1
00:00:04,505 --> 00:00:08,474
g ]
-It was 1937.
I was 13 years old.
2
00:00:08,509 --> 00:00:13,178
We had a baseball team, just
a bunch of kids in a sandlot.
3
00:00:13,214 --> 00:00:16,048
We called ourselves
the Spartans,
4
00:00:16,083 --> 00:00:19,785
growing up there in Sea Gate
and Coney Island.
5
00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:21,387
We had the beach.
6
00:00:21,422 --> 00:00:25,891
We had the ocean,
barefoot all summer long.
7
00:00:25,926 --> 00:00:30,029
While on May 4th,
the German airship Hindenburg
8
00:00:30,064 --> 00:00:31,997
came across from Germany,
9
00:00:32,033 --> 00:00:34,166
and it came right over
the ball field
10
00:00:34,201 --> 00:00:36,001
that we were playing on.
11
00:00:36,037 --> 00:00:39,004
It had a big swastika
on the tail,
12
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,741
so we picked up bricks
and rocks and threw it at it.
13
00:00:42,777 --> 00:00:44,576
It was that swastika.
14
00:00:44,612 --> 00:00:47,212
We could connect with
what was happening in Germany
15
00:00:47,248 --> 00:00:49,014
with Hitler.
16
00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:52,017
Sea Gate at that point
was largely Jewish.
17
00:00:52,053 --> 00:00:54,887
Everybody knew
about the Germans.
18
00:00:54,922 --> 00:01:01,860
The extent of their viciousness,
that was another matter.
19
00:01:01,896 --> 00:01:04,363
That was another matter.
20
00:01:04,398 --> 00:01:08,834
♪♪
21
00:01:08,869 --> 00:01:13,305
♪♪
22
00:01:15,842 --> 00:01:19,545
♪♪
23
00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:23,382
♪♪
24
00:01:23,417 --> 00:01:27,219
♪♪
25
00:01:27,254 --> 00:01:31,056
♪♪
26
00:01:31,092 --> 00:01:34,893
♪♪
27
00:01:34,929 --> 00:01:38,730
♪♪
28
00:01:38,766 --> 00:01:42,568
♪♪
29
00:01:42,603 --> 00:01:45,104
-More than half a million
Jewish Americans
30
00:01:45,139 --> 00:01:49,808
served in the U.S. Armed Forces
during World War II.
31
00:01:49,844 --> 00:01:51,944
-As Americans and as Jews,
32
00:01:51,979 --> 00:01:54,379
we realized that we
had to protect
33
00:01:54,415 --> 00:01:56,648
what we have in this country --
34
00:01:56,684 --> 00:02:00,352
liberty,
freedom of religion and speech,
35
00:02:00,387 --> 00:02:05,858
and as Jews, we did what
they thought we couldn't do.
36
00:02:05,893 --> 00:02:08,260
-They were rich and poor,
37
00:02:08,295 --> 00:02:10,629
urban and rural,
38
00:02:10,664 --> 00:02:14,032
religious and secular.
39
00:02:14,068 --> 00:02:16,535
Most were the children
of immigrants
40
00:02:16,570 --> 00:02:18,904
who had escaped
persecution in Europe
41
00:02:18,939 --> 00:02:22,975
and were welcomed
onto America's shores.
42
00:02:23,010 --> 00:02:25,878
Now, they would return
to battle the hatred
43
00:02:25,913 --> 00:02:29,081
that their parents had fled.
44
00:02:29,116 --> 00:02:31,150
They would endure
anti-Semitic slurs
45
00:02:31,185 --> 00:02:32,951
from their fellow servicemen
46
00:02:32,987 --> 00:02:38,624
and be forced to prove that
they were also true Americans.
47
00:02:38,659 --> 00:02:41,160
-My fellow soldiers wanted
to know,
48
00:02:41,195 --> 00:02:43,195
"How on Earth did you wind up
49
00:02:43,230 --> 00:02:45,264
in the infantry
on the front lines?
50
00:02:45,299 --> 00:02:46,865
You're Jewish."
51
00:02:46,901 --> 00:02:50,502
I said, "Because I wanted
to be there."
52
00:02:50,538 --> 00:02:53,739
-Like all Americans,
they fought against fascism,
53
00:02:53,774 --> 00:02:56,742
but they also fought
a more personal fight:
54
00:02:56,777 --> 00:03:00,012
to save their
brethren in Europe.
55
00:03:00,047 --> 00:03:02,915
-We went to war
to destroy the Nazis,
56
00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:05,684
and that was a mission
for all of us.
57
00:03:05,719 --> 00:03:09,788
We went to war
to save the world.
58
00:03:09,823 --> 00:03:12,257
-They would come home changed
59
00:03:12,293 --> 00:03:14,793
and would continue the fight
for equality
60
00:03:14,828 --> 00:03:17,696
and tolerance in America.
61
00:03:17,731 --> 00:03:21,934
-Hundreds of thousands of Jews
returned to the United States
62
00:03:21,969 --> 00:03:25,337
and changed the people
around them.
63
00:03:25,372 --> 00:03:28,507
It was a transformative moment
64
00:03:28,542 --> 00:03:31,143
in the history
of the United States
65
00:03:31,178 --> 00:03:33,779
and the history
of American Jews.
66
00:03:33,814 --> 00:03:35,781
♪♪
67
00:03:35,816 --> 00:03:38,517
-We were there for a reason:
68
00:03:38,552 --> 00:03:42,588
to reclaim who we were...
69
00:03:42,623 --> 00:03:47,326
and not to forget who we were
and where we came from.
70
00:03:47,361 --> 00:03:49,127
That's why we went.
71
00:03:49,163 --> 00:03:54,866
♪♪
72
00:03:57,471 --> 00:04:01,106
♪♪
73
00:04:01,141 --> 00:04:06,178
-In the 1930s, 4 million Jews
lived in America,
74
00:04:06,213 --> 00:04:08,947
half of them in New York City.
75
00:04:08,983 --> 00:04:10,716
♪♪
76
00:04:10,751 --> 00:04:13,552
-I came from
Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
77
00:04:13,587 --> 00:04:16,888
Families were clustered
together in tenements.
78
00:04:16,924 --> 00:04:20,158
Like, my aunt Jenny
was on the third floor.
79
00:04:20,194 --> 00:04:22,761
My grandmother
was across the hall.
80
00:04:22,796 --> 00:04:26,031
You know, in those days,
most of Brooklyn could've been
81
00:04:26,066 --> 00:04:28,734
a suburb of Kiev, you know?
82
00:04:28,769 --> 00:04:31,903
-I was born in...Poland.
83
00:04:31,939 --> 00:04:33,939
When I was 4 years old,
84
00:04:33,974 --> 00:04:36,308
we came to the States.
85
00:04:36,343 --> 00:04:40,779
This country is a land
of milk and honey.
86
00:04:40,814 --> 00:04:44,750
-Jews in the United States were
free to practice their religion,
87
00:04:44,785 --> 00:04:46,685
and inside their communities,
88
00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:51,056
they lived a rich
and open Jewish life,
89
00:04:51,091 --> 00:04:53,091
but outside their neighborhoods,
90
00:04:53,127 --> 00:04:55,327
they discovered
an American society
91
00:04:55,362 --> 00:04:58,497
that was often hostile
and suspicious.
92
00:04:58,532 --> 00:05:01,099
♪♪
93
00:05:01,135 --> 00:05:03,802
-I grew up in The Bronx.
94
00:05:03,837 --> 00:05:05,137
In my neighborhood,
it was very Jewish,
95
00:05:05,172 --> 00:05:07,205
so we felt very secure there.
96
00:05:07,241 --> 00:05:10,075
However, when I started
going to junior high school,
97
00:05:10,110 --> 00:05:13,612
I had to walk from 183
Street down 189th Street,
98
00:05:13,647 --> 00:05:15,681
and the very first year,
99
00:05:15,716 --> 00:05:20,118
I was accosted by an Italian
gentleman who took my money,
100
00:05:20,154 --> 00:05:24,122
and I could hear the word
"Jew, kike," whatever.
101
00:05:24,158 --> 00:05:28,827
-There was a great deal of
anti-Semitism in the 1930s.
102
00:05:28,862 --> 00:05:32,931
A lot of large companies
would not employ Jews.
103
00:05:32,966 --> 00:05:36,268
There were whole neighborhoods
where they could not live.
104
00:05:36,303 --> 00:05:39,604
Many schools limited
the number of Jewish students
105
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,640
who could attend,
106
00:05:41,675 --> 00:05:45,644
and lots of hotels,
country clubs
107
00:05:45,679 --> 00:05:48,146
did not admit Jews at all.
108
00:05:48,182 --> 00:05:49,915
[ Children shouting ]
109
00:05:49,950 --> 00:05:52,684
-I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
110
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,487
and I was the only Jew
in the school.
111
00:05:55,522 --> 00:05:58,023
I remember in the third grade,
suddenly,
112
00:05:58,058 --> 00:05:59,891
the children
weren't playing with me,
113
00:05:59,927 --> 00:06:02,127
and I didn't know why,
and I asked one of the kids,
114
00:06:02,162 --> 00:06:04,329
and he said, "Well, the teacher
said you're a Jew.
115
00:06:04,365 --> 00:06:06,998
We're not supposed
to play with you."
116
00:06:07,034 --> 00:06:10,068
That was a very
anti-Semitic period.
117
00:06:13,941 --> 00:06:17,843
-In January 1933, Adolf Hitler
and the Nazi Party
118
00:06:17,878 --> 00:06:20,645
rose to power in Germany.
119
00:06:20,681 --> 00:06:22,881
From the beginning,
their ideology was steeped
120
00:06:22,916 --> 00:06:26,952
in racial hatred
and anti-Semitism.
121
00:06:26,987 --> 00:06:30,489
German Jews were segregated
from the rest of society,
122
00:06:30,524 --> 00:06:35,193
their businesses marked
with a Jewish star.
123
00:06:35,229 --> 00:06:40,365
And in 1935, the Nuremberg Laws
defined Jews as a separate race
124
00:06:40,401 --> 00:06:42,701
and stripped them
of their citizenship.
125
00:06:44,805 --> 00:06:46,371
-I grew up in Munich.
126
00:06:46,407 --> 00:06:49,374
There was a general
boycott of Jews,
127
00:06:49,410 --> 00:06:52,711
and most Jewish stores
were closed.
128
00:06:52,746 --> 00:06:56,815
When I was 16 years old,
I was kicked out of school.
129
00:06:56,850 --> 00:07:00,685
All the Jewish kids
were kicked out.
130
00:07:00,721 --> 00:07:04,356
-My father was a teacher.
131
00:07:04,391 --> 00:07:07,225
Hitler came to power,
132
00:07:07,261 --> 00:07:12,197
and my father lost his position.
133
00:07:12,232 --> 00:07:17,269
My mother decided her children
would have no future in Germany,
134
00:07:17,304 --> 00:07:20,539
and we emigrated in 1938,
135
00:07:20,574 --> 00:07:25,811
just before the persecution
turned deadly.
136
00:07:31,118 --> 00:07:34,085
-[ Speaking German ]
137
00:07:34,121 --> 00:07:36,955
♪♪
138
00:07:36,990 --> 00:07:39,758
-On November 9, 1938,
139
00:07:39,793 --> 00:07:41,760
Hitler's campaign
against the Jews
140
00:07:41,795 --> 00:07:44,095
escalated into violence.
141
00:07:44,131 --> 00:07:47,132
The Nazis burned more
than 200 synagogues
142
00:07:47,167 --> 00:07:49,901
and destroyed thousands
of Jewish businesses
143
00:07:49,937 --> 00:07:52,804
in what would become
known as Kristallnacht,
144
00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,107
"The Night of Broken Glass."
145
00:07:56,143 --> 00:08:00,278
Thousands of Jews fled Germany,
afraid for their lives.
146
00:08:02,850 --> 00:08:08,220
-One day,
my brother Isaac at 16,
147
00:08:08,255 --> 00:08:12,791
and I at 14, we left Germany,
148
00:08:12,826 --> 00:08:17,429
and little did I know,
if anybody would have told me,
149
00:08:17,464 --> 00:08:23,235
"You'll return. You'll return
as an American solider,"
150
00:08:23,270 --> 00:08:26,505
I would've said,
"Stop this dreaming."
151
00:08:32,746 --> 00:08:38,583
-On September 1, 1939,
Nazi Germany invaded Poland.
152
00:08:38,619 --> 00:08:43,421
Two days later, Britain and
France declared war on Germany.
153
00:08:43,457 --> 00:08:46,391
Almost immediately, Hitler's
forces began to round up
154
00:08:46,426 --> 00:08:49,194
Poland's 3.2 million Jews
155
00:08:49,229 --> 00:08:52,864
and force them into ghettos.
156
00:08:52,900 --> 00:08:56,768
In the next 2 years,
Hitler seized most of Europe,
157
00:08:56,803 --> 00:08:59,504
marching relentlessly
through the low countries
158
00:08:59,540 --> 00:09:02,707
into France, Denmark and Norway,
159
00:09:02,743 --> 00:09:05,744
and deep into the Soviet Union.
160
00:09:05,779 --> 00:09:08,013
There, the Nazis massacred
161
00:09:08,048 --> 00:09:12,017
hundreds of thousands of Jewish
men, women and children,
162
00:09:12,052 --> 00:09:16,054
the first mass killings of Jews
in German-occupied territories.
163
00:09:17,958 --> 00:09:22,027
[ Gunshot ]
164
00:09:22,062 --> 00:09:24,696
-The rumors were,
in the Jewish community,
165
00:09:24,731 --> 00:09:28,633
Jews were being slaughtered
and, you know, and it was...
166
00:09:28,669 --> 00:09:30,669
Something had to be
done about it.
167
00:09:33,307 --> 00:09:36,608
-But most Americans did not
want to go to war,
168
00:09:36,643 --> 00:09:42,347
until December 1941,
when everything changed.
169
00:09:42,382 --> 00:09:45,650
-Me and my friends
played basketball
170
00:09:45,686 --> 00:09:49,487
on December the 7th, 1941,
171
00:09:49,523 --> 00:09:53,158
and as we're walking back home,
all of a sudden,
172
00:09:53,193 --> 00:09:57,429
"Extra! Read all about it!
Pearl Harbor bombed."
173
00:09:57,464 --> 00:09:59,431
And we looked at each other,
and we said,
174
00:09:59,466 --> 00:10:02,334
"Where in the hell
is Pearl Harbor?"
175
00:10:02,369 --> 00:10:04,803
That was the beginning.
176
00:10:04,838 --> 00:10:08,740
-The next day,
America entered the war.
177
00:10:08,775 --> 00:10:11,776
-The day after Pearl Harbor,
I got in line.
178
00:10:11,812 --> 00:10:15,246
There were two lines as far as
you could see, people enlisting.
179
00:10:15,282 --> 00:10:17,716
That is Texas.
Texas is that way.
180
00:10:17,751 --> 00:10:20,986
A great feeling of patriotism.
181
00:10:21,021 --> 00:10:23,221
Texas, "draft" is a bad word.
182
00:10:23,256 --> 00:10:24,489
You enlist.
183
00:10:24,524 --> 00:10:26,558
"You drafted?"
[ Laughs ]
184
00:10:26,593 --> 00:10:29,060
You don't say that.
185
00:10:29,096 --> 00:10:30,996
-Well, I had seen
all the footage
186
00:10:31,031 --> 00:10:34,299
of the Kristallnacht,
what the Nazis were doing,
187
00:10:34,334 --> 00:10:36,601
and so I thought
I wanted to get in there
188
00:10:36,637 --> 00:10:39,604
and do something about it.
189
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,574
They wouldn't take me
without my parents' signature,
190
00:10:42,609 --> 00:10:44,509
so I got my father to sign,
191
00:10:44,544 --> 00:10:47,812
and my mother wasn't
that anxious to have me do it.
192
00:10:47,848 --> 00:10:50,949
♪♪
193
00:10:50,984 --> 00:10:53,385
-Baseball star Hank Greenberg
joined the service
194
00:10:53,420 --> 00:10:56,588
a few days after Pearl Harbor.
