About the story: Mandel Szkolnikoff was born on the 28th of January 1895 in the small town of Sharkawshchyna, today’s Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. In the early 1930s, Mandel Szkolnikoff settled in France and changed his first name to Michel to disguise his Jewish background. In September 1934, he and his brother Gessel founded a company called Textima, which traded in second-hand and surplus fabrics. By 1936, Szkolnikoff had established himself in Paris, and was known locally as “Monsieur Michel.” Though his business appeared modest, he lived comfortably and drove a rare American luxury vehicle - a Cord automobile. Rumors circulated that Szkolnikoff also engaged in the trade of paintings and jewelry brought from Russia. Multiple convictions followed for fraud, illegal banking, and practising medicine without a license. In 1937, a court ordered his expulsion from France, but as a stateless Jew, the sentence could not be enforced. Placed under police surveillance, Szkolnikoff continued his operations, and in the final years before the outbreak of World War 2, his business flourished as he bought up stock from failing competitors, and supplied goods to major Parisian department stores. The Second World War started on the 1st of September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. As German occupation of France began, Mandel Szkolnikoff saw opportunity. While much of the population faced repression, hunger, and fear, he built a vast fortune by serving the Nazi war effort.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Brutal End of Jewish Nazi Collaborator & France’s Richest Man
Aug 19, 2025 | Narrator: Marchand Steenkamp.
About the story: Mandel Szkolnikoff was born on the 28th of January 1895 in the small town of Sharkawshchyna, today’s Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. In the early 1930s, Mandel Szkolnikoff settled in France and changed his first name to Michel to disguise his Jewish background. In September 1934, he and his brother Gessel founded a company called Textima, which traded in second-hand and surplus fabrics. By 1936, Szkolnikoff had established himself in Paris, and was known locally as “Monsieur Michel.” Though his business appeared modest, he lived comfortably and drove a rare American luxury vehicle - a Cord automobile. Rumors circulated that Szkolnikoff also engaged in the trade of paintings and jewelry brought from Russia. Multiple convictions followed for fraud, illegal banking, and practising medicine without a license. In 1937, a court ordered his expulsion from France, but as a stateless Jew, the sentence could not be enforced. Placed under police surveillance, Szkolnikoff continued his operations, and in the final years before the outbreak of World War 2, his business flourished as he bought up stock from failing competitors, and supplied goods to major Parisian department stores. The Second World War started on the 1st of September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. As German occupation of France began, Mandel Szkolnikoff saw opportunity. While much of the population faced repression, hunger, and fear, he built a vast fortune by serving the Nazi war effort.
About the story: Mandel Szkolnikoff was born on the 28th of January 1895 in the small town of Sharkawshchyna, today’s Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. In the early 1930s, Mandel Szkolnikoff settled in France and changed his first name to Michel to disguise his Jewish background. In September 1934, he and his brother Gessel founded a company called Textima, which traded in second-hand and surplus fabrics. By 1936, Szkolnikoff had established himself in Paris, and was known locally as “Monsieur Michel.” Though his business appeared modest, he lived comfortably and drove a rare American luxury vehicle - a Cord automobile. Rumors circulated that Szkolnikoff also engaged in the trade of paintings and jewelry brought from Russia. Multiple convictions followed for fraud, illegal banking, and practising medicine without a license. In 1937, a court ordered his expulsion from France, but as a stateless Jew, the sentence could not be enforced. Placed under police surveillance, Szkolnikoff continued his operations, and in the final years before the outbreak of World War 2, his business flourished as he bought up stock from failing competitors, and supplied goods to major Parisian department stores. The Second World War started on the 1st of September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. As German occupation of France began, Mandel Szkolnikoff saw opportunity. While much of the population faced repression, hunger, and fear, he built a vast fortune by serving the Nazi war effort.