Joseph Joanovici (also Ioinovici or Joinovici, 1905 –1965) was a Russian-born Romanian-French scrap metal merchant who supplied Nazi Germany and funded the French Resistance with the proceeds during the German occupation of France in World War II.

Despite his illiteracy, through hard work and affability,[2] Joanovici became Monsieur Joseph, a well-known scrap metal merchant in the Paris suburb of Clichy.

[4] He had an appearance of artlessness that one commentator characterized as irresistible to those who crossed his path: "the kind of guy who could strike up a conversation with absolutely anyone at the seediest bar..'"[2]When World War II broke out, Joanovici understood that as a Jew he would need protection and that the Germans would need sources for metal.

Around this time he also became associated with Henri Lafont, a leader of the Carlingue, the Bonny-Lafont Paris black market gang run from 93 rue Lauriston.

When Henri Lafont co-founded the Brigade nord-africaine the Gestapo, despite its approval, offered little material support, so Joanovici provided it, including the uniforms.

[2] Certainly Joanovici moved in Nazi social circles, took German officers drinking, and made friends through sheer affability and a talent for losing at cards.

When that crumbled and Inspector Albert Dhalenne of Clichy and Brigadier Émile Gaget faced a firing squad at Mont Valérien [fr] in January and February 1942, it came to light that Joanovici had been financing an escape line of their network that got deserters and escaped prisoners to England via his nephew Ivrail (or Avraili), who ran the La Rochelle subsidiary of his business.

As the Liberation of France drew closer, Joanovici financed other Resistance networks such as Honneur de la police.,[Note 1] as well as some communist groups.

[9] He also denounced the members of the French Gestapo known to him, triggering the arrest of Pierre Bonny and Henri Lafont on 31 August 1944 at a farm in Bazoches-sur-le-Betz (Loiret).

These testimonies, along with his support for the Honneur de la Police, his role in the capture of Bonny and Lafont, and his Resistance Medal, contributed to his exoneration on charges of intelligence with the enemy.

Furthermore, his poor health rendered him no longer suitable for a prison environment, so the decision was made to keep him under house arrest in a hotel room in the southern town of Mende.

After the Israeli authorities became aware of his fake documentation and the false pretenses under which he entered the country, his permit of residence was not renewed, and he was forced to return to France in late 1958.

[7][14] Joanovici's dealings with both the occupying German forces and the French Resistance during the war led to a mixed legacy both during his lifetime and after his death.

Both historical and fictional depictions of Joanovici vary immensely, creating a complicated modern image which philosopher Jeffrey Mehlman described as "an almost unfathomable bundle of contradictions".

While sometimes described as a shady, corrupt and unscrupulous businessman who did not shy away from collaborating with the Nazis, commentators have also noted his efforts as a means to survive under the anti-semitic regime.

According to the Times of Israel, "the most amazing aspect of Joainovici’s story is that he managed to survive the war when many other French Jewish profiteers, such as the infamous Michel (Mandel) Szkolnikoff, met a violent end.

In 2001 it was adapted as a TV film of the same name, directed by Josée Dayan from a script by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, with Roger Hanin as Joseph Joanovici.