195
00:10:56,623 --> 00:10:59,157
A hero to Jews
throughout the nation,
196
00:10:59,192 --> 00:11:03,161
he had endured anti-Semitic
slurs his entire career
197
00:11:03,196 --> 00:11:07,065
and famously refused
to play ball on Yom Kippur,
198
00:11:07,100 --> 00:11:10,435
the holiest day
of the Jewish year.
199
00:11:10,470 --> 00:11:14,839
-Greenberg is the home-run king
in the American league.
200
00:11:14,875 --> 00:11:16,741
-Greenberg later said,
201
00:11:16,777 --> 00:11:19,911
"I didn't pay too much attention
to Hitler at first
202
00:11:19,946 --> 00:11:23,048
or any of the political
goings-on at the time,
203
00:11:23,083 --> 00:11:26,384
but I came to feel that
if I, as a Jew,
204
00:11:26,420 --> 00:11:27,919
hit a home run,
205
00:11:27,954 --> 00:11:30,155
I was hitting one
against Hitler."
206
00:11:30,190 --> 00:11:33,024
[ Cheers and applause ]
207
00:11:33,060 --> 00:11:35,160
-♪ You're in the army now ♪
208
00:11:35,195 --> 00:11:37,028
♪ You're not behind the plow ♪
209
00:11:37,064 --> 00:11:38,930
♪ You'll never get rich
while digging a ditch ♪
210
00:11:38,965 --> 00:11:40,365
♪ You're in the army now ♪
211
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,200
-What you had to understand,
212
00:11:42,235 --> 00:11:45,070
the all-embracing
quality of that war.
213
00:11:45,105 --> 00:11:48,306
It's like nothing ever since.
214
00:11:48,341 --> 00:11:51,176
My older brother
was a naval officer.
215
00:11:51,211 --> 00:11:56,881
Six of my older first cousins
were in the military,
216
00:11:56,917 --> 00:12:02,053
including my cousin Anna, who
was a WAC, Women's Army Corps.
217
00:12:02,089 --> 00:12:05,290
That was typical.
218
00:12:05,325 --> 00:12:07,559
-While many Jewish men
enlisted,
219
00:12:07,594 --> 00:12:10,528
many more were drafted.
220
00:12:10,564 --> 00:12:14,666
In all, one half of Jewish men
old enough to serve
221
00:12:14,701 --> 00:12:16,601
would join the fight.
222
00:12:16,636 --> 00:12:18,937
-You got a letter
from the government.
223
00:12:18,972 --> 00:12:22,440
When you opened the envelope,
I remember seeing, "Greeting,"
224
00:12:22,476 --> 00:12:25,009
like you're going to
a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah,
225
00:12:25,045 --> 00:12:27,212
but it was, "Greetings,"
and then you go on,
226
00:12:27,247 --> 00:12:29,848
"You will report
for a physical exam."
227
00:12:29,883 --> 00:12:32,817
I heard my mother talking to my
father, and I heard her say,
228
00:12:32,853 --> 00:12:34,986
"Can't you do something?
Does Alan have to go?"
229
00:12:35,021 --> 00:12:37,255
And when I heard that,
I got so...
230
00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:39,457
I said, "Mom, if you say
that once more,
231
00:12:39,493 --> 00:12:43,828
I'm running away from...
I'm leaving."
232
00:12:43,864 --> 00:12:48,500
-When I went into the service,
we sang the songs.
233
00:12:48,535 --> 00:12:50,235
♪ Over there, over there ♪
234
00:12:50,270 --> 00:12:52,103
♪ Send the word over there ♪
235
00:12:52,139 --> 00:12:53,671
♪ That the Yanks are coming ♪
236
00:12:53,707 --> 00:12:55,006
♪ The Yanks are coming ♪
237
00:12:55,041 --> 00:12:57,575
♪ The Yanks are coming
everywhere ♪
238
00:12:57,611 --> 00:12:59,511
-♪ Over there ♪
239
00:12:59,546 --> 00:13:00,979
♪ Over there ♪
240
00:13:01,014 --> 00:13:02,514
♪ Send the word,
send the word ♪
241
00:13:02,549 --> 00:13:05,416
-10,000 Jewish women
signed up as well...
242
00:13:05,452 --> 00:13:07,352
disregarding
their parents' warning
243
00:13:07,387 --> 00:13:11,823
that it was no life
for a nice Jewish girl.
244
00:13:11,858 --> 00:13:13,358
-♪ Over there ♪
245
00:13:13,393 --> 00:13:15,360
-They would serve as WASPs
in the Air Force,
246
00:13:15,395 --> 00:13:16,961
WAVES in the Navy,
247
00:13:16,997 --> 00:13:18,596
WACs in the Army
248
00:13:18,632 --> 00:13:20,665
and as nurses overseas.
249
00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:22,400
-♪ Over there ♪
250
00:13:22,435 --> 00:13:24,169
-I wanted to be a nurse
in the Army.
251
00:13:24,204 --> 00:13:27,005
My sister Dorothy and I
quit our jobs,
252
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,541
and if my mother knew
that we even thought
253
00:13:29,576 --> 00:13:32,210
of going into a goishe army,
254
00:13:32,245 --> 00:13:36,481
a gentile army, I don't know
what she would've done.
255
00:13:38,785 --> 00:13:40,752
-The first taste
of military life
256
00:13:40,787 --> 00:13:42,921
for the Jewish enlisted men
and women
257
00:13:42,956 --> 00:13:46,925
was in training camps scattered
across the United States.
258
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,595
♪♪
259
00:13:50,630 --> 00:13:54,799
♪♪
260
00:13:54,835 --> 00:13:58,436
16 million Americans
came to basic training.
261
00:13:58,471 --> 00:14:00,905
For 8 weeks, 10 hours a day,
262
00:14:00,941 --> 00:14:03,675
the Jewish servicemen
prepared for combat
263
00:14:03,710 --> 00:14:06,744
surrounded by men
from every part of the country.
264
00:14:08,815 --> 00:14:11,950
-My basic training was in
Camp Crowder, Missouri.
265
00:14:11,985 --> 00:14:13,918
I remember this,
the night we went to bed,
266
00:14:13,954 --> 00:14:15,954
and across the barracks,
I hear this voice,
267
00:14:15,989 --> 00:14:19,123
"Reiner. Reiner."
268
00:14:19,159 --> 00:14:21,125
"Yes?"
269
00:14:21,161 --> 00:14:25,563
It was one of these anti-Semitic
blondies from Louisiana,
270
00:14:25,599 --> 00:14:28,867
and he said, "You a Jew?"
271
00:14:28,902 --> 00:14:31,002
J, E, W, U, U, W.
272
00:14:31,037 --> 00:14:32,136
"You a Jew?"
273
00:14:32,172 --> 00:14:34,272
I says,
"Yes, as a matter of fact.
274
00:14:34,307 --> 00:14:37,575
Why do you ask?"
And then the strange thing.
275
00:14:37,611 --> 00:14:44,582
He said, "I'm from Louisiana.
You know a Jew named Goldfarb?"
276
00:14:44,618 --> 00:14:47,385
I says, "No. There are many Jews
I don't know."
277
00:14:47,420 --> 00:14:50,054
"You don't know Goldfarb?"
And I said, "No."
278
00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:52,490
He said, "Well, he's not
a bad guy."
279
00:14:52,525 --> 00:14:56,027
That was the last thing he said,
and that was it.
280
00:14:56,062 --> 00:14:59,530
♪♪
281
00:14:59,566 --> 00:15:01,666
-In the early 1940s,
282
00:15:01,701 --> 00:15:04,502
many Americans who lived outside
major cities
283
00:15:04,537 --> 00:15:09,274
had never seen a Jew
before they met one in uniform.
284
00:15:09,309 --> 00:15:12,110
They had heard only
the negative stereotypes,
285
00:15:12,145 --> 00:15:17,782
that Jews were unpatriotic
and shirked their military duty.
286
00:15:17,817 --> 00:15:19,550
-They didn't think much of us.
287
00:15:19,586 --> 00:15:22,487
Actually, they didn't think
there were any Jews in service.
288
00:15:22,522 --> 00:15:25,023
I'm seventh generation
in my family
289
00:15:25,058 --> 00:15:27,425
to wear an American uniform.
290
00:15:27,460 --> 00:15:32,096
My great-great-grandfather
served during the Civil War.
291
00:15:32,132 --> 00:15:34,732
-Jews came from
every background.
292
00:15:34,768 --> 00:15:36,601
Some were recent immigrants,
293
00:15:36,636 --> 00:15:40,271
and some had been in the
United States for generations.
294
00:15:40,307 --> 00:15:46,511
They were Zionists, socialists,
and even pacifists.
295
00:15:46,546 --> 00:15:48,579
-Jews in the military
296
00:15:48,615 --> 00:15:51,149
represented
a very broad spectrum
297
00:15:51,184 --> 00:15:52,884
of Jewish life.
298
00:15:52,919 --> 00:15:56,554
You had Jews who were Orthodox
299
00:15:56,589 --> 00:15:59,090
and observant, kept kosher.
300
00:15:59,125 --> 00:16:03,394
On the other hand, you had
a whole spectrum of Jews
301
00:16:03,430 --> 00:16:05,997
who were much more easygoing.
302
00:16:06,032 --> 00:16:08,232
♪♪
303
00:16:08,268 --> 00:16:11,269
-I never had a cheeseburger
until I got to basic training.
304
00:16:11,304 --> 00:16:15,907
Jews generally weren't allowed
to mix milk and meat,
305
00:16:15,942 --> 00:16:19,043
so these kids are
eating cheeseburgers,
306
00:16:19,079 --> 00:16:23,414
and I ordered one and tasted it,
and I said, "This is good.
307
00:16:23,450 --> 00:16:25,350
Why have the Jews denied me
308
00:16:25,385 --> 00:16:29,087
this wonderful thing
called cheeseburgers?"
309
00:16:29,122 --> 00:16:32,457
-We were Orthodox,
but in the army,
310
00:16:32,492 --> 00:16:34,392
you couldn't observe everything.
311
00:16:34,427 --> 00:16:38,563
They tried to cater
to the Jewish GIs, you know?
312
00:16:38,598 --> 00:16:41,265
They even sent us some food
sometimes, like for Passover.
313
00:16:41,301 --> 00:16:46,537
They used to send some matzos,
gefilte fish sometimes.
314
00:16:46,573 --> 00:16:48,373
♪♪
315
00:16:48,408 --> 00:16:51,576
-Far from home, many servicemen
and women
316
00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:54,846
took comfort
in their religious traditions.
317
00:16:54,881 --> 00:16:57,448
The Jewish Welfare Board
sent supplies,
318
00:16:57,484 --> 00:16:59,684
including candles
for the Sabbath
319
00:16:59,719 --> 00:17:02,420
and tens of thousands
of miniature prayer books.
320
00:17:02,455 --> 00:17:05,490
♪♪
321
00:17:05,525 --> 00:17:09,127
-Isaac Ashkenazi,
he was very observant.
322
00:17:09,162 --> 00:17:13,765
Being Orthodox, he prayed
a couple of times a day,
323
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,868
and Carl Frishman and I would
just look at him and wonder,
324
00:17:16,903 --> 00:17:19,837
you know, and say, "When is
the next shoe going to fall,
325
00:17:19,873 --> 00:17:22,740
and when --
Is he putting us at risk?"
326
00:17:22,776 --> 00:17:26,110
We thought about this.
327
00:17:26,146 --> 00:17:29,547
-Many Jewish GIs feared
harassment or insults
328
00:17:29,582 --> 00:17:32,417
from their fellow servicemen.
329
00:17:32,452 --> 00:17:35,887
As New York City native Ed Koch
would write later,
330
00:17:35,922 --> 00:17:39,791
"The entire world seemed
Jewish to me growing up.
331
00:17:39,826 --> 00:17:42,727
Suddenly, being Jewish
was not the norm.
332
00:17:42,762 --> 00:17:44,996
Anti-Semitism revealed
itself directly to me
333
00:17:45,031 --> 00:17:46,831
for the first time,
334
00:17:46,866 --> 00:17:49,667
and I did not like
what it felt like.
335
00:17:49,702 --> 00:17:51,702
It wasn't only Hitler.
336
00:17:51,738 --> 00:17:54,806
It was here in America."
337
00:17:54,841 --> 00:17:57,108
-My bed partner
in the barracks,
338
00:17:57,143 --> 00:18:00,011
I was in the upper bunk,
and he was in the lower bunk,
339
00:18:00,046 --> 00:18:02,046
and we became very friendly.
340
00:18:02,082 --> 00:18:06,684
At Passover, I said to him
that I'm going home to Chicago,
341
00:18:06,719 --> 00:18:09,220
and he said, "You're Jewish?"
342
00:18:09,255 --> 00:18:12,156
I says, "Yes. Why?"
343
00:18:12,192 --> 00:18:14,826
He didn't say anything,
344
00:18:14,861 --> 00:18:18,162
and for the rest of the time
345
00:18:18,198 --> 00:18:19,997
that we were in the barracks,
346
00:18:20,033 --> 00:18:22,200
which was approximately
6 months,
347
00:18:22,235 --> 00:18:24,268
never spoke to me once.
348
00:18:24,304 --> 00:18:29,207
I was so shocked and surprised
that I didn't know what to say,
349
00:18:29,242 --> 00:18:32,910
and we never talked again.
350
00:18:34,047 --> 00:18:35,980
-A lot of the women
in the WACs,
351
00:18:36,015 --> 00:18:37,515
they were kind of tough.
352
00:18:37,550 --> 00:18:40,451
I wasn't happy there
being Jewish
353
00:18:40,487 --> 00:18:46,757
because sometimes the way
they talked against the Jews,
354
00:18:46,793 --> 00:18:49,360
so...
355
00:18:49,395 --> 00:18:54,365
I didn't advertise
the fact that I was Jewish.
356
00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,467
-I put a picture on the wall.
357
00:18:56,503 --> 00:19:00,805
We won some sectional basketball
tournament back home
358
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,908
because I was proud of it,
and it was myself,
359
00:19:03,943 --> 00:19:08,312
a Catholic buddy of mine
and three black kids.
360
00:19:08,348 --> 00:19:09,981
We all have our arms
around each other,
361
00:19:10,016 --> 00:19:13,417
and the Southern boys
are walking by,
362
00:19:13,453 --> 00:19:18,523
and I hear, "You got your arms
around that nigger,"
363
00:19:18,558 --> 00:19:22,326
and then every day on the
bulletin board, in red letters,
364
00:19:22,362 --> 00:19:25,396
"Moskin the nigger lover."
365
00:19:25,431 --> 00:19:29,600
And then the next day,
it was "Moskin the kike."
366
00:19:29,636 --> 00:19:31,769
I was a young soldier.
367
00:19:31,804 --> 00:19:33,271
We're the good guys.
368
00:19:33,306 --> 00:19:36,374
We're going over to fight
the Nazis, the bad guys,
369
00:19:36,409 --> 00:19:38,576
and then I got guys,
so to speak, on my side
370
00:19:38,611 --> 00:19:41,779
talking like that
about blacks and Jews.
371
00:19:41,814 --> 00:19:44,215
It was something
that I didn't expect.
372
00:19:44,250 --> 00:19:46,484
To me, it's shameful.
373
00:19:46,519 --> 00:19:48,252
♪♪
374
00:19:48,288 --> 00:19:50,721
-Many Jewish servicemen
from the North
375
00:19:50,757 --> 00:19:52,957
had never witnessed
racial segregation
376
00:19:52,992 --> 00:19:56,027
until they came
to basic training.
377
00:19:56,062 --> 00:19:58,429
Now, they saw it all around them
378
00:19:58,464 --> 00:20:01,799
in the whites-only signs
near the bases in the South,
379
00:20:01,834 --> 00:20:03,935
and in the fact
that African-Americans
380
00:20:03,970 --> 00:20:07,405
served in separate units.
381
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,907
The U.S. military had been
segregated by race
382
00:20:09,943 --> 00:20:11,943
since the Civil War,
383
00:20:11,978 --> 00:20:15,246
but now with more Jewish men
serving than ever before,
384
00:20:15,281 --> 00:20:16,747
it would have to address
385
00:20:16,783 --> 00:20:19,283
the religious hatred
within its ranks.
