy. When the cease fire was declared in March 1962 the notes were burnt in a huge bonfire. "It never entered our heads to keep the notes. Money always leads to problems."
Starting in 1963, he assisted various leftist movements from Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
, Haiti), Africa (Guinea-Bissau, Angola, South Africa) and from Portugal (then under Salazar
Salazar
- Angola :* Vila Salazar, Portuguese colonial name for the city of N'dalatando in the province of Cuanza Norte- Spain :* Salazar , a village in the municipality of Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León* Salazar Valley, in...
's dictatorship) and Francoist Spain. He trained a lot of people in forgery in order to support them in their struggle against dictatorships. He always worked for free, in order to be able to refuse a job if he didn't support the ideas - the only exception being during World War II, when the lab took up all his expenses in order to make him able to dedicate himself full-time to this job.
He also supported the Greeks struggling against the regime of the Colonels, and made false ID papers for American draft dodger
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
s during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1968, he also made false ID for Daniel Cohn Bendit to allow him to speak at a meeting - he would later on say : "It was certainly the least useful, but a way of showing that there is nothing more porous than a border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
and that idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
s don't know them".
He made his last false ID in 1971, putting an end to his career. He lived 10 years in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, married to an Touareg woman, with whom he had five children. In 1982, he moved to France with a temporary residence permit. All his family was naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
French in 1992.
Adolfo Kaminsky has been awarded with the Croix du Combattant
Croix du combattant
The Croix du combattant is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France.-History:...
, the Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance
Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance
The Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in one of the resistance groups, or have been deported or interned for acts of the Resistance, or have been killed or injured in acts of resistance during World War...
, and recently the médaille de Vermeil de la ville de Paris for his acts during the Resistance.
Jacques Falck has made a documentary film on his life, named Forging Identity. Kaminsky's son is a well known hip-hop singer, Rocé. Among other themes close to conscious hip hop, his lyrics highlight his various origins (Jewish, Argentinian, Russian, French, Algerian, Muslim, etc.) and support peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recall history of the US civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and of Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
, sometimes not well known by French youth, and defends feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
His daughter, Sarah, born in 1979, is an actress and writer, who wrote her father's biography, Adolfo Kaminsky, une vie de faussaire (Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 2009).
See also
- Identity document forgeryIdentity document forgeryIdentity document forgery is the process by which identity documents issued by governing bodies are copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those who would view the documents about the identity or status...
- Lucio UrtubiaLucio UrtubiaLucio Urtubia Jiménez is a Spanish anarchist famous for his practice of expropriative anarchism. At times compared to Robin Hood, Urtubia carried out bank robberies and forgeries throughout the 1960s and 1970s...
(Spanish anarchist, forger who attempted to disrupt Capitalist economy)
External links
Study on Kaminsky Interview- Norah Reinhardt: Fighting Nazis with Fakes. Spiegel OnlineSpiegel OnlineSpiegel Online , the online version of German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, is one the most visited news websites written in the German language.- Company :...
, 2011-8-25 - Forging Identity, a film about Adolfo Kaminsky
- TED Talk: Sarah Kaminsky: My father the forger