Ultra-Orthodox Jews want Admiral Canaris honoured

Jerusalem — Lubavitch Jews are pressing for posthumous recognition of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris for saving Jews during World War II when he was head of German military intelligence, a spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox movement said on Wednesday.

The movement has sent a letter to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial requesting that Canaris, who plotted against Hitler, be awarded the title of Righteous among Nations, Rabbi Benjamin Lipshitz told AFP.

Yad Vashem awards the title to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.

"Following historical research we have established that Admiral Canaris saved Rabbi Yosef Schneerson — sixth in that lineage — and 500 other Jews from the Warsaw ghetto," said Lipshitz.

Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn was the sixth Rebbe, or spiritual leader, of the Lubavitch movement.

Canaris was involved in a failed plot against Hitler and was hanged on the Fuehrer’s orders in April 1945.

AFP/Expatica