386
00:20:21,688 --> 00:20:27,091
-Suddenly, you have several
hundred thousand Jews
387
00:20:27,126 --> 00:20:28,526
in the military,
388
00:20:28,561 --> 00:20:34,131
and you needed these soldiers to
assist and support one another
389
00:20:34,167 --> 00:20:36,400
and not to hate one another.
390
00:20:36,436 --> 00:20:40,605
The military understood
that it was in their interest
391
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,141
to tamp down religious prejudice
392
00:20:44,177 --> 00:20:48,879
and to promote
religious cooperation.
393
00:20:48,915 --> 00:20:51,315
-To smooth over
religious differences,
394
00:20:51,351 --> 00:20:52,917
the military launched a campaign
395
00:20:52,952 --> 00:20:56,187
promoting the three
fighting faiths,
396
00:20:56,222 --> 00:21:01,125
reminding the men that they
were all in this war together.
397
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:03,561
From synagogues
across the nation,
398
00:21:03,596 --> 00:21:05,930
more than half of
America's 2,000 rabbis
399
00:21:05,965 --> 00:21:08,132
volunteered as chaplains.
400
00:21:08,167 --> 00:21:12,336
311 received commissions.
401
00:21:12,372 --> 00:21:13,971
David Max Eichhorn,
402
00:21:14,007 --> 00:21:16,907
a 36-year-old rabbi
from Pennsylvania,
403
00:21:16,943 --> 00:21:23,114
arrived at Camp Croft
in South Carolina in July 1942.
404
00:21:23,149 --> 00:21:26,717
-My grandfather said
it was his patriotic duty.
405
00:21:26,753 --> 00:21:29,153
He was an American first,
406
00:21:29,188 --> 00:21:31,922
then a soldier and then a Jew.
407
00:21:31,958 --> 00:21:35,126
He really felt he had
a place and a calling.
408
00:21:35,161 --> 00:21:37,928
Really all the chaplains
administered
409
00:21:37,964 --> 00:21:41,699
any type of religious
solace to anyone of any faith.
410
00:21:41,734 --> 00:21:46,871
They were all working to help
prepare the men to go overseas
411
00:21:46,906 --> 00:21:49,707
and possibly never come back.
412
00:21:49,742 --> 00:21:51,809
♪♪
413
00:21:51,844 --> 00:21:54,011
-Millions of young men
and women boarded troopships
414
00:21:54,047 --> 00:21:56,080
to go off to war.
415
00:21:56,115 --> 00:21:59,050
They were issued dog tags
stamped with their name,
416
00:21:59,085 --> 00:22:02,453
their serial number,
and also their religion,
417
00:22:02,488 --> 00:22:04,922
so they could receive
appropriate last rites
418
00:22:04,957 --> 00:22:06,891
and burial.
419
00:22:06,926 --> 00:22:08,559
"P" for Protestant.
420
00:22:08,594 --> 00:22:10,294
"C" for Catholic.
421
00:22:10,330 --> 00:22:13,297
"H" for Hebrew.
422
00:22:13,333 --> 00:22:18,669
For Jews serving in Europe,
the H put them at greater risk.
423
00:22:18,705 --> 00:22:21,639
They had heard rumors that
the Germans mistreated
424
00:22:21,674 --> 00:22:24,442
or even murdered
Jewish prisoners of war.
425
00:22:24,477 --> 00:22:26,644
♪♪
426
00:22:26,679 --> 00:22:28,512
-My parents said to me,
427
00:22:28,548 --> 00:22:32,249
"If you're captured,
get rid of your dog tags."
428
00:22:32,285 --> 00:22:36,153
My father, the first time
I ever saw him cry,
429
00:22:36,189 --> 00:22:39,223
I got a special pass
to come from Fort Belvoir,
430
00:22:39,258 --> 00:22:41,425
and I went straight
to his office.
431
00:22:41,461 --> 00:22:43,361
He said, "What are you
doing here?"
432
00:22:43,396 --> 00:22:46,430
So he knew that something
was up,
433
00:22:46,466 --> 00:22:48,766
and I said,
"I'm going overseas."
434
00:22:48,801 --> 00:22:50,768
♪♪
435
00:22:50,803 --> 00:22:52,970
And that was it.
436
00:23:07,286 --> 00:23:09,453
-In January 1942,
437
00:23:09,489 --> 00:23:12,523
when the first American
troops arrived overseas,
438
00:23:12,558 --> 00:23:15,459
Hitler and the Axis powers,
Italy and Japan,
439
00:23:15,495 --> 00:23:18,329
were winning the war.
440
00:23:18,364 --> 00:23:21,599
The Nazis had conquered large
parts of the Soviet Union
441
00:23:21,634 --> 00:23:24,969
and defeated the British
in the deserts of North Africa.
442
00:23:25,004 --> 00:23:28,672
[ Gunfire ]
443
00:23:28,708 --> 00:23:30,541
Jewish GIs landed in the midst
444
00:23:30,576 --> 00:23:35,012
of unimaginable violence
and destruction.
445
00:23:35,047 --> 00:23:40,217
-I learned, it was just
a matter of kill or be killed,
446
00:23:40,253 --> 00:23:43,020
so that's what you go
into combat with.
447
00:23:43,055 --> 00:23:47,658
Either you kill the enemy,
or they're going to kill you.
448
00:23:47,693 --> 00:23:50,394
-I was a United States
Army nurse.
449
00:23:50,430 --> 00:23:54,665
My job was operating room,
to give anesthesia.
450
00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:57,234
You always had
a patient in front of you.
451
00:23:57,270 --> 00:24:00,538
When they carry one out,
they bring one in.
452
00:24:00,573 --> 00:24:03,908
Some of them just
didn't make it.
453
00:24:03,943 --> 00:24:05,743
It was -- It was rough.
454
00:24:07,847 --> 00:24:10,381
And they cried.
455
00:24:10,416 --> 00:24:12,583
The kids cried.
456
00:24:15,288 --> 00:24:18,222
-I became a bombardier.
457
00:24:18,257 --> 00:24:22,026
I saw many planes
blow up in front of me.
458
00:24:22,061 --> 00:24:24,128
I don't care what they say.
459
00:24:24,163 --> 00:24:29,166
Everybody had a religion
when they fought in combat.
460
00:24:29,202 --> 00:24:32,503
When the flag came up,
and the fighters came in,
461
00:24:32,538 --> 00:24:36,907
I said, "If there's anybody
up there, look over me."
462
00:24:36,943 --> 00:24:39,577
♪♪
463
00:24:39,612 --> 00:24:43,113
-Being Jewish, and Judaism
was an important part
464
00:24:43,149 --> 00:24:46,750
of virtually every Jew's
experience during World War II,
465
00:24:46,786 --> 00:24:49,887
and it didn't matter
if they were religious or not.
466
00:24:49,922 --> 00:24:53,090
They identified as Jews because
they were fighting a people
467
00:24:53,125 --> 00:24:55,226
that were trying to destroy
the Jewish people
468
00:24:55,261 --> 00:24:56,861
from the face of the Earth.
469
00:24:59,465 --> 00:25:03,701
-In December 1942,
The New York Times reported,
470
00:25:03,736 --> 00:25:07,705
"It is believed that two million
European Jews have perished,
471
00:25:07,740 --> 00:25:12,776
and that five million
are in danger of extermination."
472
00:25:12,812 --> 00:25:15,079
"160,000 German Jews
473
00:25:15,114 --> 00:25:16,981
had been deported
to death camps,"
474
00:25:17,016 --> 00:25:19,250
The Times wrote.
475
00:25:19,285 --> 00:25:23,254
"More than 600,000 had been
murdered in Poland.
476
00:25:23,289 --> 00:25:27,658
Most of the Jews in Eastern
Europe had been massacred,
477
00:25:27,693 --> 00:25:31,795
forced into ghettos
or sent to concentration camps."
478
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,766
[ Typewriter keys clacking ]
479
00:25:35,801 --> 00:25:37,801
Sergeant Dahlia Pobianski
480
00:25:37,837 --> 00:25:39,603
served in the Office
of Personnel Records
481
00:25:39,639 --> 00:25:41,438
in Fort Sill, Oklahoma,
482
00:25:41,474 --> 00:25:45,543
with a group of servicemen
deemed unfit for combat.
483
00:25:45,578 --> 00:25:46,944
-They all had some kind of...
484
00:25:46,979 --> 00:25:48,445
You know,
they either had glasses.
485
00:25:48,481 --> 00:25:49,547
They had asthma.
486
00:25:49,582 --> 00:25:51,982
Archie was from Oklahoma.
487
00:25:52,018 --> 00:25:54,385
They had one eye
that wasn't good,
488
00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:56,353
and there was chatter
all the time,
489
00:25:56,389 --> 00:25:58,289
but suddenly,
I heard Archie saying,
490
00:25:58,324 --> 00:26:01,225
"Well, you know, you have to say
something good about Hitler.
491
00:26:01,260 --> 00:26:04,161
You know, he got rid
of all the Jews," and I said,
492
00:26:04,196 --> 00:26:07,264
"Well, he didn't get this one,"
or something like that.
493
00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:11,902
That room got so quiet,
and everybody was, you know,
494
00:26:11,938 --> 00:26:14,772
digging for something out of
their desk drawer or whatever,
495
00:26:14,807 --> 00:26:16,407
and it just stayed
quiet until...
496
00:26:16,442 --> 00:26:18,175
It must've been
about an hour before
497
00:26:18,210 --> 00:26:20,177
it was time to go
to lunch again.
498
00:26:20,212 --> 00:26:22,780
But nobody said anything
to me afterwards,
499
00:26:22,815 --> 00:26:26,083
but they got the point,
that's for sure.
500
00:26:27,787 --> 00:26:29,386
-For many Jewish Americans
501
00:26:29,422 --> 00:26:31,255
assigned
to the European theater,
502
00:26:31,290 --> 00:26:33,624
England was the first stop.
503
00:26:33,659 --> 00:26:35,192
[ Air raid sirens blare ]
504
00:26:35,227 --> 00:26:37,595
-The noise that you hear
at the moment
505
00:26:37,630 --> 00:26:40,531
is the sound
of the air-raid siren.
506
00:26:40,566 --> 00:26:43,601
-For 2 years, the Nazis
had been attacking Britain
507
00:26:43,636 --> 00:26:47,738
from the air,
bombing its cities into rubble.
508
00:26:47,773 --> 00:26:50,574
To escape the bombing,
3 million children
509
00:26:50,610 --> 00:26:52,376
had been evacuated
from the cities
510
00:26:52,411 --> 00:26:56,146
to live in the countryside
in the homes of strangers.
511
00:26:58,618 --> 00:27:00,851
-Bea Abrams, a WAC,
512
00:27:00,886 --> 00:27:04,321
was stationed at Rougham Air
Base in rural England.
513
00:27:04,357 --> 00:27:07,157
Her official job in the service
was clerical work,
514
00:27:07,193 --> 00:27:11,395
but she also wanted
to help as a Jew.
515
00:27:11,430 --> 00:27:16,500
-In England, there are a lot
of Jewish children.
516
00:27:16,535 --> 00:27:19,536
The parents sent them out
into the country
517
00:27:19,572 --> 00:27:23,641
to keep them safe
from the bombing in London.
518
00:27:23,676 --> 00:27:26,777
-As Hanukkah approached,
she and some other soldiers
519
00:27:26,812 --> 00:27:29,713
invited a group of
displaced Jewish children
520
00:27:29,749 --> 00:27:32,182
to celebrate the holiday.
521
00:27:32,218 --> 00:27:34,618
-We collected all the food
we could get.
522
00:27:34,654 --> 00:27:37,554
We gave them a party,
and they loved it,
523
00:27:37,590 --> 00:27:40,424
and we all...We prayed.
524
00:27:40,459 --> 00:27:42,426
It's good to have a belief.
525
00:27:42,461 --> 00:27:45,462
♪♪
526
00:27:45,498 --> 00:27:48,198
-In London, Judah Nadich,
527
00:27:48,234 --> 00:27:50,801
the senior rabbi
chaplain in Europe,
528
00:27:50,836 --> 00:27:55,472
told the age-old Hanukkah story
to a group of Jewish orphans.
529
00:27:55,508 --> 00:27:57,941
It was the story
of the Maccabees,
530
00:27:57,977 --> 00:28:02,746
a small band of Jewish fighters
who defeated an entire army.
531
00:28:02,782 --> 00:28:06,483
They stood up to a powerful
enemy and won,
532
00:28:06,519 --> 00:28:11,355
saving Judaism
for centuries to come.
533
00:28:11,390 --> 00:28:14,992
-We have a lot of echoes of the
Chanukah story in World War II
534
00:28:15,027 --> 00:28:16,727
with American Jewish soldiers
535
00:28:16,762 --> 00:28:20,197
playing the Maccabees
of that era.
536
00:28:20,232 --> 00:28:25,402
You see the Jewish soldiers as
kind of the spiritual warriors.
537
00:28:25,438 --> 00:28:29,973
-I went into the Air Corps to
become a bombardier navigator.
538
00:28:30,009 --> 00:28:32,476
I flew 54 missions.
539
00:28:32,511 --> 00:28:34,244
I was motivated.
540
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:35,546
I was angry.
541
00:28:35,581 --> 00:28:38,549
I was angry at the German
arrogance,
542
00:28:38,584 --> 00:28:40,651
the German brutality,
543
00:28:40,686 --> 00:28:43,721
and I felt a strong affinity.
544
00:28:43,756 --> 00:28:45,723
My parents were from Europe.
545
00:28:45,758 --> 00:28:48,325
I was a first-generation
American
546
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,562
or maybe the
last generation Europe.
547
00:28:51,597 --> 00:28:55,632
I used to write on my bombs,
"Hitler, here's a gift for you,"
548
00:28:55,668 --> 00:28:58,168
and we'd drop the bombs on them.
549
00:28:58,204 --> 00:29:03,941
I would say, "Here's a gift
from us Jews"...
550
00:29:03,976 --> 00:29:07,611
and it gave me
some satisfaction.
551
00:29:07,646 --> 00:29:09,213
It's a terrible thing.
552
00:29:09,248 --> 00:29:11,882
It was a terrible thing, but
when you're fighting an enemy
553
00:29:11,917 --> 00:29:14,818
that is so brutal
and so inhuman,
554
00:29:14,854 --> 00:29:17,988
you have to do it.
555
00:29:18,023 --> 00:29:21,091
I was angry at the Germans
for making me do that.
556
00:29:26,832 --> 00:29:29,500
-The German-Jewish GIs
who had escaped the Nazis
557
00:29:29,535 --> 00:29:33,871
just a few years earlier
were now American servicemen,
558
00:29:33,906 --> 00:29:36,774
and they returned
to Europe to fight.
559
00:29:36,809 --> 00:29:42,546
For them, the war against Hitler
was profoundly personal.
560
00:29:42,581 --> 00:29:44,448
-Getting out of Germany
561
00:29:44,483 --> 00:29:46,817
and then back again in Europe,
562
00:29:46,852 --> 00:29:49,520
it was my great chance
to get even,
563
00:29:49,555 --> 00:29:52,289
not just against the Nazis
564
00:29:52,324 --> 00:29:56,226
but with anti-Semitism
all together.
565
00:29:56,262 --> 00:29:59,596
Our mission was
psychological warfare.
566
00:29:59,632 --> 00:30:01,331
♪♪
567
00:30:01,367 --> 00:30:03,534
-As natives of Germany,
568
00:30:03,569 --> 00:30:05,836
they knew the language
and culture of the enemy
569
00:30:05,871 --> 00:30:07,905
better than anyone else,
570
00:30:07,940 --> 00:30:10,641
and the U.S. military
began to recruit them
571
00:30:10,676 --> 00:30:13,877
for counterintelligence.
572
00:30:13,913 --> 00:30:16,980
Henry Kissinger
was drafted in 1943
573
00:30:17,016 --> 00:30:21,018
and was serving as a rifleman
in the 84th infantry division.
574
00:30:21,053 --> 00:30:24,288
One day, he was on duty
cleaning the latrine
575
00:30:24,323 --> 00:30:27,491
when his commanding officer
pulls him aside.
