On WWI and the Jews

[aiwac]

I recently made my own very small contribution to increasing awareness of the importance of WWI:

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-wwi-matters-to-us-jews/

Constructive criticism is most welcome.

[gordon92]

I enjoyed reading the article.

What is your thinking about Poland as it was re-created in 1918? Were Jews better or worse off there between the wars in comparison to the prior policies of Germany, Austria, and Russia when governing the same lands prior to 1914?

[Terry_Reeves]

It is an interesting article.The treatment of Jews in Europe in WW1 is, understandably, overshadowed by the events of WW2 and needs further research it would seem.

TR

[aiwac]

Good question; that's an area I'm only starting to delve deeply into. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that life was worse than under Germany and Austria but better than under Russia, but I can't know for sure until I investigate further. I've learned a great deal from the YIVO encyclopaedia on the subject of Eastern European Jewry in general (link below), so I'd recommend you check that out:

http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/

[bob lembke]

Interesting article.

My grand-father was a German staff officer in the invasion of (Polish) Russia in 1915. He mentioned the Jews in letters, which I have. As the Germans advanced the Cossacks were detailed to evacuate the civilian population to the east, by force if necessary, and to burn their homes. (Classical "scorched earth" tactics.) Many Jews were inclined to stay behind, and try life under the Germans (certainly in 1914 Jews were far better off in Germany than in Russian Poland) and if possible they bribed the Cossacks to leave them alone in place and hopefully not burn their houses down around their ears.

My grand-father was stupefied by the awful conditions in the area, like sanitation. He caught malaria in Russia in 1915, the same year that my father caught it in Turkey. He wrote: "You don't have to climb into a bed, you just have to look at a bed and you are covered by bugs."

From other sources I understand that the Germans often found the Jews useful, for example in purchasing food (In the German Army of the period in the invasion of Belgium each battalion was given 10,000 gold marks to purchase food from the locals) as the Army did not provide complete rations. I assume the same was done in the East. The Germans could of course easily talk with the Jews thru the close link between Yiddish and German.

Just some 4 AM off the cuff thoughts.

Bob Lembke

[Chris Boonzaier]

One interesting point for those interested in German Assault troops.... Lets not forget that there is a strong Jewish connection with Major Willy Rohr.

I have often thought that this may be one of the reasons that the famous Sturm Bataillon Rohr legacy more or less dies out in the post 1933 era....

Best

Chris

[Magnumbellum]

For what it is worth, in WW1 there were a number of Jewish conscientious objectors in Britain, by their names of evident east European descent.

[johnboy]

The jews in Britain formed battalions,

[Anneca]

Interesting article and certainly no criticism at all from me as I enjoyed reading it.

Anne

[ph0ebus]

A very interesting piece, and one that resonates for me, personally. I hope perhaps you will talk a little about the Judenzählung...I give this subject the following mention on my website for my grandfather, who was an Orthodox Jew and a NCO in a Prussian FA regregiment

"Also in October, 1916 came the specter of the Judenzählung. Faced with the need to explain their lack of success in the war effort to that date, the High Command attempted to place the blame with the Jewish members of their own Army. According to author and historian Amos Elon,

"In October 1916, when almost three thousand Jews had already died on the battlefield and more than seven thousand had been decorated, War Minister Wild von Hohenborn saw fit to sanction the growing prejudices. He ordered a "Jew census" in the army to determine the actual number of Jews on the front lines as opposed to those serving in the rear. Ignoring protests in the Reichstag and the press, he proceeded with his head count. The results were not made public, ostensibly to "spare Jewish feelings." The truth was that the census disproved the accusations: 80 percent served on the front lines.""

-Daniel

[aiwac]

Thank you all for your kind words and stories.

Bob,

You're absolutely right that many Jews in conquered territories preferred Germans to Russians; the former treated them far better. German Generals also helped protect the Jewish community in Palestine from possible harm during later stages of the war. It's one of the many paradoxical tragedies that many Jews stayed behind when the Wehrmacht invaded in 1941 - many still thought that propaganda notwithstanding, the Germans were still the same strict but decent people they'd known back then...

Daniel,

This is indeed a sore spot, which is what I was alluding to when I mentioned said suspicions of German leadership. A book was published on the subject which you might find of interest:

Jacob Rosenthal _Die Ehre des juedischen Soldaten: Die Judenzaehlung im Ersten Weltkrieg und ihr Folgen_ (Frankfurt and New York: Campus, 2007)

[Charles Fair]

Good article. I have just read Derek Penslar's recent book Jews and the Military: A History (pub. Princeton University Press, 2013) which mainly focuses on the first half of the 20th century.

[ph0ebus]

Thank you all for your kind words and stories.

Bob,

You're absolutely right that many Jews in conquered territories preferred Germans to Russians; the former treated them far better. German Generals also helped protect the Jewish community in Palestine from possible harm during later stages of the war. It's one of the many paradoxical tragedies that many Jews stayed behind when the Wehrmacht invaded in 1941 - many still thought that propaganda notwithstanding, the Germans were still the same strict but decent people they'd known back then...

Daniel,

This is indeed a sore spot, which is what I was alluding to when I mentioned said suspicions of German leadership. A book was published on the subject which you might find of interest:

Jacob Rosenthal _Die Ehre des juedischen Soldaten: Die Judenzaehlung im Ersten Weltkrieg und ihr Folgen_ (Frankfurt and New York: Campus, 2007)

Thanks for the reference...I will certainly check it out, though I may need to work on learning more German before I do so!

-Daniel

[aiwac]

Daniel,

Unfortunately I don't know of an English translation; there is a Hebrew one if that helps any:

http://www.kibutz-poalim.co.il/product?c0=43105

[James A Pratt III]

The following books have some information on this subject:

Prologue to the Revolution edited by Michael Cherniasky minutes of meetings of the Russian Council of Ministers in the June -September 1915 period. Jews come up a number of times involving Pogroms and deportations which the Ministers found shocking. Of course the Ministers do believe Jews control the worlds banks.

Nationalizing the Russian Empire Eric Lohr discusses the Pogroms deportations property seizures that happened in Russia during WW I to Jews, Germans and Moslems. It seems anti-Semitism was widespread in the Russian army which carried these actions out. While the Council of Ministers, civilian government officials and the Tsar tried to stop them.

Note it should be pointed out that Pogroms against Jews did happen with the Cossacks being the worst offenders there are a number of instances where civilians, policemen, soldiers and even a few cases Cossacks did stop or prevent Pogroms.

A Whole Empire Walking Peter Gatrell deals with refugees in Russia during WW I

One must point out that by deporting all these people which gave the Russian empire several million refugees to take care off and made the deportees if they didn't like the Russian state beforehand sure hated it afterwards . These actions together with the economic damage they caused helped bring on the February/march 1917 revolution and the disintegration of the Russian state later that year. So it can be said that the Russian army's own leadership was their own worst enemy.

[ph0ebus]

I just heard about this book, and hope to pick up a copy:

http://www.lbi.org/events/loyalty-betrayed-jewish-chaplains-german-army-during-first-world-war/

It would be nice to attend the talk about it but we'll see if that is possible as the date approaches.

Reading the author's biography, he seems like a fellow I should get to know, given the alignment of our research interests.

-Daniel

[Moonraker]

Jews in the British Army, November 1914

 

Moonraker