Tens of thousands of Jewish soldiers fought against the Nazis in various military settings. Refugees from Poland who reached the USSR established two military units in conjunction with the Red Army. Young men from Palestine enlisted in a brigade under the British flag. Most Jewish soldiers, however, served in the Red Army and with the Allied forces. In the correspondence that took place between soldiers and their families and friends, one senses the passion with which they went into battle to avenge themselves of the Nazis. Others wrote from PoW camps, expressing their yearnings and asking for parcels containing necessities that they were lacking. After the war, soldiers of the Jewish Brigade were dispatched to newly liberated Europe and reported what they saw in their letters.
Correspondence with Jewish soldiers
Massuah Exhibitions – “Destination Unknown”
From: Moshe Feldman, prisoner number 4540, Stalag VIII B
To: Mischa Kolodny, Tel Aviv
"I feel well and have been receiving
packages from the Red Cross."
To: Mischa Kolodny, Tel Aviv
"I feel well and have been receiving
packages from the Red Cross."
From: Salek Frankel, Voroshilovgrad, Ukraine
To: Abraham Jakubowski Koemoyevo, Russia
"Hanyek got married before the war.
We discussed how we would write to you."
To: Abraham Jakubowski Koemoyevo, Russia
"Hanyek got married before the war.
We discussed how we would write to you."
From: Abraham Kaplan, a soldier in the Jewish Brigade, Antwerp
To: His wife in Kefar Sava, Palestine
"We celebrated Passover
down to the last detail.
Their food was extraordinary,
with dumplings. Each dumpling could kill
a whole Nazi battalion."
To: His wife in Kefar Sava, Palestine
"We celebrated Passover
down to the last detail.
Their food was extraordinary,
with dumplings. Each dumpling could kill
a whole Nazi battalion."
From: Arnold Fastman, POW camp in Italy
To: His parents, Hadera, Palestine
"I'm not the kid I used to be."
To: His parents, Hadera, Palestine
"I'm not the kid I used to be."
From: Josef, a soldier in the Polish army
To: Zvi Melnicer, Haifa, Palestine
"I promise you and all the friends
that I will avenge the blood of our dear ones
our people."
To: Zvi Melnicer, Haifa, Palestine
"I promise you and all the friends
that I will avenge the blood of our dear ones
our people."
From: Ben Zion, serving in the Red Army
To: Mischa Kolodny (Moshe Kol), Palestine, via the Jewish Agency in London
"Give hearty best wishes to
everyone who knows me.
May they work relentlessly,
may they help to defeat our
common enemy."
To: Mischa Kolodny (Moshe Kol), Palestine, via the Jewish Agency in London
"Give hearty best wishes to
everyone who knows me.
May they work relentlessly,
may they help to defeat our
common enemy."
From: Sasha, a soldier in the Red Army
To: His family, somewhere in the Soviet Union
"Life is going beautifully. There are high
hopes of imminent victory."
To: His family, somewhere in the Soviet Union
"Life is going beautifully. There are high
hopes of imminent victory."
From: Baruch Przenica, a second lieutenant in the Polish army
To: His friends Gecle and Shoshana, Palestine
"One would have to be a genius
who’s not yet been created to write about
our people’s great tragedy under
the accursed Germans’ occupation."
To: His friends Gecle and Shoshana, Palestine
"One would have to be a genius
who’s not yet been created to write about
our people’s great tragedy under
the accursed Germans’ occupation."
From: P.Y. Wielenski, a soldier in the Soviet Army
To: The director of postal services in Jerusalem
"I am taking into account the cordial
relations that exist between the Soviet Union
and Great Britain.
I hope you respond to my request"
To: The director of postal services in Jerusalem
"I am taking into account the cordial
relations that exist between the Soviet Union
and Great Britain.
I hope you respond to my request"
From: Correspondence between the POW Maurycy Bergman (Oflag XII A) in Germany
To: His relatives, Ukraine
"Even though I have written several
letters, none has been answered. Therefore,
I turn to you and ask you [...] way to inform
my mother that I am alive and well and have
been taken prisoner by the Germans."
To: His relatives, Ukraine
"Even though I have written several
letters, none has been answered. Therefore,
I turn to you and ask you [...] way to inform
my mother that I am alive and well and have
been taken prisoner by the Germans."