The Jewish Brigade:  The Jewish Brigade as Reported in the German anti-Nazi WW II Exile Newspaper Aufbau

Several of my prior posts have alluded to or focused upon the Jewish Brigade.  There’s much more to present about this fascinating topic, but first, a very (very!) brief introduction to the unit’s history…

The Brigade itself – known in popular culture and anecdotally as the “Jewish Brigade” – was actually designated the “Jewish Infantry Brigade Group”, and it was a component of the Palestine Regiment.  The latter had been formed in August of 1942, and was comprised of separate infantry companies (“Palestine Infantry Companies”) first formed in 1940.  These companies were comprised of Arabs and Jews living in Mandatory “palestine”, the companies – at that time – having been part of the Royal East Kent Regiment, otherwise known as “The Buffs”.

The Palestine Regiment was reformed in 1944, with the Jewish Brigade’s creation being announced on 20 September.  The Brigade was comprised of three infantry Battalions (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), and the 200th Field Regiment, the latter a component of the Royal Artillery.

I’ve previously covered the Jewish Brigade in Pesach with the Jewish Brigade: Italy – March, 1945, Thoughts from The Frontier: Great Sorrow and Small Solace (Jewish Frontier, January, 1945), The Reconstruction of Memory: Soldiers of Aufbau, and especially, The Reconstruction of Memory: Soldiers of Aufbau – The Struggle for A Jewish Army.  The latter post pertains to the very extensive coverage devoted by the German anti-Nazi WW II Exile Newspaper Aufbau (“Construction”) to the establishment of an independent Jewish fighting force, which was only one aspect of the newspaper’s very extensive reporting upon Jewish military participation during the Second World War.  Having reviewed all issues of Aufbau published between 1939 and 1946 (“whew”…) and some even beyond (double “whew”…) I identified about 140 articles, the vast majority in German but some in English, devoted to the Brigade.  Examples of the latter are the September 7, 1945, article” Our Boys from the Jewish Brigade Write to Aufbau – Following are excerpts from dozens of letters which Aufbau received from Palestinian soldiers serving with the Jewish Brigade”, and the final (November 9, 1945) article “The Oath of the Jewish Brigade”.  

“This” post follows the same format: Below are listed the titles and dates of publication of all articles published by Aufbau pertaining to the Jewish Brigade, subsequent to its establishment on September 20, 1944.  Akin to the post about the establishment of a Jewish Army, I’ve included the article title in the original German, followed by its English-language translation.  A few articles are accompanied by photos, as well.  

You can see that Aufbau was very attentive to the topic, with the first article appearing on September 22 of that year.  Between that date and through 1945, the newspaper had published a total of 37 articles on the Brigade, the last appearing on November 9. 

