THE ORIGINS OF GRANDMA ARMY - WWII AFTERMATH

 

Finally, in March 1945, side by side with British and American forces, the Jewish Brigade held their own against the Germans. 

After the war, in May 1945, the Brigade was moved to northeast Italy. It was there that it met, for the first time, with survivors of the Holocaust in Displaced Persons camps - bringing them Jewish and Zionist culture. Rescue committees were established in the Brigade units to care for the Jewish refugees, while maintaining secret contact with the Jewish authorities. The Brigade thus became a major contributor to the care of the Jewish survivors of the ghettos and concentration camps.

In addition, amidst the chaos of post-war Europe, and under the noses of the occupying Allied armies, young Jewish soldiers masterminded one clandestine operation after the next: forming secret vengeance squads to assassinate Nazi officers in hiding; engineering the rescue and illegal movement of Holocaust survivors to Palestine.

                                                            

In the summer of 1946, in the wake of the increasing tension between Britain and the “Yishuv” (Jewish Palestine), the authorities decided to disband the Jewish Brigade. Most of its men were returned to Palestine and discharged there.

As news about the horrors of the Holocaust made its way overseas, the White Paper's policy still kept Jews seeking refuge, from immigrating to Mandatory Palestine. A group of Haganah commanders split and formed an organization called the Etzel.

The Etzel abandoned the Haganah’s defensive approach and advocated for a more offensive and deterrent one - demanding decisive action against Arab aggression, and British pro-Arab policy. They announced their resumption of the armed struggle against British rule - with the aim of expelling the British from the country, and establishing an independent Jewish state instead.

On the 29th of November, 1947, the UN General Assembly approved Resolution 181, marking the end of the British Mandate of Palestine. This was a historic moment for the Jewish people. The Arab population within Mandatory Palestine immediately rejected the resolution and declared war on the Jews.

From the trenches of Northern Italy, to the refugee camps of war-torn Europe, the young Jewish soldiers carried the weight of a people on their shoulders.