576
00:30:27,526 --> 00:30:29,359
-The commanding general said,
577
00:30:29,395 --> 00:30:33,664
"Soldier, explain
this situation map to me,"
578
00:30:33,699 --> 00:30:39,603
so I did, and he turned
to his aide and said,
579
00:30:39,638 --> 00:30:42,272
"Take that man's name,"
580
00:30:42,308 --> 00:30:46,210
and then I became part of
the counterintelligence,
581
00:30:46,245 --> 00:30:53,016
in which we were supposed to
find spies and security risks,
582
00:30:53,052 --> 00:30:55,953
but that sounds very dramatic,
583
00:30:55,988 --> 00:30:58,722
except I didn't really know
what a spy looked like
584
00:30:58,757 --> 00:31:02,226
or what a spy was likely to do.
585
00:31:04,263 --> 00:31:07,497
-As the war raged on,
20,000 American women
586
00:31:07,533 --> 00:31:11,535
were sent overseas
to take over non-combat jobs
587
00:31:11,570 --> 00:31:14,037
and free the men to fight.
588
00:31:14,073 --> 00:31:15,739
♪♪
589
00:31:15,774 --> 00:31:18,175
Mimi Rivkin was serving
in Calcutta
590
00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:23,513
as a photo-lab technician
when she met a pilot named Mike.
591
00:31:23,549 --> 00:31:27,885
-He was darling, Mike.
I was very fond of him.
592
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:29,353
I can tell you that.
593
00:31:29,388 --> 00:31:31,622
He was a nice guy,
and he was darling,
594
00:31:31,657 --> 00:31:35,692
and, you know,
I really liked him.
595
00:31:35,728 --> 00:31:38,161
-Mike and Mimi dated
until Mike's tour of duty
596
00:31:38,197 --> 00:31:40,097
came to an end.
597
00:31:40,132 --> 00:31:44,101
The fact that Mimi
was Jewish never came up.
598
00:31:44,136 --> 00:31:47,037
-When he went home,
he didn't say anything.
599
00:31:47,072 --> 00:31:50,474
He just was being
discharged from the Army,
600
00:31:50,509 --> 00:31:53,710
and I thought, "That's it,"
but his friends kept telling me,
601
00:31:53,746 --> 00:31:57,614
"You're going to hear from him.
You're going to hear from him,"
602
00:31:57,650 --> 00:32:00,317
you know, and I sure
heard from him.
603
00:32:00,352 --> 00:32:02,486
He went to see my parents.
604
00:32:02,521 --> 00:32:05,122
He learned that
they were Jewish.
605
00:32:05,157 --> 00:32:09,059
I didn't really know that
he had planned to marry me.
606
00:32:09,094 --> 00:32:10,560
I got a letter from him.
607
00:32:10,596 --> 00:32:14,031
Instead of a "Dear John"
or "Dear Mary" letter, you know,
608
00:32:14,066 --> 00:32:18,902
that, "Your kind and my kind
don't mix,"
609
00:32:18,938 --> 00:32:21,605
and that sort of thing.
610
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,373
So he told me that, you know,
611
00:32:23,409 --> 00:32:26,243
"I'm not interested
in marrying a Jew,"
612
00:32:26,278 --> 00:32:29,980
so that was the end
of that little romance.
613
00:32:37,356 --> 00:32:39,122
-Most Jewish servicemen
hoped to serve
614
00:32:39,158 --> 00:32:43,760
in the European theater
to do their part against Hitler,
615
00:32:43,796 --> 00:32:47,898
but some were assigned
to the Pacific theater instead.
616
00:32:47,933 --> 00:32:50,067
Among them was Norman Mailer,
617
00:32:50,102 --> 00:32:54,071
the grandson of a rabbi
and an aspiring novelist.
618
00:32:54,106 --> 00:32:58,275
He had been drafted just after
his graduation from Harvard.
619
00:32:58,310 --> 00:32:59,943
-Norman Mailer was
trying to write
620
00:32:59,979 --> 00:33:02,045
the great American war novel,
621
00:33:02,081 --> 00:33:04,848
but he found himself in the
Pacific rather than in Europe,
622
00:33:04,883 --> 00:33:06,049
and as he wrote home,
623
00:33:06,085 --> 00:33:08,485
the real battle was
being fought in Europe.
624
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:10,854
He was in this peripheral place.
625
00:33:10,889 --> 00:33:14,291
He felt the center of
the battle was in Europe.
626
00:33:16,528 --> 00:33:19,496
-Mailer wrote nearly every day
to his wife, Bea,
627
00:33:19,531 --> 00:33:23,433
who was serving
as a WAVE in the Navy.
628
00:33:23,469 --> 00:33:26,970
In the Pacific, he would find
plenty of material for his novel
629
00:33:27,006 --> 00:33:30,474
about the brutality of war.
630
00:33:30,509 --> 00:33:33,510
"It is not that the violence
is horrible," he wrote.
631
00:33:33,545 --> 00:33:37,314
"It's also natural,
so much a part of life,
632
00:33:37,349 --> 00:33:41,551
that you are never surprised
and never shocked.
633
00:33:41,587 --> 00:33:44,287
It is this which frightens me."
634
00:33:46,058 --> 00:33:49,993
[ Gunfire and explosions ]
635
00:33:53,966 --> 00:33:56,500
Harry Corre,
an 18-year-old soldier
636
00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:59,002
from an observant
Jewish family in Boston,
637
00:33:59,038 --> 00:34:02,339
had been sent to the
Philippines early in the war.
638
00:34:02,374 --> 00:34:05,375
He was on the Bataan Peninsula
when American troops were forced
639
00:34:05,411 --> 00:34:07,644
to surrender
to the Japanese army
640
00:34:07,679 --> 00:34:10,013
and was taken on what
became known
641
00:34:10,049 --> 00:34:13,083
as the Bataan Death March.
642
00:34:13,118 --> 00:34:15,685
-The Japanese gathered us
together
643
00:34:15,721 --> 00:34:18,955
and started us on a march.
644
00:34:18,991 --> 00:34:21,691
We didn't know where,
just that we were marching.
645
00:34:21,727 --> 00:34:24,327
If a man had to go off
to the side of the road
646
00:34:24,363 --> 00:34:28,231
or something to urinate
and he didn't get permission,
647
00:34:28,267 --> 00:34:32,969
he got shot or bayonetted,
or he got his head chopped off.
648
00:34:33,005 --> 00:34:36,873
The slightest infraction,
a man got killed.
649
00:34:39,545 --> 00:34:42,946
-The Bataan Death March
was a terrible event.
650
00:34:42,981 --> 00:34:48,852
20,000 Americans were
captured on Bataan and marched,
651
00:34:48,887 --> 00:34:53,190
I think it was, 60 miles
to their prison camp.
652
00:34:53,225 --> 00:34:58,929
It was a tremendous effort
of will to survive.
653
00:34:58,964 --> 00:35:02,999
Anybody that survived
that one, boy, is a hero.
654
00:35:03,035 --> 00:35:05,969
-I was put on the burial
detail.
655
00:35:06,004 --> 00:35:10,540
I was burying about
150 bodies a day.
656
00:35:10,576 --> 00:35:15,545
They were all POWs,
all American soldiers.
657
00:35:15,581 --> 00:35:21,118
I have to admit that I lost
a lot of my religion
658
00:35:21,153 --> 00:35:26,890
because I saw too many of the
guys that were in combat praying
659
00:35:26,925 --> 00:35:30,093
while they were
in combat get killed,
660
00:35:30,129 --> 00:35:33,063
so that's when I lost
a lot of my religion.
661
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,634
-From Egypt,
British and American planes
662
00:35:37,669 --> 00:35:42,272
launched the first phase of
a broad and well-timed attack.
663
00:35:42,307 --> 00:35:45,475
-The Allies' first victory
on the continent of Europe
664
00:35:45,511 --> 00:35:51,181
was the successful invasion
of Sicily in July 1943.
665
00:35:51,216 --> 00:35:54,351
As the Nazis retreated,
rabbi chaplains,
666
00:35:54,386 --> 00:35:57,320
working hard to sustain
the servicemen's faith,
667
00:35:57,356 --> 00:36:00,157
traveled across Sicily's
mountainous terrain
668
00:36:00,192 --> 00:36:03,360
to hold services
for all of the Jewish men.
669
00:36:03,395 --> 00:36:06,163
On October 9,
hundreds of Jewish GIs
670
00:36:06,198 --> 00:36:08,298
gathered to observe Yom Kippur,
671
00:36:08,333 --> 00:36:13,837
the day of atonement,
praying and fasting all day.
672
00:36:13,872 --> 00:36:17,274
-I remember Yom Kippur
in Catania, Sicily,
673
00:36:17,309 --> 00:36:19,776
and we took over
the movie theater,
674
00:36:19,811 --> 00:36:21,444
and we filled it up
with soldiers,
675
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:23,313
wall-to-wall soldiers,
676
00:36:23,348 --> 00:36:26,816
and instead of yarmulkes,
they had steel helmets,
677
00:36:26,852 --> 00:36:29,219
and I'd never had
a service like that,
678
00:36:29,254 --> 00:36:32,856
such an intense,
beautiful service.
679
00:36:32,891 --> 00:36:34,991
That's really praying.
680
00:36:35,027 --> 00:36:36,560
It was wonderful,
681
00:36:36,595 --> 00:36:39,196
and they were praying
with my tallit,
682
00:36:39,231 --> 00:36:41,364
my prayer shawl on,
and so I said,
683
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,201
"Jack, what are you doing?
You're supposed to be flying."
684
00:36:44,236 --> 00:36:46,803
So I put the tallit
on the chair.
685
00:36:46,838 --> 00:36:51,841
I rushed out, and my crew
is going to the plane
686
00:36:51,877 --> 00:36:53,443
on this mission,
687
00:36:53,478 --> 00:36:55,212
and it was a rough mission.
688
00:36:55,247 --> 00:36:58,381
♪♪
689
00:36:58,417 --> 00:37:02,953
I remember weeping coming back,
690
00:37:02,988 --> 00:37:05,855
and twice in my life I cried,
691
00:37:05,891 --> 00:37:08,358
that time and when
my mother died.
692
00:37:08,393 --> 00:37:09,926
It was a terrible thing
693
00:37:09,962 --> 00:37:13,163
to be flying on
Yom Kippur and bombing.
694
00:37:13,198 --> 00:37:15,565
Can you imagine?
695
00:37:15,601 --> 00:37:17,033
♪♪
696
00:37:17,069 --> 00:37:20,070
-One week later, in Rome,
697
00:37:20,105 --> 00:37:24,841
the Nazis S.S. troops rounded up
more than 1,000 Jews
698
00:37:24,876 --> 00:37:26,977
and deported them to Auschwitz.
699
00:37:30,983 --> 00:37:33,717
Sam Kessler was
a radio operator,
700
00:37:33,752 --> 00:37:35,085
part of a tight-knit crew
701
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:40,690
flying a B-24 bomber
called The Pale Ale.
702
00:37:40,726 --> 00:37:44,961
-On the very first mission,
we lined up to go to the plane.
703
00:37:44,997 --> 00:37:47,631
There was a Catholic priest
704
00:37:47,666 --> 00:37:49,266
in front of the plane
705
00:37:49,301 --> 00:37:50,934
to give last rites,
706
00:37:50,969 --> 00:37:53,403
and nine people
marched up there,
707
00:37:53,438 --> 00:37:57,207
and I realized that I was
the only Jewish flier there,
708
00:37:57,242 --> 00:37:59,943
and I remained behind.
709
00:37:59,978 --> 00:38:03,246
They went up,
and he blessed them.
710
00:38:03,282 --> 00:38:07,083
We flew the mission,
and we came back safely,
711
00:38:07,119 --> 00:38:10,186
and I decided that
if they was safe,
712
00:38:10,222 --> 00:38:12,122
I would be safe, too.
713
00:38:12,157 --> 00:38:15,058
The second time, I marched
right up with them.
714
00:38:15,093 --> 00:38:19,262
He blessed me,
and I certainly accepted that.
715
00:38:19,298 --> 00:38:23,133
For the next 10 missions,
we were very, very successful.
716
00:38:27,172 --> 00:38:29,739
-On the morning of Kessler's
11th mission,
717
00:38:29,775 --> 00:38:31,641
the weather was bad.
718
00:38:31,677 --> 00:38:34,411
He was flying over Belgium
toward Nuremberg
719
00:38:34,446 --> 00:38:38,548
when something went wrong
with his plane.
720
00:38:38,583 --> 00:38:42,085
-All of a sudden,
I heard a crack.
721
00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,922
The pilot, Bob Gordon,
was trying to keep the plane
722
00:38:45,957 --> 00:38:48,258
as level as he possibly could,
723
00:38:48,293 --> 00:38:53,463
and I'm pounding away,
"S-O-S. S-O-S. S-O-S."
724
00:38:53,498 --> 00:38:55,799
He ordered me to bail out,
725
00:38:55,834 --> 00:39:00,603
and I waved to him
to come follow me.
726
00:39:00,639 --> 00:39:02,706
I never saw him again.
727
00:39:04,343 --> 00:39:08,545
I had the luck to pull
my rip cord,
728
00:39:08,580 --> 00:39:12,349
and the next thing I knew,
I blacked out.
729
00:39:12,384 --> 00:39:16,219
When I woke up,
I was floating in the air.
730
00:39:16,254 --> 00:39:17,954
All I saw was church steeples,
church steeples,
731
00:39:17,989 --> 00:39:20,156
and church steeples.
732
00:39:20,192 --> 00:39:22,592
I slammed into the side
of the steeple.
733
00:39:22,627 --> 00:39:29,265
My parachute caught the top of
the steeple, and I hung there.
734
00:39:29,301 --> 00:39:31,401
I prayed the Kaddish.
735
00:39:31,436 --> 00:39:35,138
Kaddish was designed
for people who were gone.
736
00:39:35,173 --> 00:39:37,841
In my particular case,
I knew I was going to die.
737
00:39:37,876 --> 00:39:40,043
I was positive, of course.
738
00:39:40,078 --> 00:39:41,811
Once I say Kaddish,
you know...
739
00:39:41,847 --> 00:39:44,681
[ Speaking Yiddish ]
740
00:39:44,716 --> 00:39:49,085
...and about 20 minutes later,
741
00:39:49,121 --> 00:39:54,624
would you believe that church
steeples have trap doors?
742
00:39:54,659 --> 00:40:00,263
Two men with a ladder,
villagers, got me down,
743
00:40:00,298 --> 00:40:02,899
and that's why I'm still here.
744
00:40:07,372 --> 00:40:09,706
-By June 1944,
745
00:40:09,741 --> 00:40:12,942
the Allies had gained ground
against the Nazis in Italy,
746
00:40:12,978 --> 00:40:17,781
but Hitler still controlled
most of the European continent.
747
00:40:17,816 --> 00:40:19,949
Allied leaders now
readied the troops
748
00:40:19,985 --> 00:40:22,652
for the most ambitious
operation of the war,
749
00:40:22,687 --> 00:40:27,690
D-Day, the invasion
of occupied France from the sea.
750
00:40:27,726 --> 00:40:31,227
More than 160,000 British,
Canadian, and American men
751
00:40:31,263 --> 00:40:33,229
would be placed into harm's way,
752
00:40:33,265 --> 00:40:36,266
making it the most
dangerous battle of the war.
753
00:40:38,336 --> 00:40:39,836
-Right before D-Day,
754
00:40:39,871 --> 00:40:44,107
I was in England training
for the invasion.
755
00:40:44,142 --> 00:40:48,978
They told us, "Two out of three
of you are not coming back."
756
00:40:49,014 --> 00:40:51,448
I wrote to my sister, Ethel,
757
00:40:51,483 --> 00:40:54,918
"Get the telegram
before my parents
758
00:40:54,953 --> 00:40:57,320
and break it to them gently
759
00:40:57,355 --> 00:41:00,623
because I'm not coming home."
760
00:41:00,659 --> 00:41:04,527
I decided to draw
a huge Star of David
761
00:41:04,563 --> 00:41:07,630
on the back
of my Army field jacket.
762
00:41:07,666 --> 00:41:12,635
I wrote "Bronx, New York"
around the Star of David.