And so, here are the articles, some of which I hope to present in future posts…

Date	Title
9/22/44	Jüdische Brigade fur Europa  (“Jewish Brigade for Europe”)
10/6/44	Von der Armee zur Brigade – Eine kleine Erfüllung, aber immerhin eine Erfüllung  (“From the army to the brigade – A small fulfillment, but still a fulfillment”)
10/6/44	Jüdische Brigade als Besatzung  (“Jewish Brigade as a Crew”)
10/27/44	Der Kommandant der Jüdischen Brigade  (“The Commander of the Jewish Brigade”)
11/3/44	Jewish Agency wirbt für die Jewish brigade – Auch Maquis-Leute bewerben sich  (“Jewish Agency promotes the Jewish Brigade – Maquis people also apply”)
11/3/44	British Jewry Welcomes Jewish Brigade Group (Josef Maier)
11/10/44	Arabische Brigade versus Jüdische Brigade  (“Arab Brigade versus Jewish Brigade”)
11/10/44	Südafrikanische Offiziere für die Jüdische Brigade  (“South African officers for the Jewish Brigade”)
11/24/44	Die Jüdische Brigade Marschiert – Die erste, innerhalb der britischen Armee gebildete jüdische Brigade, bei einer Parade (“The Jewish Brigade marches – The first Jewish brigade formed within the British army, on parade”) (Photo)
1/12/45	Die jüdische brigade ist kampfbereit  (“The Jewish Brigade is ready for battle”)
3/2/45	General Benjamin fordert verstärkte Rekrutierung – Noch 23 andere Palästina-Formationen – Ausbildung der Jüdischen Brigade in Aegypten  (“General Benjamin calls for more recruitment – Still 23 other Palestinian formations – Training of the Jewish Brigade in Egypt”)
3/23/45	Brigadier Ernest Frank Benjamin inspiziert eine neue Einheit der alljüdischen Brigade (“Brigadier Ernest Frank Benjamin inspects a new unit of the All-Jewish Brigade”) (Photo)
3/30/45	Die neue jüdische Brigade eingesetzt – Der erste Bericht über die Feuertaufe der Brigade – General Clarks Willkomensgruss – Kundgebung der Jewish Agency und des National Council  (“The new Jewish Brigade set up – The first report on the firing brigade of the brigade – General Clark’s Welcome Greeting – Rally of the Jewish Agency and the National Council”)
4/6/45	10,000 Jungens brauchen uns (Ein Aufruf, der Alle angeht:) – ‘Aufbau’ und ‘Our Boys Club’ starten eine Sonder-Aktion fur die “Judische Brigade”  (“10,000 boys need us (a call to everyone) – ‘Construction’ and ‘Our Boys Club’ are launching a special action for the “Jewish Brigade””)
4/13/45	Sie warten auf Dich – Ein paar von den Jungens der Jüdischen brigade… (“They are waiting for you – A few of the boys of the Jewish Brigade…”) (Photo)
4/13/45	Fahnenweihe der “Jewish Brigade”  (“Flagship of the Jewish Brigade”)
4/20/45	Jüdische Brigade im Kampf (“Jewish Brigade in battle”) (Photo)
4/27/45	Jüdische brigade kampft gegen Nazis  (“Jewish Brigade is Fighting the Nazis”)
5/4/45	Norman Lourie – der offizielle britische Kriegskorrespondent bei der Judischen Brigade in Italien (“Norman Lourie – the official British war correspondent at the Jewish Brigade in Italy”) (Photo)
5/4/45	Mit der “Jüdischen Brigade” an der Front  (“With the “Jewish Brigade” at the front”)
5/11/45	Wo Ist Dein Beitrag zur Jüdischen Brigade? (“Where is your contribution to the Jewish Brigade?”)
5/18/45	Die jüdische Flagge weht über Dachau  (“The Jewish flag is blowing over Dachau”)
6/15/45	Mit der “Jüdischen Brigade” nach Oesterreich  (“With the “Jewish Brigade” to Austria”)
8/3/45	Jüdische Brigade Nach Belgien  (“Jewish Brigade to Belgium”)
8/3/45	Wo Ist Dein Beitrag zur Jüdischen Brigade? (“Where is your contribution to the Jewish Brigade?”)
8/10/45	Jüdische Brigade als Palästina-Garnison – Vorher vermutlich Teil der Besatzungstruppe in Deutschland  (“Jewish Brigade as a Palestine garrison – Formerly part of the occupation group in Germany”)
8/10/45	Die “Dachauer” kommen zurück – Erlebnisse eines jüdischen Soldaten in Bayern und Oesterreich (Pfc. Hans Lichtwitz)  (“The “Dachauer” come back – Experiences of a Jewish soldier in Bavaria and Austria”)
8/31/45	Teile der Jüdischen Briagde nach Holland  (“Parts of the Jewish Brigade to Holland”)
9/7/45	Jüdische Brigade begleitet Palästina-Reisende  (“Jewish Brigade accompanies Palestine travelers”)
9/7/45	Our Boys from the Jewish Brigade Write to Aufbau – Following are excerpts from dozens of letters which Aufbau received from Palestinian soldiers serving with the Jewish Brigade
9/7/45	Wo Ist Dein Beitrag zur Jüdischen Brigade? (“Where is your contribution to the Jewish Brigade?”)
9/7/45	Ein Tag mit der Jüdischen Brigade – Als Besatzung in der belgischen Stadt Tournai  (“A day with the Jewish Brigade – As a crew in the Belgian town of Tournai”)
10/19/45	Blau-Weis-Marsch durch Deutschland (Pfc. Hans Lichtwitz)  (“Blue-White-March through Germany”)
10/19/45	Unser Mitarbeiter Pvt. Hans Lichtwitz von der Jüdischen Brigade – Das Bild zeigt Pvt. Lichtwitz bei einem Besuch im Displaced Persons-Lager in Obergammerau (“Our employee Pvt. Hans Lichtwitz of the Jewish Brigade – The picture shows Pvt. Lichtwitz during a visit to the Displaced Persons camp in Obergammerau”) (Photo)
10/19/45	Dafur nicht! (“Not for this!”) (Cartoon)
11/2/45	Von der jüdischen Brigade  (“From the Jewish Brigade”)
11/9/45	The Oath of the Jewish Brigade