The true story of Alfred Nakache, who went from Olympic swimmer to Auschwitz survivor—and back to the Olympics again
Alfred Nakache is a famous athletic icon within France—but outside the country, his story is not well known.
Born in 1915 to a Jewish family that fled Iraq for Algeria, Nakache rose to become one of France's top swimmers, breaking records and competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany—he even finished fourth, beating the German team. By 1944, however, Nakache, his wife and their young daughter were taken and thrown in the Auschwitz concentration camp. His wife and daughter were killed there—but he survived. Emaciated and traumatized, Nakache returned to France after the war and did…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.