763
00:41:12,671 --> 00:41:17,707
I had to let the Germans know
where I was coming from.
764
00:41:17,742 --> 00:41:19,909
My fellow soldiers
couldn't believe
765
00:41:19,945 --> 00:41:21,811
that I was going to do that.
766
00:41:21,847 --> 00:41:23,613
Guys in the outfit said,
767
00:41:23,648 --> 00:41:28,351
"The Germans are going to
cut your so-and-sos off
768
00:41:28,386 --> 00:41:30,453
when they see that."
769
00:41:31,890 --> 00:41:36,593
♪♪
770
00:41:43,468 --> 00:41:49,639
We landed about 6:40
on Omaha Beach.
771
00:41:49,674 --> 00:41:53,376
[ Explosions and gunfire ]
772
00:41:53,411 --> 00:41:56,446
In landing, the man
that I was covering
773
00:41:56,481 --> 00:42:01,050
came off the runway first,
and he got machine-gunned.
774
00:42:01,086 --> 00:42:03,520
I was right behind him.
775
00:42:03,555 --> 00:42:08,358
Everybody in that boat
was killed except for two of us.
776
00:42:10,529 --> 00:42:15,865
About 30 of our guys are hiding
behind two tanks to survive.
777
00:42:15,901 --> 00:42:20,503
I decided, being Jewish,
I better go straight in.
778
00:42:20,539 --> 00:42:22,505
I didn't want to look
like a coward.
779
00:42:22,541 --> 00:42:28,711
I wanted the fellas to see
that I didn't have the fear.
780
00:42:28,747 --> 00:42:31,180
I'm not going to take cover.
781
00:42:31,216 --> 00:42:34,017
My object was to
reach the seawall.
782
00:42:34,052 --> 00:42:37,053
That was the only protection
on the beach
783
00:42:37,088 --> 00:42:42,559
to the machine guns firing,
and finally I got hit.
784
00:42:42,594 --> 00:42:48,264
A shell came in and blew
this cheek right off
785
00:42:48,300 --> 00:42:52,669
and broke the upper jaw.
786
00:42:52,704 --> 00:42:54,671
My best buddy from the boat,
787
00:42:54,706 --> 00:43:00,176
he was laying facedown in 2
inches or 3 inches of water,
788
00:43:00,211 --> 00:43:06,883
and I could see his high
school ring on his hand.
789
00:43:06,918 --> 00:43:10,820
There was my best buddy dead.
790
00:43:10,855 --> 00:43:17,794
I prayed the Shema
during that day out loud.
791
00:43:17,829 --> 00:43:19,929
[ Speaking Yiddish ]
792
00:43:24,336 --> 00:43:26,302
Here, oh, Israel,
the Lord our God.
793
00:43:26,338 --> 00:43:28,871
The Lord is one.
794
00:43:28,907 --> 00:43:31,841
That was the only prayer
I said on the beach.
795
00:43:31,876 --> 00:43:33,876
♪♪
796
00:43:33,912 --> 00:43:36,679
It was a horrible day.
797
00:43:36,715 --> 00:43:41,050
It was the longest day.
798
00:43:41,086 --> 00:43:43,653
You're lucky to live
through all of it.
799
00:43:43,688 --> 00:43:45,922
I did get wounded five times.
800
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:55,865
-Everybody understood
the enormity of that event.
801
00:43:55,900 --> 00:43:58,368
We went to synagogue that night.
802
00:43:58,403 --> 00:44:03,106
There was actually kind of
an emergency service.
803
00:44:03,141 --> 00:44:06,409
I mean, that's how
important that was.
804
00:44:06,444 --> 00:44:10,813
This was the beginning
of the end.
805
00:44:10,849 --> 00:44:12,649
D-Day was the harbinger.
806
00:44:12,684 --> 00:44:16,386
It was also the,
"What's coming next?"
807
00:44:18,790 --> 00:44:22,659
-D-Day was successful,
placing an enormous Allied army
808
00:44:22,694 --> 00:44:28,364
in Northern Europe,
but the losses were devastating.
809
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:31,634
Rabbi chaplains held services
for the Jewish dead.
810
00:44:31,670 --> 00:44:33,770
The surviving men gathered
together
811
00:44:33,805 --> 00:44:37,240
to honor the friends
they had lost.
812
00:44:37,275 --> 00:44:38,474
-You make friends.
813
00:44:38,510 --> 00:44:40,743
You lose them, and then
it becomes very hard.
814
00:44:40,779 --> 00:44:43,112
Archie Stein was his name,
815
00:44:43,148 --> 00:44:45,581
sounded Jewish,
816
00:44:45,617 --> 00:44:47,550
and they picked on him.
817
00:44:47,585 --> 00:44:50,787
He happened to be a Lutheran
from Aitkin, Minnesota,
818
00:44:50,822 --> 00:44:52,488
and he was my best friend,
819
00:44:52,524 --> 00:44:54,857
and unfortunately
he was killed in action.
820
00:44:54,893 --> 00:44:56,993
♪♪
821
00:44:57,028 --> 00:44:59,996
-My brother, Buck,
he was a tank commander,
822
00:45:00,031 --> 00:45:04,233
and he was a very,
very good soldier.
823
00:45:04,269 --> 00:45:06,436
His tank was hit head on,
824
00:45:06,471 --> 00:45:09,439
and he didn't survive.
825
00:45:09,474 --> 00:45:13,976
Jews are not looked upon
as fighting.
826
00:45:14,012 --> 00:45:16,979
Someone who was in the same tank
as my brother
827
00:45:17,015 --> 00:45:19,248
said the men loved him.
828
00:45:19,284 --> 00:45:22,885
He was a terrific commander,
829
00:45:22,921 --> 00:45:26,823
and they called him
The Fighting Jew,
830
00:45:26,858 --> 00:45:29,792
The Fighting Jew.
831
00:45:29,828 --> 00:45:35,631
He was proud of being a Jew
fighting for his country.
832
00:45:35,667 --> 00:45:39,602
♪♪
833
00:45:39,637 --> 00:45:44,173
♪♪
834
00:45:44,209 --> 00:45:49,378
-In combat together, our lives
depended on each other.
835
00:45:49,414 --> 00:45:53,716
Religion was far in the back.
836
00:45:53,752 --> 00:45:58,821
Maybe they were biased
at some point,
837
00:45:58,857 --> 00:46:01,657
but the Army knocks
that out of you
838
00:46:01,693 --> 00:46:05,561
because what you find out
about a person is his character
839
00:46:05,597 --> 00:46:09,766
and what his values are,
not what his religion is.
840
00:46:09,801 --> 00:46:13,736
-Jews were largely perceived as
the other part of World War II,
841
00:46:13,772 --> 00:46:15,972
but during the war
and these relationships
842
00:46:16,007 --> 00:46:18,040
that developed amongst
these individuals
843
00:46:18,076 --> 00:46:19,542
really helped Americans
844
00:46:19,577 --> 00:46:22,945
begin to perceive Jews
as Americans.
845
00:46:26,084 --> 00:46:29,085
-On August 25, 1944,
846
00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,020
American troops
marched in triumph
847
00:46:31,055 --> 00:46:33,623
down the Champs-Elysees.
848
00:46:33,658 --> 00:46:36,559
After 4 long years
of Nazi control,
849
00:46:36,594 --> 00:46:39,996
the city of Paris was free.
850
00:46:40,031 --> 00:46:43,332
The streets filled with
victorious American soldiers
851
00:46:43,368 --> 00:46:45,601
and joyful French
men and women.
852
00:46:48,239 --> 00:46:51,340
But the few remaining Jews
stayed in hiding,
853
00:46:51,376 --> 00:46:53,910
still afraid.
854
00:46:53,945 --> 00:46:55,978
Captain Maurice Paper
arrived in Paris
855
00:46:56,014 --> 00:46:59,315
soon after liberation
with a personal mission:
856
00:46:59,350 --> 00:47:04,020
to discover if any of his French
relatives had survived.
857
00:47:04,055 --> 00:47:07,557
-I had a list
from the family back home
858
00:47:07,592 --> 00:47:10,126
of about 10 names of relatives
859
00:47:10,161 --> 00:47:12,061
that never got to America.
860
00:47:12,096 --> 00:47:17,900
They stayed in France, and I see
a man is leaning on a lamppost,
861
00:47:17,936 --> 00:47:20,236
and he's reading
a Yiddish newspaper,
862
00:47:20,271 --> 00:47:23,973
and I get up close to him,
and I said...
863
00:47:24,008 --> 00:47:25,074
My God!
864
00:47:25,109 --> 00:47:27,343
The paper comes down.
He looks at me.
865
00:47:27,378 --> 00:47:29,545
He says, "Yeah, it's Yiddish."
866
00:47:29,581 --> 00:47:33,382
I said, "Yes, I speak Jewish."
867
00:47:33,418 --> 00:47:35,852
He says, "Leave me your list,
868
00:47:35,887 --> 00:47:38,087
and I'll make
some investigation.
869
00:47:38,122 --> 00:47:41,524
We have a Jewish underground.
870
00:47:41,559 --> 00:47:45,661
We find out who's dead,
who's alive, where they live."
871
00:47:45,697 --> 00:47:48,097
Within a week, I actually
found my relatives
872
00:47:48,132 --> 00:47:50,466
that were not killed,
the ladies.
873
00:47:50,501 --> 00:47:52,001
The men were all gone,
874
00:47:52,036 --> 00:47:55,538
but I found two aunts
and four cousins.
875
00:47:55,573 --> 00:48:02,078
♪♪
876
00:48:02,113 --> 00:48:04,513
-Rabbi Chaplain
David Max Eichhorn
877
00:48:04,549 --> 00:48:07,350
had landed in France
a few weeks after D-Day,
878
00:48:07,385 --> 00:48:09,685
attached to an infantry unit.
879
00:48:09,721 --> 00:48:12,622
He stayed with his men
in the thick of combat,
880
00:48:12,657 --> 00:48:16,559
driving a Jeep marked
with a Jewish star.
881
00:48:16,594 --> 00:48:19,462
-He talks about
how he'd be driving
882
00:48:19,497 --> 00:48:20,863
down the road in his Jeep,
883
00:48:20,899 --> 00:48:23,199
and, you know, Nazi planes
with swastikas on them
884
00:48:23,234 --> 00:48:26,135
would come strafing
down the road,
885
00:48:26,170 --> 00:48:28,537
and they'd have to
dive out of the Jeep.
886
00:48:28,573 --> 00:48:32,241
He went through occupied France
as we were liberating.
887
00:48:32,277 --> 00:48:37,647
One of their missions,
as a chaplain, was to find Jews,
888
00:48:37,682 --> 00:48:39,515
and they would go
to the synagogues,
889
00:48:39,550 --> 00:48:42,585
most of which had been
completely desecrated
890
00:48:42,620 --> 00:48:43,986
by the Nazis.
891
00:48:44,022 --> 00:48:46,822
Manure was put
into the synagogues,
892
00:48:46,858 --> 00:48:49,191
and the buildings
were destroyed
893
00:48:49,227 --> 00:48:54,330
and just used for all sorts
of horrific things.
894
00:48:54,365 --> 00:48:57,099
As he would go
from town to town,
895
00:48:57,135 --> 00:49:00,703
he would be presented
at times with Torahs
896
00:49:00,738 --> 00:49:05,975
that the townsfolk
had saved from the Nazis.
897
00:49:06,010 --> 00:49:09,245
-Rabbi Eichhorn held services
for the GIs,
898
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:12,014
reading from the desecrated
Torah scrolls,
899
00:49:12,050 --> 00:49:15,918
the Jews' most sacred text.
900
00:49:15,954 --> 00:49:18,254
"The more they see and hear
about what has happened
901
00:49:18,289 --> 00:49:20,556
to the Jewish
communities of Europe,"
902
00:49:20,591 --> 00:49:23,426
he wrote, "our men
are more intensely
903
00:49:23,461 --> 00:49:28,297
and proudly Jewish
than I have ever known."
904
00:49:28,333 --> 00:49:30,433
In September 1944,
905
00:49:30,468 --> 00:49:33,169
American troops crossed
the Siegfried Line,
906
00:49:33,204 --> 00:49:37,606
a massive Nazi fortification
400 miles long.
907
00:49:37,642 --> 00:49:40,242
The Jewish servicemen
had finally entered
908
00:49:40,278 --> 00:49:43,212
Hitler's Germany.
909
00:49:43,247 --> 00:49:45,748
Among them was
Private Si Lewen,
910
00:49:45,783 --> 00:49:50,686
who had fled the Nazis as
a teenager only 10 years before.
911
00:49:50,722 --> 00:49:52,855
He drove along the front lines
912
00:49:52,890 --> 00:49:55,257
in a truck
outfitted with loudspeakers
913
00:49:55,293 --> 00:49:59,128
trying to persuade
the Germans to surrender.
914
00:49:59,163 --> 00:50:02,665
-My very first mission,
I was afraid that
915
00:50:02,700 --> 00:50:06,102
when I would stop
talking to them,
916
00:50:06,137 --> 00:50:12,141
my voice would give me away that
really I'm very much afraid,
917
00:50:12,176 --> 00:50:16,879
but then I would close my eyes,
and I just belted into it.
918
00:50:16,914 --> 00:50:19,081
[ Speaking German ]
919
00:50:19,117 --> 00:50:25,488
You know, and once
that was out, it was out.
920
00:50:25,523 --> 00:50:28,124
As I would say to the Germans,
921
00:50:28,159 --> 00:50:31,460
"You're all in this boat
together so let's be done.
922
00:50:31,496 --> 00:50:33,462
Give up now."
923
00:50:33,498 --> 00:50:36,699
-Little did they know, when
they put down their weapons,
924
00:50:36,734 --> 00:50:39,402
that the American soldier
they were surrendering to
925
00:50:39,437 --> 00:50:43,205
was in fact a German-Jew.
926
00:50:43,241 --> 00:50:45,174
-I'm a little guy there.
927
00:50:45,209 --> 00:50:49,612
I would always stand on
the highest part of my truck
928
00:50:49,647 --> 00:50:52,848
to seem taller
than I really am.
929
00:50:52,884 --> 00:50:58,988
I felt tall, and then of course
these Nazis surrender.
930
00:50:59,023 --> 00:51:01,023
I felt elated.
931
00:51:01,059 --> 00:51:03,526
I felt elated.
932
00:51:03,561 --> 00:51:09,165
♪♪
933
00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:12,401
-The first German city
to fall to American forces
934
00:51:12,437 --> 00:51:16,772
was Aachen on Germany's
western border.
935
00:51:16,808 --> 00:51:18,707
There, on October 29,
936
00:51:18,743 --> 00:51:21,911
with Nazi artillery still
exploding in the distance,
937
00:51:21,946 --> 00:51:24,180
a group of American-Jewish GIs
938
00:51:24,215 --> 00:51:28,384
held a service that was
broadcast around the world.
939
00:51:28,419 --> 00:51:30,019
-The National
Broadcasting Company,
940
00:51:30,054 --> 00:51:32,421
in cooperation with
the American Jewish Committee,
941
00:51:32,457 --> 00:51:34,056
brings you now
a special broadcast
942
00:51:34,092 --> 00:51:36,092
of historic significance
943
00:51:36,127 --> 00:51:39,562
with the first Jewish religious
service broadcast from Germany
944
00:51:39,597 --> 00:51:42,364
since the advent of Hitler.
945
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,835
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
946
00:51:45,870 --> 00:51:49,205
♪♪
947
00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:52,308
-Lieutenant Max Fuchs,
who had been studying to become
948
00:51:52,343 --> 00:51:56,245
a cantor,
volunteered to sing that day.
949
00:51:56,280 --> 00:52:00,583
-You know, they asked me to do
the service in Aachen, Germany.
950
00:52:00,618 --> 00:52:04,253
The GIs wanted to do
some praying, you know,
951
00:52:04,288 --> 00:52:09,758
and some singing, so this was
my part of the service.
