Jewish Soldier's headstone

[johnboy]

Thanks. It was very few.

[David_Underdown]

Tom

The Final Verification Form sent to NoK has been demonstrated on this forum several times. It is quite clear from that that the cross was the default, and NoK had to specifically choose if they wanted something else (including nothing at all). Again, you will find previous discussions on this forum which back up the point that certain Christian groups disliked the use of the cross, and that is the usual reason why you find a stone with no faith symbol yet a Christian inscription (the example upthread with a quite a Catholic sentiment and yet no cross is unusual). With almost a million dead and no automated recordkeeping, there are bound to be some anomalies (particularly throwing in the likelihood of some NoK not being that literate).

[seaforths]

My understanding for the case of obviously Christian soldiers with no cross is that there were various groups (including, I think, Primitive Methodists) who didn't agree with the use of the cross in this way, and so requested the blank stone.

I'm not aware of any similar objection to the use of the Star of David among Jewish groups (though I'm by no means an expert), so I'd suspect it's less likely in that context, but it's possible that some might have preferred no religious symbol at all I suppose.

I tend to agree that there may have been reasons for both Jewish NOK and Christian NOK to omit a religious symbol. If the NOK belonged to a particularly zealous branch of their religion that frowned upon such displays, they might have been omitted and words only used. It would be difficult to prove without finding the evidence of a particular soldiers religion that showed Methodist, Quaker etc.

On searching the internet on the use of the Star of David, it did not become a popular symbol of Judaism until WW2 and other symbols were also used to denote Judaism (lion, candelabra, Torah) . It could be that in the absence of a symbol the NOK wanted they opted for nothing rather than the only one made available to them (Star of David).

[CROONAERT]

Peter - Maybe there is a particular Australian angle to this, but as far as "British" CWGC (IWGC) burials with no religious symbol on the headstones are concerned - I'm FAR from convinced that this was a nok decision.

The first and last line of 'instructions' on the first page of this NoK final verification form (that I've posted several times on this forum before) should clear it up for you Tom.....

[CROONAERT]

...

[Tom Tulloch-Marshall]

... Your scenario is that there were many non believers with strongly religious parents, mine is that there were the same number of believers from groups that did not use the cross as a symbol.

We may have to agree to differ.

Peter - that is a scenario that something in my head is still telling me is a possibility. Lets say that I am considering the situation and will be on the lookout for something to convince me one way or the other.

The first and last line of 'instructions' on the first page of this NoK final verification form (that I've posted several times on this forum before) should clear it up for you Tom.....

Croonaert - Yes, and the first line says -

"The headstone will have engraved on it the naval or military inscription, the badge of the deceased's naval or military unit, and an emblem of his religious faith."

I hate to repeat the old joke about Engineers being sent to buy eggs, but that says "his" religious faith, not the nok's religious faith. - And, yes I do realise that this means that the two statements which you highlight might contradict each other.

I'm not contradicting anybody, but on my planet I'm going to leave the jury out for a while. (Peter - a topic for discussion over a few beers some winter's night on the Somme ?).

Now back to those Jewish headstones ..

Tom

An Engineer’s wife sends him to the shop with the instructions, “get a loaf of bread, and if they have eggs, get a dozen.” He comes home with a dozen loaves of bread. Why on earth did you buy those says the wife; - “they had eggs.”