Jewish Brigade [Hardcover]

Beckman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1998

Although over a million Jews were estimated to be fighting for the Allies by the middle of World War II, the British government (which controlled Palestine) refused to allow the formation of an independent Jewish unit. Finally, in the face of public pressure and horrific reports of the Holocaust, the Jewish Brigade was created in 1944. The Brigade fought against the Germans in Italy during the last year of the war, distinguishing itself in action, and gave Jews across the world pride at seeing, for the first time, soldiers fighting under the flag of the Star of David.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the latter stages of World War II, the British government authorized the recruitment of a Jewish brigade, to be staffed primarily by Palestinian Jews, many of whom had fled Europe a step ahead of the Nazis. Beckman, a veteran of the British navy during World War II, shows how the brigade fought courageously and effectively in Italy in 1944^-45. This is not a uniformly uplifting story, though. Many brigade members, outraged by Nazi persecution of Jews, took part in brutal reprisals against captured Germans. After the war, some members formed small "revenge cells" that hunted down and executed Nazis they believed had committed war crimes. Beckman effectively illustrates the ambivalence of these fighters; they had to fight in a British unit while anticipating the coming fight against British forces supporting the Arab position in the Palestine Mandate. Eventually, many brigade officers rose to prominence in the Israeli Defense Forces. This is a very readable, compact, and informative survey of an obscure episode in Jewish history. Jay Freeman

About the Author

London-based Morris Beckman is a veteran of WWII and has written five previous books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; First Edition edition (October 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885119569
• ISBN-13: 978-1885119568
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,231,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jewish Brigade: An Army with Two Masters 1944-1945, October 7, 2011

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Gideon Maccabees II - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Jewish Brigade: An Army with Two Masters 1944-45 (Paperback)

The Jewish Brigade: An Army with Two Masters 1944-1945 is an excellent read. The book builds on the historical necessity of the Jewish population in Palestine, under the oppression of the British and Arabs, of the need to defend themselves. It describes in detail their desire to build a legitimate well trained fighting force and their struggle to save the Jewish survivors of WWII and to ship captured guns and supplies to Palestine for the War they new was coming with the Arabs, while they were fighting with the Allies to beat the Germans