952
00:52:09,794 --> 00:52:12,461
-Since the U.S. is beginning
to occupy Germany,
953
00:52:12,497 --> 00:52:15,197
in the middle of
these tank barriers,
954
00:52:15,233 --> 00:52:16,432
they held a Jewish service,
955
00:52:16,467 --> 00:52:19,034
and it was broadcast both
over the air in Germany
956
00:52:19,070 --> 00:52:21,337
and was also broadcast by NBC,
957
00:52:21,372 --> 00:52:23,939
and it was just an
extraordinary statement
958
00:52:23,975 --> 00:52:25,374
about the defeat of the Nazis,
959
00:52:25,409 --> 00:52:29,578
about overturning the horrible
policies of Germany
960
00:52:29,614 --> 00:52:31,714
against the Jews.
961
00:52:31,749 --> 00:52:34,416
-The Jewish chaplain spoke
about peace on Earth
962
00:52:34,452 --> 00:52:37,786
and things like that
in part of the service.
963
00:52:37,822 --> 00:52:40,256
It was a wonderful thing,
a Yiskor service.
964
00:52:40,291 --> 00:52:45,361
Yiskor means a remembering,
965
00:52:45,396 --> 00:52:47,997
remembering all the GIs
966
00:52:48,032 --> 00:52:50,332
that had fallen.
967
00:52:51,502 --> 00:52:55,938
You say a prayer for those GIs.
968
00:52:55,973 --> 00:52:59,842
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
969
00:53:02,680 --> 00:53:04,813
-That's when it really hit me,
970
00:53:04,849 --> 00:53:07,283
you know, what was
happening in Europe.
971
00:53:07,318 --> 00:53:11,754
While I was doing that service,
things sort of hit you.
972
00:53:11,789 --> 00:53:15,324
You know, you get melancholy
because you start to think
973
00:53:15,359 --> 00:53:20,429
about your family,
you know,
974
00:53:20,464 --> 00:53:23,365
all the people that I knew.
975
00:53:23,401 --> 00:53:26,468
You see, I knew these people
because I was 12 years old
976
00:53:26,504 --> 00:53:29,305
when I came here from Poland.
977
00:53:29,340 --> 00:53:30,873
The cousins, I knew the uncles.
978
00:53:30,908 --> 00:53:33,943
I knew grandparents.
979
00:53:33,978 --> 00:53:38,380
When I looked out and I saw
so many Jewish GIs,
980
00:53:38,416 --> 00:53:40,115
I wasn't the only one.
981
00:53:40,151 --> 00:53:44,353
There wasn't one GI there that
didn't have an extended family
982
00:53:44,388 --> 00:53:46,956
in Europe somewhere lost.
983
00:53:51,062 --> 00:53:53,028
They all perished.
984
00:53:53,064 --> 00:53:55,631
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
985
00:54:01,872 --> 00:54:04,873
-As American forces marched
through Hitler's Europe
986
00:54:04,909 --> 00:54:08,510
in the winter of 1944,
rumors that the Nazis
987
00:54:08,546 --> 00:54:13,148
were murdering Jewish prisoners
of war continued to spread.
988
00:54:13,184 --> 00:54:15,918
Hearing news that Jewish
soldiers in the Soviet army
989
00:54:15,953 --> 00:54:18,053
had been singled out and shot,
990
00:54:18,089 --> 00:54:19,388
some American officers
991
00:54:19,423 --> 00:54:23,125
encouraged their men
to destroy their dog tags.
992
00:54:26,163 --> 00:54:30,399
On December 16, deep in
the Ardennes Forest in Belgium,
993
00:54:30,434 --> 00:54:34,803
the Germans launched a massive
assault on American forces,
994
00:54:34,839 --> 00:54:39,775
what would become known
as the Battle of the Bulge.
995
00:54:39,810 --> 00:54:46,615
-So this huge German onslaught
came as an absolute surprise.
996
00:54:46,651 --> 00:54:48,384
That was just the beginning
997
00:54:48,419 --> 00:54:51,620
of what became
a very brutal battle.
998
00:54:51,656 --> 00:54:56,358
You had whole American, you
know, regiments that were...
999
00:54:56,394 --> 00:55:01,063
American prisoners by the score
were taken there.
1000
00:55:01,098 --> 00:55:04,600
-19,000 Americans
died in the Battle of the Bulge,
1001
00:55:04,635 --> 00:55:08,871
and 15,000 more were captured.
1002
00:55:08,906 --> 00:55:12,041
-The Germans came at us
in force,
1003
00:55:12,076 --> 00:55:14,610
pushed through on our flanks.
1004
00:55:14,645 --> 00:55:16,512
I threw away my dog tags,
1005
00:55:16,547 --> 00:55:20,182
which had my religion on it.
1006
00:55:20,217 --> 00:55:23,552
-Sergeant Lester Tanner and his
unit were taken prisoner,
1007
00:55:23,587 --> 00:55:26,322
and in late January,
he and the other officers
1008
00:55:26,357 --> 00:55:30,793
were moved to a prison camp
called Stalag IX A.
1009
00:55:30,828 --> 00:55:34,330
-They announced that the Jews
had to form up
1010
00:55:34,365 --> 00:55:36,832
in front of the barracks
the next morning,
1011
00:55:36,867 --> 00:55:39,134
and those who do not
will be shot.
1012
00:55:41,505 --> 00:55:43,639
-Master Sergeant
Roddie Edmonds,
1013
00:55:43,674 --> 00:55:46,108
a Protestant from Knoxville,
Tennessee,
1014
00:55:46,143 --> 00:55:48,143
was known
for his strong leadership
1015
00:55:48,179 --> 00:55:50,779
and deep moral conviction.
1016
00:55:50,815 --> 00:55:52,581
He was the commanding officer
in charge
1017
00:55:52,616 --> 00:55:57,486
of the 1,275 American prisoners.
1018
00:55:57,521 --> 00:56:01,990
-Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds
told his officer,
1019
00:56:02,026 --> 00:56:06,095
"We will all be there
in the morning in formation,
1020
00:56:06,130 --> 00:56:09,331
and I will be at the head."
1021
00:56:09,367 --> 00:56:11,700
The next morning,
we were lined up.
1022
00:56:11,736 --> 00:56:14,436
Major Siegmann strides over.
1023
00:56:14,472 --> 00:56:16,672
He says,
"You can't all be Jews."
1024
00:56:16,707 --> 00:56:20,876
Roddie said to him,
"We're all Jews here."
1025
00:56:20,911 --> 00:56:23,212
You don't tell a Gestapo man
1026
00:56:23,247 --> 00:56:25,748
that you're not going
to listen to his order.
1027
00:56:25,783 --> 00:56:32,221
The German takes out his Luger,
points it at Roddie's forehead,
1028
00:56:32,256 --> 00:56:33,989
and he says,
1029
00:56:34,024 --> 00:56:40,295
"You will order
the Jewish-American soldiers
1030
00:56:40,331 --> 00:56:44,700
to step forward,
or I will shoot you right now."
1031
00:56:46,036 --> 00:56:50,706
And he said to him,
"Major, you can shoot me,
1032
00:56:50,741 --> 00:56:53,609
but if you do, you're going to
have to shoot all of us
1033
00:56:53,644 --> 00:56:55,677
because we know who you are,
1034
00:56:55,713 --> 00:57:00,783
and this war is almost over,
and you will be a war criminal,"
1035
00:57:00,818 --> 00:57:06,121
and the major just spun around
and went back to his barracks,
1036
00:57:06,157 --> 00:57:10,058
and Roddie dismissed the men.
1037
00:57:10,094 --> 00:57:14,763
-Edmonds saved nearly 200
Jewish-American men that day.
1038
00:57:14,799 --> 00:57:17,399
They would never forget
the extraordinary risk
1039
00:57:17,435 --> 00:57:19,501
he took on their behalf.
1040
00:57:23,140 --> 00:57:25,140
Private Morton Brooks
was also captured
1041
00:57:25,176 --> 00:57:27,276
during the Battle of the Bulge.
1042
00:57:27,311 --> 00:57:29,978
He was taken to Stalag IX B
1043
00:57:30,014 --> 00:57:32,648
and imprisoned in separate
Jewish barracks
1044
00:57:32,683 --> 00:57:34,550
under S.S. guard.
1045
00:57:34,585 --> 00:57:37,853
Then, they were told that
350 men would be moved
1046
00:57:37,888 --> 00:57:39,688
to another camp.
1047
00:57:39,723 --> 00:57:41,490
Because there weren't
enough Jews,
1048
00:57:41,525 --> 00:57:43,826
they also sent men
who looked Jewish
1049
00:57:43,861 --> 00:57:46,195
or had Jewish-sounding names
1050
00:57:46,230 --> 00:57:49,231
and those who were
considered troublemakers.
1051
00:57:50,935 --> 00:57:53,836
[ Train whistle blows ]
1052
00:57:53,871 --> 00:57:57,773
-We pulled in to what
we saw was Berga.
1053
00:57:57,808 --> 00:58:01,710
We saw that it was one
of the concentration camps,
1054
00:58:01,745 --> 00:58:04,847
striped outfits
behind the barbed wire.
1055
00:58:04,882 --> 00:58:07,883
The people behind them
were Jewish.
1056
00:58:07,918 --> 00:58:11,820
Then, of course, we knew
that it wasn't a POW camp.
1057
00:58:11,856 --> 00:58:13,789
That was clear.
1058
00:58:13,824 --> 00:58:16,792
-Berga, a subcamp
of Buchenwald,
1059
00:58:16,827 --> 00:58:19,728
was one of hundreds
of slave-labor camps,
1060
00:58:19,763 --> 00:58:23,699
where prisoners were
deliberately worked to death.
1061
00:58:23,734 --> 00:58:26,635
Each morning, the men
marched through the snow
1062
00:58:26,670 --> 00:58:29,004
and worked 10 hours a day,
1063
00:58:29,039 --> 00:58:34,142
digging tunnels for the Nazis'
underground ammunition factory.
1064
00:58:34,178 --> 00:58:37,179
-The overseer in the mine shaft
that I was in
1065
00:58:37,214 --> 00:58:39,181
was a particularly brutal man.
1066
00:58:39,216 --> 00:58:43,852
He carried a rubber hose
and a pickax handle,
1067
00:58:43,888 --> 00:58:46,722
and if he didn't think
you were working hard enough,
1068
00:58:46,757 --> 00:58:49,424
he would use it on you.
1069
00:58:49,460 --> 00:58:52,361
There were some fellows
who tried to escape,
1070
00:58:52,396 --> 00:58:55,197
and, of course,
they were shot.
1071
00:58:57,568 --> 00:59:01,703
-Of the 350 American POWs
who were sent to Berga,
1072
00:59:01,739 --> 00:59:05,607
only 63 survived.
1073
00:59:05,643 --> 00:59:07,175
-Oh.
1074
00:59:07,211 --> 00:59:12,981
I used to dream about revenge
and what I would do.
1075
00:59:13,017 --> 00:59:16,919
The cruelty was unbelievable.
1076
00:59:16,954 --> 00:59:19,888
I was almost half my weight.
1077
00:59:19,924 --> 00:59:21,990
I was about 74 pounds.
1078
00:59:25,029 --> 00:59:29,731
To go through a German
concentration-camp experience
1079
00:59:29,767 --> 00:59:32,634
never entered my thoughts.
1080
00:59:32,670 --> 00:59:36,104
Of course, we didn't really know
about those things at the time.
1081
00:59:39,476 --> 00:59:42,844
-By early 1945,
millions of Americans
1082
00:59:42,880 --> 00:59:45,113
had been sent into combat.
1083
00:59:45,149 --> 00:59:48,850
Wherever servicemen went,
chaplains went with them,
1084
00:59:48,886 --> 00:59:54,890
offering spiritual comfort in
the face of the horrors of war.
1085
00:59:54,925 --> 00:59:58,160
Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn
was stationed in the Pacific,
1086
00:59:58,195 --> 01:00:02,097
the only Jewish chaplain
with the Fifth Marine Division.
1087
01:00:02,132 --> 01:00:04,700
A committed pacifist
before the war,
1088
01:00:04,735 --> 01:00:08,604
the fight against Hitler's evil
had changed his mind.
1089
01:00:08,639 --> 01:00:10,839
"According to Jewish law,"
he wrote,
1090
01:00:10,874 --> 01:00:13,108
"It was a war of obligation.
1091
01:00:13,143 --> 01:00:16,912
In such a war,
every Jew must fight."
1092
01:00:21,919 --> 01:00:23,585
On February 20th,
1093
01:00:23,621 --> 01:00:25,921
Rabbi Gittelsohn went ashore
with the Marines
1094
01:00:25,956 --> 01:00:28,423
in the invasion of Iwo Jima,
1095
01:00:28,459 --> 01:00:32,694
one of the bloodiest
battles of the war.
1096
01:00:32,730 --> 01:00:36,164
Afterwards, he was asked to lead
an interfaith service
1097
01:00:36,200 --> 01:00:38,533
honoring the dead,
1098
01:00:38,569 --> 01:00:41,136
but some of the other
chaplains objected to a Jew
1099
01:00:41,171 --> 01:00:42,971
presiding over a memorial
1100
01:00:43,007 --> 01:00:45,540
for men of all religions.
1101
01:00:45,576 --> 01:00:48,010
Reluctantly, the head
chaplain agreed
1102
01:00:48,045 --> 01:00:50,846
to hold three
separate services instead.
1103
01:00:54,852 --> 01:00:57,719
Rabbi Gittelsohn spoke
at the Jewish service,
1104
01:00:57,755 --> 01:01:00,689
reading the words he had
originally written to honor
1105
01:01:00,724 --> 01:01:02,557
all of the men.
1106
01:01:02,593 --> 01:01:05,560
[ "Taps" plays ]
1107
01:01:05,596 --> 01:01:08,530
♪♪
1108
01:01:08,565 --> 01:01:12,134
"Here lie officers and men,
1109
01:01:12,169 --> 01:01:17,139
black and white,
rich and poor together.
1110
01:01:17,174 --> 01:01:23,845
Here are Protestants,
Catholics and Jews together.
1111
01:01:23,881 --> 01:01:28,550
Among these men,
there is no discrimination,
1112
01:01:28,585 --> 01:01:33,355
no prejudices, no hatred.
1113
01:01:33,390 --> 01:01:37,359
Whoever of us lifts his hand
in hate against a brother
1114
01:01:37,394 --> 01:01:39,494
or who thinks himself
superior to those
1115
01:01:39,530 --> 01:01:44,199
who happen to be in the minority
makes of this ceremony
1116
01:01:44,234 --> 01:01:47,302
and the bloody sacrifice
it commemorates
1117
01:01:47,337 --> 01:01:51,339
an empty, hollow mockery."
1118
01:01:51,375 --> 01:01:56,978
-"This was," Gittelsohn said,
"The reason why these men died,
1119
01:01:57,014 --> 01:01:59,147
and if you, the living,
1120
01:01:59,183 --> 01:02:03,985
don't carry on
this vision of equality
1121
01:02:04,021 --> 01:02:09,825
to eliminate these
distinctions between men,
1122
01:02:09,860 --> 01:02:16,798
then you will be betraying the
deaths of your fellow soldiers."
1123
01:02:16,834 --> 01:02:22,804
-"We here solemnly swear
that this shall not be in vain.
1124
01:02:22,840 --> 01:02:27,142
Out of this will come,
we promise,
1125
01:02:27,177 --> 01:02:31,947
the birth of a new freedom
for the sons of men everywhere."
1126
01:02:38,188 --> 01:02:43,391
By April 1945, after 4
long years of fighting,
1127
01:02:43,427 --> 01:02:47,062
the Allies had advanced
deep into Germany.
1128
01:02:47,097 --> 01:02:50,365
American troops triumphantly
marched into Nuremberg,
1129
01:02:50,400 --> 01:02:53,902
the symbolic center
of the Nazi regime.
1130
01:02:53,937 --> 01:02:57,239
-[ Speaking German ]
1131
01:02:57,274 --> 01:03:00,175
-It was there,
in the Zeppelin Stadium,
1132
01:03:00,210 --> 01:03:02,978
that Hitler had held
his massive rallies
1133
01:03:03,013 --> 01:03:07,983
with huge crowds of
Germans cheering him on.
1134
01:03:08,018 --> 01:03:11,286
On April 21st,
Rabbi David Max Eichhorn
1135
01:03:11,321 --> 01:03:14,790
drove into the stadium
carrying a portable arch
1136
01:03:14,825 --> 01:03:18,059
and a small Torah in his Jeep.
