Morris Beckman

NO OF PAGES: 159 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: Jewish Wars SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Winston Churchill's BBC broadcast of September 20, 1944, announced: "His Majesty's government have decided that a Jewish Brigade should be formed to take part in active operations." These few simple words electrified Jews wherever they heard them--in refugee camps, in the British protectorate of Palestine, and, most of all, in Allied army camps where thousands of Jews already served. This was the moment they had been waiting and praying for: a chance to fight the Nazis under the flag of the Star of David. It had been 2,000 years since a Jewish army had taken the field for conventional combat operations. Now the Jews would form a cohesive brigade, to strike back at the jack-booted hordes that had killed so many of their people. The 5,500 men of the Brigade represented 52 nationalities and spoke 20 languages. Once committed against the tough German divisions in Italy, the Brigade distinguished itself in action, constantly advancing and inflicting far more casualties than it suffered. Enemy prisoners experienced a rare form of terror whey they espied the Brigade's insignia, thus realizing the identity of their captors.NOTES: SUBTITLE: An Army With Two Masters 1944-45… (más)

After WWII ex-service men and women, had thought they had seen an end to the Nazis and Fascism. But instead the post war world saw a resurge in organised Fascist thugs and racist/anti-semitic groups. Already the all too worrying signs were showing; the state was defending the far-rights speeches and marches, alongside this organised Jewry was ignoring the situation as had been the case in mainland Europe. As a result political similarities were emerging with that of Germany 1933.

Giving an almost fiction like narrative, Beckman and the 43 group come into the scene to try and confront the enemy on their own terms and look to be having fun doing it. This is an history book written the way history should be written, i.e. accessible, and this book particularly is probably the most important written on the subject of resistance anti-fascism after the Second World War.… (más)