Just before Hitler rose to power, Isay Rottenberg, then living in Amsterdam, made an unusual move. Rather than flee the area, he moved to Germany, buying Europe’s most modern cigar factory. In a move that branded him as a sort of reverse–Oskar Schindler, he employed 670 non-Jewish workers and grew his business profitably, refusing to move until the Nazi government forced him to sell his factory and threw him in prison.

Isay Rottenberg and his family survived the war, moving back to Amsterdam afterwards. But he never went public with his remarkable story. After he died, two of his granddaughters—both Dutch journalists—discovered the story and wrote a book about him.

Now, the book has finally been released in English in Canada, where some of his descendents now live. Robert Rotenberg, the author of a best-selling crime novel series, and his cousin Michael Levine, one of the country’s most prominent book agents, have collaborated to bring the story of their relative’s cigar factory to the English-speaking world, and join The CJN Daily to talk about their journey.

What we talked about:

• Buy the book, The Cigar Factory of Isay Rottenberg: The Hidden History of a Jewish Entrepreneur in Nazi Germany, at wlupress.wlu.ca
• Find more work by Robert Rotenberg at robertrotenberg.com
• Join The CJN Circle at thecjn.ca/circle, and use promo code CJNDaily for $36 off

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.