The Brigade - An Epic Story of Vegeance, Salvation, and World War II by Howard Blum (2001, nonfiction)

The Brigade by Howard Blum centers on a brigade in the British Army, in WWII, made up of Jews from Palestine.  The book focuses on three men and their experiences.  There was a very strong desire among Jewish men living in what was then British ruled Palestine to join the fight against Germany.  They knew of German anti-Semticism but they had no real idea of the horrors of the concentration camps.  After much politcal activity, not everyone in British command in Palestine wanted this, a brigade was formed, trained, and sent to Europe right at the end of the war.

The pride felt by the members, 5000, of the Jewish brigade was. tremendous.  They saw it as the first time Jews had fielded an army against their oppressors for 2000 years. The emotional impact of wearing the Star of David as a mark of honor,not shame, was tremendous. 

There are a lot of interesting details about the lives of those involved.  By the time they reach Germany the war is over.  They are stunned to the core of their souls by the horrors revealed when concentration camps are liberated.  Elements of the brigade begin to seek out and kill those involved in the killing of Jews.  Some appoint themselves judge, jury, and executioner, hundreds of Germans are shot.  Some members of the brigade conceived a plan to poison the water supply of major German cities, vowing to kill six million Germans for revenge and as lesson for the anti-Semites of the world.

This is very well written nonacademic history.  In the epilogue of the book I was fascinated to learn returning veterans of the Jewish Brigade were very instrumental in helping the fledgling state of Isreal to win the war started when all her Arab neighbors decided to invade.

Howard Blum is the author of the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner American Lightning, as well as Wanted!, The Gold of Exodus, Gangland, and The Floor of Heaven. Blum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. While at the New York Times, he was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He is the father of three children, and lives in Connecticut. (From publishers webpage.)

This is a first rate book.

Mel u