Codename: Silver

About the Author

Rabbi Corey Margolese is a dedicated family man and passionate educator. As Chair and CEO of the Jewish Learning Fund, a charitable organization, and President of JTeach.ca, he connects Jewish individuals with their heritage while educating communities about recognizing, confronting, and countering Antisemitism, about the Holocaust, and about understanding Judaism. He also leads JTeach Academy, a private Jewish supplemental school offering high school credit, certificate, and general interest courses, in Ontario, Canada. Additionally, he is a contributing educator to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum and the Leon Reich Centre for Combatting Antisemitism. A sought-after speaker in media and conferences, Rabbi Corey bridges tradition and modern insight for audiences everywhere.

Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?

Codename: Silver drops the reader into a lesser-known front of the Second World War—the back-roads, farmhouses, and mountain trails where ordinary French villagers and quietly brilliant Allied operatives fought their own hidden war against Nazi brutality. Our protagonist, John Argent—codename “Silver”—is a German-Jewish refugee who, after learning of his grandparents’ murders in Germany during Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) enlists in the US Army and gets recruited for a clandestine branch of Allied intelligence, “Orion Force.” From sabotage runs in the Cévennes to dizzying cat-and-mouse games with the Gestapo, the novel explores how courage, conscience, and identity survive in the fog of occupation. While the plot is fictional, the moral core is historical fact: places like Le Chambon-sur-Lignon truly sheltered thousands of Jews; countless unnamed partisans really did lure German patrols away from hidden children. In short, Codename : Silver is an adventure story sewn together with threads of historical truth and a fierce insistence that even in the darkest valleys, there were people willing to carry the light.

Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?

I wrote Silver first and foremost for young people just beginning to wrestle with the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the moral hazards of indifference. Early feedback surprised me: grandparents borrowed classroom copies; university students wrote that they saw their own immigrant stories between the lines; a fellow teacher used the novel to open a media-studies unit on propaganda. So I’ve stopped calling it a “YA war novel” and now describe it as “cross-generational historical fiction.” If you’re thirteen and devour fast-paced adventure, you’ll grab on to the parachute jumps and code-breaking. If you’re ninety and remember scanning the short-wave for BBC updates, you’ll hear echoes of your own memories in the radio static between chapters. And for educators, the forthcoming Teacher Resource Guide pairs each chapter with inquiry tasks, primary-source excerpts, and discussion prompts—making the book a flexible anchor text from middle school through senior English and History.

Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?

When I was young, I read “sword and sorcery novels” which all started with Tolkien—first The Hobbit, then the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I return to those books again and again for three reasons:

Hope as a strategic choice. “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” Those words from Gandalf let readers feel sorrow and still move forward—a balance I strive for when teaching about the Holocaust.

Moral clarity without simplicity. Tolkien shows us that evil can look overwhelming, yet small acts of mercy—sparing Gollum, sharing lembas—change the course of history. That theme echoes in Codename : Silver, where a baker’s niece smuggling letters is as crucial as any commando with explosives.

World-building as ethical invitation. Middle-earth feels lived-in because Tolkien respected language, folklore, and geography. I tried to honour that principle by grounding Silver’s missions in real towns, resistance networks, and dialects.

Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?

• Write what ignites your gut, not just what fits a market. Passion is the only fuel that lasts through the fifth rewrite at 2 a.m.
• Read like a thief, revise like a rabbi. Borrow structures, rhythms, and narrative tricks from writers you admire—then interrogate every sentence the way the Talmudic sages probed a verse, asking, “What purpose does this word serve?”
• Let knowledgeable readers break your heart early. Share drafts with people who know the setting, the science, or the history you’re portraying. Their tough questions will save you from bigger stumbles later and deepen your credibility.
• May your pen be nimble, your research honest, and your story a beacon—because the world still needs lights in the darkness.

Qn 5: Where can our readers find out more about you, do you have a website, or a way to be contacted?

Readers can learn more about me on the margolesepublishing.com website or by reaching out to me at cmargolese@margolesepublishing.com.

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