In the mud and bloody filth of the trenches, and in the bullet-saturated air above the Eastern and Western fronts, Jewish soldiers and airmen went to fight for their country. They did so pushing against a wave of discrimination from the country they were born into, and whose cause they were absolutely convinced was just. Neither did they doubt that Germany would triumph and lead Europe and the Jews into a better world. 120,000 of them would die on the front lines for their country.
Available in English for the first time, we read the heart-warming, moving and intensely personal letters that the young soldiers wrote home from the battlefield. The uniquely Jewish viewpoint they express, and the strong traditional elements in their religion, bring the conflict between the inhumane war, and religious belief into sharp contrast. The young mens attempts to adhere to their faith and rituals during the violent horror of trench warfare are touching, and often tinged with self-deprecating humour. The immense pain, the keenly-felt loss of comrades and a yearning for home and loved ones shine through the soldiers words.
One great leitmotiv runs through the letters: the hope for equality. It radiates from the words as strongly as the desire for peace, and an absolute belief in a German victory. The letters also highlight the firm conviction amongst the Jewish men that a new world was being forged by the war, and that Jews would be treated as equals within a new society. In future, no one will be able to say that we Jews went into this difficult battle as cowards. Yesterday, a major told me that the first Iron Cross in the battalion went to a young rabbi from Strasbourg, who had been unanimously recommended by his company. The war letters are a unique insight into life, battle and death on the enemy front lines, and the extraordinary Jewish experience in particular.