1137
01:03:18,095 --> 01:03:20,762
At the very podium
where Hitler had stood,
1138
01:03:20,798 --> 01:03:26,501
the Rabbi and a group
of Jewish GIs began to pray.
1139
01:03:26,537 --> 01:03:29,871
-My grandfather said
how proud they were
1140
01:03:29,907 --> 01:03:32,941
to give a different
type of symbol to Hitler
1141
01:03:32,976 --> 01:03:35,544
to demonstrate that,
you know, now we are here,
1142
01:03:35,579 --> 01:03:37,212
and you are no longer.
1143
01:03:37,247 --> 01:03:40,182
This is where the American
forces blew up
1144
01:03:40,217 --> 01:03:41,850
the large swastika
1145
01:03:41,885 --> 01:03:45,453
that was on top of the stadium,
which he was there to witness.
1146
01:03:45,489 --> 01:03:47,956
They, you know,
they relished it.
1147
01:03:58,368 --> 01:04:00,235
-As the Nazis retreated,
1148
01:04:00,270 --> 01:04:04,906
they began to abandon their vast
network of concentration camps,
1149
01:04:04,942 --> 01:04:08,610
which stretched across
all of occupied Europe.
1150
01:04:08,645 --> 01:04:11,780
By January 1945, the Soviet Army
1151
01:04:11,815 --> 01:04:14,749
had liberated the Nazi
death camps in Poland,
1152
01:04:14,785 --> 01:04:17,686
including Majdanek
and Auschwitz.
1153
01:04:19,823 --> 01:04:22,357
On April 4, 1945,
1154
01:04:22,392 --> 01:04:25,760
American troops on patrol
south of Gotha, Germany,
1155
01:04:25,796 --> 01:04:30,599
came upon Ohrdruf,
a subcamp of Buchenwald.
1156
01:04:30,634 --> 01:04:32,634
-None of us were prepared
for what we saw
1157
01:04:32,669 --> 01:04:34,502
when we hit that camp.
1158
01:04:34,538 --> 01:04:39,307
As a Jew, I had heard stories,
but we were not prepared.
1159
01:04:39,343 --> 01:04:41,977
The prisoners,
they worked them to death.
1160
01:04:42,012 --> 01:04:45,647
They starved them, and when
they died, they burned them.
1161
01:04:45,682 --> 01:04:48,183
I was not the only one
who threw up.
1162
01:04:48,218 --> 01:04:51,353
I was not the only one
who cried,
1163
01:04:51,388 --> 01:04:55,490
but it made us angry,
very, very angry.
1164
01:04:56,760 --> 01:04:57,959
-One week later,
1165
01:04:57,995 --> 01:05:01,229
Allied Commander General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1166
01:05:01,265 --> 01:05:04,132
visited Ohrdruf.
1167
01:05:04,167 --> 01:05:06,301
Shocked by what he saw,
1168
01:05:06,336 --> 01:05:09,905
Eisenhower ordered
all American units in the area
1169
01:05:09,940 --> 01:05:13,041
to visit the camps.
1170
01:05:13,076 --> 01:05:15,644
"We are told that the
American soldier does not know
1171
01:05:15,679 --> 01:05:18,079
what he is fighting for,"
he said.
1172
01:05:18,115 --> 01:05:22,450
"Now, at least, he will know
what he is fighting against."
1173
01:05:25,422 --> 01:05:27,622
Allen Moskin was
an 18-year-old soldier
1174
01:05:27,658 --> 01:05:30,392
with the 71st Infantry Division
1175
01:05:30,427 --> 01:05:33,595
when his unit discovered
Gunskirchen Lager,
1176
01:05:33,630 --> 01:05:38,867
a subcamp of Mauthausen
Concentration Camp, in Austria.
1177
01:05:38,902 --> 01:05:44,039
-All of a sudden, the most
overpowering, nauseating stench,
1178
01:05:44,074 --> 01:05:47,776
it was a smell that got into
your nostrils, into your body.
1179
01:05:47,811 --> 01:05:50,278
It's a smell I can never,
ever forget.
1180
01:05:50,314 --> 01:05:52,280
I'm going to tell you,
entering that camp
1181
01:05:52,316 --> 01:05:54,249
was the most horrific sight
1182
01:05:54,284 --> 01:05:58,219
I've ever seen or ever hope
to see the rest of my life.
1183
01:05:58,255 --> 01:06:00,655
Their cheeks
were all hollowed out,
1184
01:06:00,691 --> 01:06:04,125
their eyes sunken back into
their sockets of their heads.
1185
01:06:04,161 --> 01:06:06,061
They all looked alike.
1186
01:06:06,096 --> 01:06:09,531
I remember seeing many chanting
prayers, looking skyward.
1187
01:06:09,566 --> 01:06:11,766
Some were crawling.
1188
01:06:11,802 --> 01:06:14,803
-My buddies, they couldn't
have been nicer to myself
1189
01:06:14,838 --> 01:06:16,538
and another Jewish fellow.
1190
01:06:16,573 --> 01:06:19,741
Just pissed off, I tell you,
as much as I was, if not more.
1191
01:06:19,776 --> 01:06:21,977
They were going
to kill every Nazi S.O.B.
1192
01:06:22,012 --> 01:06:25,647
They screamed and hollered,
"My god. These are civilians.
1193
01:06:25,682 --> 01:06:28,817
How can you treat people
like this?"
1194
01:06:28,852 --> 01:06:31,553
-The horrified servicemen
tried to help,
1195
01:06:31,588 --> 01:06:35,423
handing out rations to
the desperate prisoners.
1196
01:06:35,459 --> 01:06:38,259
Most of the survivors
did not speak English,
1197
01:06:38,295 --> 01:06:39,828
and so when they could,
1198
01:06:39,863 --> 01:06:42,731
Jewish GIs spoke
to them in Yiddish,
1199
01:06:42,766 --> 01:06:46,835
the language shared
by most European Jews.
1200
01:06:46,870 --> 01:06:49,237
-The lieutenant knew
I was Jewish, and he said,
1201
01:06:49,272 --> 01:06:52,707
"Moskin, say
something in Yiddish."
1202
01:06:52,743 --> 01:06:59,047
So when I said, in German...
[ Speaking German ]
1203
01:06:59,082 --> 01:07:01,816
That means that I am also a Jew.
1204
01:07:01,852 --> 01:07:05,253
I remember this elderly man,
he came toward me,
1205
01:07:05,288 --> 01:07:07,122
and then he wrapped his arms
around me.
1206
01:07:07,157 --> 01:07:10,291
[ Speaking foreign language ]
1207
01:07:10,327 --> 01:07:14,496
You know, "American Jew soldier,
thank you,"
1208
01:07:14,531 --> 01:07:19,267
and then I felt tears
on my cheek as he came up.
1209
01:07:19,302 --> 01:07:22,670
He was holding me tight,
and I started to cry,
1210
01:07:22,706 --> 01:07:28,576
and I'm not embarrassed to say
that it was very emotional.
1211
01:07:28,612 --> 01:07:31,846
-Many more soldiers on patrol
throughout Germany
1212
01:07:31,882 --> 01:07:35,950
would also bear witness
to the camps.
1213
01:07:35,986 --> 01:07:39,220
Henry Kissinger was with
a division that liberated Ahlem,
1214
01:07:39,256 --> 01:07:42,824
a subcamp of Bergen-Belsen.
1215
01:07:42,859 --> 01:07:46,161
-They knew they were free,
but they didn't know exactly.
1216
01:07:46,196 --> 01:07:52,033
I just told them they were free
and what we would do.
1217
01:07:52,069 --> 01:07:54,436
-Years later,
Kissinger discovered
1218
01:07:54,471 --> 01:07:57,272
that his grandmother had passed
through the same camp
1219
01:07:57,307 --> 01:07:59,641
he had helped liberate.
1220
01:07:59,676 --> 01:08:02,977
-The Germans kept
meticulous records,
1221
01:08:03,013 --> 01:08:06,981
so I found out that
my grandmother died
1222
01:08:07,017 --> 01:08:10,585
on the death march
1223
01:08:10,620 --> 01:08:14,923
3 days
before the end of the war.
1224
01:08:14,958 --> 01:08:20,228
Thirteen members of our family
died in concentration camps.
1225
01:08:20,263 --> 01:08:27,202
Three sisters of my father,
my step-grandmother,
1226
01:08:27,237 --> 01:08:31,339
second cousins
were all sent to Auschwitz.
1227
01:08:31,374 --> 01:08:34,709
♪♪
1228
01:08:34,744 --> 01:08:37,312
-Si Lewen went to Buchenwald,
1229
01:08:37,347 --> 01:08:42,684
where 20,000 survivors had been
liberated by the American Army.
1230
01:08:42,719 --> 01:08:46,354
-I had gone to the crematorium,
1231
01:08:46,389 --> 01:08:50,992
and the ovens, they still had
the ashes in them, you know.
1232
01:08:51,027 --> 01:08:57,132
You can tell that they were
still burning bodies
1233
01:08:57,167 --> 01:08:59,968
very recently,
1234
01:09:00,003 --> 01:09:05,573
and...I broke down.
1235
01:09:07,544 --> 01:09:09,811
I completely fell apart.
1236
01:09:11,948 --> 01:09:15,917
I went to the medical station,
1237
01:09:15,952 --> 01:09:18,987
and I told them,
"I can't go on."
1238
01:09:19,022 --> 01:09:21,089
♪♪
1239
01:09:21,124 --> 01:09:24,792
The war was over for me,
1240
01:09:24,828 --> 01:09:28,863
and within a few days,
1241
01:09:28,899 --> 01:09:31,499
I was on the hospital ship...
1242
01:09:31,535 --> 01:09:34,769
♪♪
1243
01:09:34,804 --> 01:09:38,540
♪♪
1244
01:09:38,575 --> 01:09:40,575
...going home.
1245
01:09:40,610 --> 01:09:47,248
♪♪
1246
01:09:47,284 --> 01:09:51,819
-Rabbi David Max Eichhorn
arrived at Dachau on April 30th,
1247
01:09:51,855 --> 01:09:54,889
the day after he was liberated.
1248
01:09:54,925 --> 01:09:57,992
"We cried not merely
tears of sorrow.
1249
01:09:58,028 --> 01:10:01,229
We cried tears of hate,"
he wrote later,
1250
01:10:01,264 --> 01:10:05,133
"Combat-hardened soldiers,
gentile and Jew,
1251
01:10:05,168 --> 01:10:08,703
black and white
cried tears of hate."
1252
01:10:14,044 --> 01:10:18,112
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
1253
01:10:24,387 --> 01:10:28,423
-After 6 days of tending
to the survivors at Dachau,
1254
01:10:28,458 --> 01:10:31,326
Rabbi Eichhorn held
a religious service for them.
1255
01:10:32,929 --> 01:10:34,729
♪♪
1256
01:10:34,764 --> 01:10:39,133
-Today, I come to you
in a dual capacity
1257
01:10:39,169 --> 01:10:42,036
as a soldier
in the American Army
1258
01:10:42,072 --> 01:10:47,775
and as a representative of
the Jewish community of America.
1259
01:10:47,811 --> 01:10:51,713
We are proud to know
that we have had a share
1260
01:10:51,748 --> 01:10:56,951
in the destruction of the most
cruel tyranny of all time.
1261
01:10:56,987 --> 01:10:59,721
We are proud to salute you
1262
01:10:59,756 --> 01:11:04,225
who have been the bravest
of the brave.
1263
01:11:04,261 --> 01:11:07,295
We know your tragedy.
1264
01:11:07,330 --> 01:11:10,398
We know your sorrows.
1265
01:11:10,433 --> 01:11:15,536
We know that upon you was
centered the venomous hatred.
1266
01:11:15,572 --> 01:11:19,240
♪♪
1267
01:11:19,276 --> 01:11:21,542
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
1268
01:11:21,578 --> 01:11:26,514
-The Torah Eichhorn prayed with
had been given to him in France,
1269
01:11:26,549 --> 01:11:28,883
salvaged from
a desecrated synagogue
1270
01:11:28,918 --> 01:11:30,785
and hidden from the Nazis.
1271
01:11:30,820 --> 01:11:32,887
[ Singing in Hebrew ]
1272
01:11:47,203 --> 01:11:48,469
-Eichhorn would discover later
1273
01:11:48,505 --> 01:11:50,672
that one of his own
family members,
1274
01:11:50,707 --> 01:11:55,877
his namesake, Uncle Max,
had been murdered at Dachau.
1275
01:11:55,912 --> 01:12:00,048
♪♪
1276
01:12:00,083 --> 01:12:03,651
Nearly 6 million Jews had been
killed by Nazi Germany
1277
01:12:03,687 --> 01:12:06,888
and its collaborators.
1278
01:12:06,923 --> 01:12:11,292
One thousand years of Jewish
life and culture in Europe
1279
01:12:11,328 --> 01:12:13,161
had all but been destroyed.
1280
01:12:13,196 --> 01:12:17,365
♪♪
1281
01:12:17,400 --> 01:12:21,602
♪♪
1282
01:12:21,638 --> 01:12:25,807
♪♪
1283
01:12:25,842 --> 01:12:31,379
♪♪
1284
01:12:31,414 --> 01:12:34,082
On May 7, 1945,
1285
01:12:34,117 --> 01:12:37,285
Germany surrendered
to the Allied forces.
1286
01:12:37,320 --> 01:12:39,020
Just one week earlier,
1287
01:12:39,055 --> 01:12:42,890
Adolf Hitler had committed
suicide in his bunker in Berlin,
1288
01:12:42,926 --> 01:12:46,861
where he had been
hiding for months.
1289
01:12:46,896 --> 01:12:48,463
Although the war
against the Japanese
1290
01:12:48,498 --> 01:12:50,832
still raged in the Pacific,
1291
01:12:50,867 --> 01:12:54,235
the Allies declared
victory in Europe.
1292
01:12:54,270 --> 01:12:55,903
-"It's V.E. Day!"
1293
01:12:55,939 --> 01:12:57,672
Everybody was yelling
and screaming
1294
01:12:57,707 --> 01:12:59,874
and running in the streets.
1295
01:12:59,909 --> 01:13:01,943
-V.E. Day happened.
1296
01:13:01,978 --> 01:13:04,412
We were in Pilsen,
Czechoslovakia.
1297
01:13:04,447 --> 01:13:07,982
That's where all the good beer
comes from.
1298
01:13:08,017 --> 01:13:10,017
So we had a good drink of beer.
1299
01:13:10,053 --> 01:13:15,256
♪♪
1300
01:13:15,291 --> 01:13:17,191
-While many celebrated,
1301
01:13:17,227 --> 01:13:19,360
some Jewish servicemen
were overwhelmed
1302
01:13:19,396 --> 01:13:22,497
by the horrors
they had witnessed.
1303
01:13:22,532 --> 01:13:25,533
26-year-old
Sergeant J.D. Salinger,
1304
01:13:25,568 --> 01:13:28,336
the grandson
of a rabbi from Lithuania,
1305
01:13:28,371 --> 01:13:31,873
had survived D-Day
and the Battle of the Bulge
1306
01:13:31,908 --> 01:13:35,910
and helped liberate
the concentration camps.
1307
01:13:35,945 --> 01:13:38,146
Throughout it all, he had
carried with him
1308
01:13:38,181 --> 01:13:39,480
a collection of stories
1309
01:13:39,516 --> 01:13:41,182
he had written
during his service,
1310
01:13:41,217 --> 01:13:45,453
the first draft of
"The Catcher in the Rye."
1311
01:13:45,488 --> 01:13:50,191
Now, he spent V.E. Day alone
sitting on his bed,
1312
01:13:50,226 --> 01:13:53,561
holding a loaded pistol.
1313
01:13:53,596 --> 01:13:56,364
Soon afterward, he checked
himself into a hospital
1314
01:13:56,399 --> 01:13:57,999
in Nuremberg
1315
01:13:58,034 --> 01:14:01,102
and was diagnosed
with battle fatigue.
