Jewish spy during Holocaust has socially distanced 100th b-day bash

JTA — The 100th birthday of a Holocaust survivor and former French-Jewish spy who went behind German enemy lines was feted with an appropriately socially distanced parade of cars.

Marthe Cohn sat in her driveway in Los Angeles wearing a face mask and gloves as cars full of people drove by wishing her well, shouting through rolled-down windows and sun roofs. A banner hanging on the garage door behind her read “Happy 100 Birthday Mrs. Cohn.” Neighbors also stood in their driveways holding signs bearing well-wishes.

A letter of congratulations from President Reuven Rivlin was read over a bullhorn and Cohn later received a phone call from both Rivlin and the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as hundreds of emails.

A new documentary, “The Accidental Spy,” tells her story, and Cohn co-wrote a memoir in 2002, “Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany.”

Read more about Cohn’s amazing story on JTA’s sister site Alma.