ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is part of a series of volumes in the timely Studies in Antisemitism collection. Its conception partly originates in colorful accounts related by my relatives in North Africa about American service members. American and British GIs landed on French soil with the daring amphibious invasion of Algeria and Morocco during Operation Torch on November 8, 1942. Their epic story of tenacity and courage ignited my fascination with World War II. I imagined the weary and homesick young men and valiant women (from the Women’s Army Corps) sharing their Friday night meals or Jewish holiday celebrations with local Sephardic Jews, feeling a renewed sense of family warmth. Thanks to these servicemen and servicewomen, a generation of North African youth—harshly discriminated against by antisemitic Vichy laws—discovered the delight of Hershey’s chocolate bars and Wrigley’s chewing gum. In turn, GIs were surprised by culinary novelties such as wheat-grain couscous, a staple dish of their time in North Africa.

During my research, I interviewed French people from North Africa who clearly remembered their encounters with American military personnel in the years 1942–43. Emile Moatti, Max Benhamou, and Denise Zerah spontaneously related to me their gripping memories. They emphasized that the landing of American and British troops in Algeria raised the morale of local Jews, who had been stripped of French citizenship by drastic Vichy laws. I was surprised to find references to seeing violent anti-Jewish slogans on the walls of public buildings in the written testimonies of American service members; housed at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, these writings captured this memory of infamy that shaped their American Jewish identity. This is an opportunity to thank the YIVO team, in particular archivist Gunnar Berg, for helping me delve into the World War II memoirs collected in 1946.

I am also grateful to various archival institutions for making their archives available online, including the Library of Congress and its Veterans History Project; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in New York, in particular Treva Walsh, who made available interviews of women in the military; the Museum of Jewish Military History in Washington, DC, especially Pamela Elbe; as well as Gail Pietrzyck at the Delaware Jewish Archives, and the staff at the William Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. My visit to the immense National World War II Museum in New Orleans was literally an immersion into a war that was fought on many fronts.

This book examines the fascinating transformations of women and men in the military resulting from interactions both within the military and with Jews and their communities abroad. In this research, I benefited from the guidance of noted scholars, including Jonathan Sarna, who helped me locate precious sources and shared with me his insights into American Jewish history. Inspiring conversations with Atina Grossman at Cooper Union in New York convinced me that the topic of American Jewish military personnel could benefit from more research. Alvin Rosenfeld, founding director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University, encouraged my analysis of anti-Jewish attitudes in the military and made invaluable suggestions. I am glad that Gary Dunham, the director of Indiana University Press, displayed enthusiasm for this book. I am most grateful to the three anonymous reviewers who generously offered constructive remarks. I also appreciate the manner in which Derek Penslar challenged my views on the subject of American Jewish soldiers in World War II during a webinar on the subject.

Help in finding maps to locate various countries and cities visited by American military personnel was offered by Michael Neiberg. Jeff Goldberg, the West Point cartographer at the United States Military Academy Department of History, was prompt in giving permission and assistance to reprint maps in this volume.

I am happy to thank those who generously shared the scrapbooks of their fathers, diaries, memories, precious military documents, and Jewish community newspapers published during World War II. This list includes Howard Rosen, Noam Tzion, Ruth Tomases Joffe, Faith Tomases, Arthur Tomases, and Frieda Macarov, as well as Jonathan and Deena Parmet and David Dichon. Even if I did not use all the firsthand testimonies kindly provided to me, they greatly shaped my understanding of the uniqueness of GI war experiences, expressions of patriotism, and sense of self-sacrifice. I am indebted to Dr. David Geffen, a military chaplain during the Vietnam War, for sharing the testimonies of his father, an officer and judge advocate in the United States Army, of the war crimes trials in Japan in 1945. He made available his own research on World War II, and we have a rich ongoing dialogue. I am particularly grateful to him for sharing his correspondence with the two Fenichel children, whose father (Captain Benjamin Fenichel) volunteered as a doctor in the American army and served on the Solomon Islands. I want to thank his daughter, Sandy Asher, for allowing the publication of rare documents and photos. Artistic reproductions of the World War II illustrations by “soldier in art” Arthur Szyk were kindly permitted by Irvin Ungar, the expert on this artist. Szyk fought with passion for the recognition of the Jewish people and for human rights and dignity. Unexpectedly, USO venues that welcomed soldiers and their families during World War II exhibited his works throughout the United States.

Above all, I express my heartfelt gratitude to my academic home, Tel Aviv University’s Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center for its generous support, and its director, Professor Roni Stauber. His dedicated staff, in particular Sara Appel and Adi Moscowitz, kindly offered expertise to prepare my manuscript and secure permissions. Shimrit Hadad and Anat Shimoni were always quick to respond to my various inquiries, as was the former head of the Mehlmann Library, Sofia Tel-Abramov, who tirelessly provided dusty books from the basement holdings. My deep thanks also go to Professor Simha Goldin, who initiated a project on Jewish soldiers in 2014. My colleagues Lylya Belenkaya, Galit Haddad, and Dror Segev deserve a special word of thanks for keeping my morale up while dealing with the heartrending memoirs of American soldiers. For this book, my faithful language editor, Yochai Goell, went above and beyond the call of duty and located references for me. I am also grateful to Elissa Rosenberg, who edited two chapters. As the reader can imagine, this volume required the support of an army of good-natured people, and I extend my thanks to all of them and particularly to my publisher.

I gratefully acknowledge the support of the entire team of Indiana University Press for their unflinching commitment to moving this project forward from beginning to end. This applies in particular to Anna Francis, assistant acquisitions editor, who enthusiastically worked on my book with her colleagues in other departments to ensure that this volume would engage a broad range of readers and spark inspiring discussions.

I am appreciative of the guidance of Lesley Bolton, project manager, and Stephen Williams, marketing manager at Indiana University Press. I extend my gratitude to Vinodini Kumarasamy at Amnet systems for her editorial assistance in reviewing the manuscript.

As always, my special thanks go to Elisha and our children for asking relevant questions.

In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this research project and publication.