Gene Siskel/Roger Ebert, Siskel & Ebert, May, 1998
Two thumbs up. A fascinating movie.... A great thriller as well as a documentary.
Product Description
Set within the magnitude of the Second World War and its aftermath, "In Our Own Hands" reveals for the first time the secret history of the only all-Jewish fighting unit in World War II. Combining the best impulses of "Schindler's List" with the bold antics of "The Dirty Dozen," "In Our Own Hands" introduces audiences to this unique band of soldiers through historical footage and unforgettable interviews. The program offers viewers interested in general and/or Jewish history, as well as WWII buffs, a compelling story of courage and intrigue, justice and revenge, survival and hope.
Like the famed black Tuskegee Airmen and the much-decorated Japanese-American 442nd Infantry, the Jewish Brigade -- young volunteers from what was then Palestine -- had to overcome great prejudice just to be allowed to fight in the British army as Jews. At last receiving their chance, the men of the Brigade faced the Germans in fierce combat during the final Allied offensive in the north of Italy, and came away victorious. Though the war in Europe ended soon after, for these young volunteers from Palestine -- many of whom lost families in the Holocaust -- their war had just begun.
In the first year after the war, Brigade soldiers masterminded one clandestine operation after the next throughout Europe. They formed secret vengeance squads to assassinate Nazi officers in hiding, engineered the rescue and illegal movement of Holocaust survivors to Palestine, and engaged in widespread arms theft for Israel's future War of Independence -- all under the noses of the Allied Armies.
More than anything, "In Our Own Hands" is a story of courage and imagination, providing survivors the missing link between the ruined world that was Europe and hope for a new life in a country of their own.