1316
01:14:01,137 --> 01:14:03,204
♪♪
1317
01:14:03,239 --> 01:14:05,573
-J.D. Salinger
experienced firsthand
1318
01:14:05,608 --> 01:14:08,609
many of the most horrific
campaigns in Europe.
1319
01:14:08,645 --> 01:14:13,281
If you look at his stories, the
shadow is so strong of the war,
1320
01:14:13,316 --> 01:14:15,416
particularly in the short story
he wrote
1321
01:14:15,452 --> 01:14:19,720
in which the main
protagonist is a Jewish GI,
1322
01:14:19,756 --> 01:14:23,324
and the story ends with him
committing suicide.
1323
01:14:23,359 --> 01:14:26,661
So it's this deep shadow over
this notion of what it meant
1324
01:14:26,696 --> 01:14:29,130
to be a Jew after the war.
1325
01:14:29,165 --> 01:14:31,732
[ Explosions ]
1326
01:14:34,270 --> 01:14:36,070
-Meanwhile, in the Pacific,
1327
01:14:36,105 --> 01:14:38,940
the Allies continued
to battle the Japanese.
1328
01:14:41,911 --> 01:14:45,213
Then, in August 1945,
1329
01:14:45,248 --> 01:14:51,285
the United States dropped atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1330
01:14:51,321 --> 01:14:52,787
On August 14th,
1331
01:14:52,822 --> 01:14:56,390
Japan formally agreed to
an unconditional surrender,
1332
01:14:56,426 --> 01:14:59,894
and the Allies declared
victory over Japan.
1333
01:14:59,929 --> 01:15:05,533
Now, finally, World War II
had come to an end.
1334
01:15:06,903 --> 01:15:13,841
-I recently came upon a letter
that I had written from camp
1335
01:15:13,877 --> 01:15:18,880
to my parents
on the day the war ended.
1336
01:15:18,915 --> 01:15:22,583
The last sentence
was underlined and said,
1337
01:15:22,619 --> 01:15:26,721
"Fred will be coming home soon."
1338
01:15:26,756 --> 01:15:32,059
My brother, in the Pacific,
would be coming home.
1339
01:15:32,095 --> 01:15:36,564
Just multiply that by
15 million families
1340
01:15:36,599 --> 01:15:38,399
who also had somebody saying,
1341
01:15:38,434 --> 01:15:41,402
"And now, Charlie
will be coming home."
1342
01:15:43,406 --> 01:15:46,574
♪♪
1343
01:15:46,609 --> 01:15:50,044
-The servicemen were joyfully
reunited with their parents,
1344
01:15:50,079 --> 01:15:54,615
their siblings and their wives
and girlfriends.
1345
01:15:54,651 --> 01:15:57,618
-I saw my wife.
We didn't talk.
1346
01:15:57,654 --> 01:16:00,187
We sat in the back of the car
that picked us up
1347
01:16:00,223 --> 01:16:02,857
5 to 10 minutes
without saying one word,
1348
01:16:02,892 --> 01:16:07,028
just staring at each other,
just staring.
1349
01:16:07,063 --> 01:16:10,031
No words were spoken.
1350
01:16:10,066 --> 01:16:15,369
Then finally, we broke down and
hugged and kissed each other.
1351
01:16:15,405 --> 01:16:17,171
It was wonderful.
1352
01:16:19,876 --> 01:16:22,143
-Synagogues stayed open
around the clock
1353
01:16:22,178 --> 01:16:27,081
to accommodate all of
the couples who wanted to marry.
1354
01:16:27,116 --> 01:16:30,651
Some rabbis performed as many
as eight weddings a day.
1355
01:16:30,687 --> 01:16:34,455
♪♪
1356
01:16:34,490 --> 01:16:38,826
♪♪
1357
01:16:38,861 --> 01:16:41,195
In the years after the war,
1358
01:16:41,230 --> 01:16:43,464
the returning servicemen
would challenge America
1359
01:16:43,499 --> 01:16:47,301
to live up to the values
they had fought for so fiercely,
1360
01:16:47,337 --> 01:16:51,906
democracy, equality, and
religious tolerance for all.
1361
01:16:51,941 --> 01:16:54,976
♪♪
1362
01:16:55,011 --> 01:17:00,381
-One of the things that happens
to Jewish soldiers after the war
1363
01:17:00,416 --> 01:17:03,985
is that the military
teaches you how to fight,
1364
01:17:04,020 --> 01:17:05,953
how to stand up for yourself,
1365
01:17:05,989 --> 01:17:10,591
and Jewish servicemen
in Miami, for example,
1366
01:17:10,627 --> 01:17:16,530
would put on their uniforms
and go from hotel to hotel
1367
01:17:16,566 --> 01:17:18,566
that had these signs of,
1368
01:17:18,601 --> 01:17:22,637
you know, "No Jews, no dogs,"
and say, "We're Jews.
1369
01:17:22,672 --> 01:17:27,942
You should not discriminate.
We served."
1370
01:17:27,977 --> 01:17:31,312
-I think seeing what had
happened to Jews
1371
01:17:31,347 --> 01:17:33,547
and knowing that people
1372
01:17:33,583 --> 01:17:36,450
were trying to wipe us
out completely,
1373
01:17:36,486 --> 01:17:41,188
I knew I had to do more
about being a Jew
1374
01:17:41,224 --> 01:17:44,158
than just being a Jew.
1375
01:17:44,193 --> 01:17:46,694
I had to be active in some way.
1376
01:17:46,729 --> 01:17:50,297
♪♪
1377
01:17:50,333 --> 01:17:52,199
-Some Jewish veterans
chose to fight
1378
01:17:52,235 --> 01:17:54,902
for a Jewish homeland in Israel.
1379
01:17:54,937 --> 01:17:57,371
They smuggled arms
into Palestine,
1380
01:17:57,407 --> 01:18:00,074
helped refugees
emigrate from Europe
1381
01:18:00,109 --> 01:18:03,544
and even joined
the Israeli Air Force.
1382
01:18:03,579 --> 01:18:05,980
-Many American soldiers
became stronger Zionists
1383
01:18:06,015 --> 01:18:09,116
after they witnessed what
had happened in the Holocaust.
1384
01:18:09,152 --> 01:18:10,951
They believed that Israel
was the solution.
1385
01:18:10,987 --> 01:18:13,187
They worked hard for it
to become the Jewish state
1386
01:18:13,222 --> 01:18:15,656
in the years after the war.
1387
01:18:15,692 --> 01:18:21,195
-In May 1948, the state
of Israel was established.
1388
01:18:21,230 --> 01:18:25,633
One-third of its citizens
were survivors of the Holocaust.
1389
01:18:28,571 --> 01:18:32,139
The United States now had
the largest Jewish community
1390
01:18:32,175 --> 01:18:36,544
in the world numbering
some 5 million.
1391
01:18:36,579 --> 01:18:38,479
It would be their responsibility
1392
01:18:38,514 --> 01:18:42,216
to create a new Jewish-American
culture and society.
1393
01:18:42,251 --> 01:18:45,986
♪♪
1394
01:18:46,022 --> 01:18:47,455
In the next decade,
1395
01:18:47,490 --> 01:18:50,391
they broke ground
on thousands of synagogues
1396
01:18:50,426 --> 01:18:53,661
and supported hundreds of
philanthropic organizations
1397
01:18:53,696 --> 01:18:55,996
at home and abroad.
1398
01:18:56,032 --> 01:18:58,165
♪♪
1399
01:18:58,201 --> 01:19:01,368
-I joined the B'nai B'rith
right after the war.
1400
01:19:01,404 --> 01:19:04,171
I became active
in United Jewish Appeal
1401
01:19:04,207 --> 01:19:06,107
I just think you had
to remember,
1402
01:19:06,142 --> 01:19:07,708
you know, where you came from.
1403
01:19:07,744 --> 01:19:10,511
♪♪
1404
01:19:10,546 --> 01:19:13,547
-In the 1950s,
1405
01:19:13,583 --> 01:19:19,253
Judaism really becomes
an American religion.
1406
01:19:19,288 --> 01:19:23,257
You can't talk about
a Christian country anymore.
1407
01:19:23,292 --> 01:19:28,362
Now you talk about
a Judeo-Christian country,
1408
01:19:28,397 --> 01:19:33,067
and discriminating
against people who are Jews
1409
01:19:33,102 --> 01:19:38,205
or who are blacks makes us like
the very Nazis
1410
01:19:38,241 --> 01:19:41,142
whom we defeated.
1411
01:19:41,177 --> 01:19:45,246
-For some of the GIs,
getting involved in civil rights
1412
01:19:45,281 --> 01:19:47,882
was really an extension
1413
01:19:47,917 --> 01:19:51,619
of what they had been
fighting for in the war.
1414
01:19:51,654 --> 01:19:55,456
Fighting for democracy
or for equality,
1415
01:19:55,491 --> 01:19:59,994
all of this translated into
fighting for civil rights.
1416
01:20:00,029 --> 01:20:03,130
-I went on five Freedom Rides.
1417
01:20:03,166 --> 01:20:06,567
I spoke to many churches
down South.
1418
01:20:06,602 --> 01:20:09,537
I went with Martin Luther King
across the bridge in Selma.
1419
01:20:09,572 --> 01:20:12,373
I'm not going to be part
of a silent majority
1420
01:20:12,408 --> 01:20:14,642
when people
are being persecuted.
1421
01:20:14,677 --> 01:20:16,811
I want to help people.
1422
01:20:19,115 --> 01:20:21,682
♪♪
1423
01:20:21,717 --> 01:20:24,318
-The triumphs and horrors
of World War II
1424
01:20:24,353 --> 01:20:28,923
had changed the Jewish
servicemen and women forever.
1425
01:20:28,958 --> 01:20:31,992
Some would become the voices
of their generation,
1426
01:20:32,028 --> 01:20:34,295
describing the war
they had lived through
1427
01:20:34,330 --> 01:20:36,397
with a critical eye.
1428
01:20:36,432 --> 01:20:39,834
Norman Mailer's novel,
"The Naked and the Dead,"
1429
01:20:39,869 --> 01:20:41,735
based on his service
in the Pacific,
1430
01:20:41,771 --> 01:20:46,373
would skyrocket its
25-year-old author to fame.
1431
01:20:46,409 --> 01:20:49,844
J.D. Salinger would draw on
the pain of his own experience
1432
01:20:49,879 --> 01:20:51,712
in "The Catcher in the Rye,"
1433
01:20:51,747 --> 01:20:56,116
which would become a great
classic of American literature.
1434
01:20:56,152 --> 01:20:58,652
Other Jewish veterans
of World War II,
1435
01:20:58,688 --> 01:21:03,591
including Herman Wouk,
Leon Uris, and Joseph Heller
1436
01:21:03,626 --> 01:21:05,860
would also write
bestselling novels,
1437
01:21:05,895 --> 01:21:09,630
bringing a Jewish perspective
to the story of war.
1438
01:21:09,665 --> 01:21:12,132
♪♪
1439
01:21:12,168 --> 01:21:15,336
Si Lewen, who would become
a celebrated artist,
1440
01:21:15,371 --> 01:21:19,506
incorporated his memories
of the war into his painting.
1441
01:21:19,542 --> 01:21:23,444
In 1951, Albert Einstein
sent Lewen a letter
1442
01:21:23,479 --> 01:21:25,613
after seeing his drawings.
1443
01:21:25,648 --> 01:21:30,784
"Our time needs you
and your work," he wrote.
1444
01:21:30,820 --> 01:21:35,589
-Perhaps it makes people
think I hated war.
1445
01:21:35,625 --> 01:21:38,826
Much of my work consists
of what I like
1446
01:21:38,861 --> 01:21:43,631
to think of anti-war material.
1447
01:21:43,666 --> 01:21:47,034
-Max Fuchs became
a cantor in 1946,
1448
01:21:47,069 --> 01:21:50,938
continuing the religious
singing he loved so much.
1449
01:21:50,973 --> 01:21:54,541
He would always remember leading
his fellow servicemen in prayer
1450
01:21:54,577 --> 01:21:58,913
that victorious day
in Aachen, Germany.
1451
01:21:58,948 --> 01:22:03,284
-After the war, I went
back to orthodoxy,
1452
01:22:03,319 --> 01:22:06,120
religious all over again.
1453
01:22:06,155 --> 01:22:09,223
-After the war,
I was badly scarred.
1454
01:22:09,258 --> 01:22:13,060
I'm badly scarred and no teeth.
1455
01:22:13,095 --> 01:22:18,465
I looked terrible until I got
my plastic surgery.
1456
01:22:18,501 --> 01:22:21,936
I thought, "God saved me
for a reason,
1457
01:22:21,971 --> 01:22:25,773
to help people and do
good in the world."
1458
01:22:25,808 --> 01:22:27,408
I became a doctor.
1459
01:22:27,443 --> 01:22:32,413
I helped a lot of people,
saved people's lives.
1460
01:22:32,448 --> 01:22:34,815
-Dahlia Pobianski became
actively involved
1461
01:22:34,850 --> 01:22:36,583
with the League
of Women Voters
1462
01:22:36,619 --> 01:22:38,485
and the local democratic party
1463
01:22:38,521 --> 01:22:42,122
and ran for mayor
of Stamford, Connecticut.
1464
01:22:42,158 --> 01:22:45,526
-The greatest thing,
personally, was I found
1465
01:22:45,561 --> 01:22:49,596
that I could do things that
I had no idea I was capable.
1466
01:22:49,632 --> 01:22:52,132
I think it has
strengthened me in terms
1467
01:22:52,168 --> 01:22:54,368
of what I knew
I could do.
1468
01:22:54,403 --> 01:22:59,340
After the war, there was
nothing I was afraid to do.
1469
01:22:59,375 --> 01:23:01,508
-After the war,
I had to decide,
1470
01:23:01,544 --> 01:23:03,711
what am I going to do now?
1471
01:23:03,746 --> 01:23:06,146
I thought, "I've done
so much destruction.
1472
01:23:06,182 --> 01:23:09,116
I want to help people now."
1473
01:23:09,151 --> 01:23:11,352
I thought, "I'll
become a rabbi."
1474
01:23:11,387 --> 01:23:16,523
I encouraged Jews
to maintain their faith,
1475
01:23:16,559 --> 01:23:19,059
not to lose faith.
1476
01:23:19,095 --> 01:23:21,662
We have to improve mankind.
1477
01:23:21,697 --> 01:23:24,598
That's our mission.
1478
01:23:24,633 --> 01:23:28,469
-I didn't talk about
my service for 50 years,
1479
01:23:28,504 --> 01:23:31,071
but now, I speak all over.
1480
01:23:31,107 --> 01:23:33,007
It's like a calling with me.
1481
01:23:33,042 --> 01:23:36,677
I want these young people
what happened back then.
1482
01:23:36,712 --> 01:23:38,479
I've always felt proud
to be a Jew,
1483
01:23:38,514 --> 01:23:41,782
and I try to get along
with all different people.
1484
01:23:41,817 --> 01:23:44,118
I always repeat what
Maya Angelou said,
1485
01:23:44,153 --> 01:23:45,953
"We are more alike
than different,"
1486
01:23:45,988 --> 01:23:50,090
no matter whether you're Jewish
or Catholic or black or white.
1487
01:23:50,126 --> 01:23:53,761
I do the best I can to try
to get rid of the hate.
1488
01:23:53,796 --> 01:23:56,463
That's the only reason
I talk about it.
1489
01:23:56,499 --> 01:24:00,300
I'm just telling how it affected
me as a young American GI
1490
01:24:00,336 --> 01:24:03,937
because I want the young
people to know the truth.
1491
01:24:03,973 --> 01:24:07,141
I want to be sure that
they have a better world.
1492
01:24:07,176 --> 01:24:08,942
♪♪
1493
01:24:10,879 --> 01:24:16,884
♪♪
1494
01:24:16,919 --> 01:24:19,820
-"GI Jews" is available on DVD.
1495
01:24:19,855 --> 01:24:23,123
To order, visit shop.pbs.org
1496
01:24:23,159 --> 01:24:25,893
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
1497
01:24:25,928 --> 01:24:30,397
♪♪
1498
01:24:30,433 --> 01:24:34,902
♪♪
1499
01:24:34,937 --> 01:24:39,406
♪♪