US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking to a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941.

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking to a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941.

Remember December 7th” US Government poster concerning the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Photo: Wikipedia

Those historic words launched the full might of the United States into the Second World War, thus hastening the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in the most devastating war in the history of the world.

The day before Roosevelt’s declaration of war, the Japanese Imperial Navy killed 2,403 Americans, including 68 civilians, and destroyed 188 aircraft. (Only 16 survivors of the Pearl Harbour attack remain alive today.)

Four days later, Germany declared war on the US, which now found itself fighting on two fronts – both in Asia and Europe.
Along with its main allied forces from Australia, Canada, the UK and the Soviet Union, the United States – which provided 16 million troops during World War II – managed to turn the tide toward victory.

In each of these countries, Jewish soldiers played a pivotal role in the efforts of the allied forces to turn back both Nazi Germany and Japan and their allies.

In many of these countries, the percentage of Jewish soldiers who served in the armed forces, was higher than the general population.

According to Yad Vashem, some 1.5 million Jews fought in the regular allied armies during WWII.

Servicemen of the 20th Air Force stationed in Guam during World War II participate in a Rosh Hashanah service. Photo: Wikipedia

• Approximately 550,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the US Armed Forces during World War II in both the European and Pacific theaters.
• About 500,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the Red Army during World War II.
• Approximately 100,000 Jews fought in the Polish army against the Germans at the start of WWII.
• About 30,000 Jews served with the British army from 1939-1946, including special units from Palestine, like the Jewish Brigade.
• More than 17,000 Canadian Jews served in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II.
• Over 7,000 Jewish Australians served in the Australian military during World War II.

Jewish Brigade headquarters under both Union Flag and Zionist flag. Photo: Wikipedia

Many of these Jewish soldiers took part in liberating Hitler’s camps toward the end of WWII.

General Mark W. Clark Commander 5th Army Group. Photo: Wikipedia

“To American soldiers of Jewish faith go my most sincere thanks for their faithfulness diligence and bravery in battle. To those who have passed on must go a nation’s gratitude,” said General Mark W. Clark Commander 5th Army Group about the Jewish troops who fought under his command in Italy.

On the fateful December day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a number of Jewish American soldiers displayed remarkable bravery during the attack. Many were wounded or lost their lives.

Click here to read some of their stories »

One of the most celebrated American Jewish heroes who fought in the Pacific theatre during WWII was Benjamin Lewis Salomon.

US Army dentist during World War II, Benjamin Lewis Solomon. Photo: Wikipedia

Born into a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Salomon was a US Army dentist during World War II, assigned as a front-line surgeon during the war.

During the Battle of Saipan, he killed as many as 98 enemy Japanese troops before losing his own life.

During the battle, Salomon entered the hospital tent where he was posted and ordered the wounded to be evacuated, while he remained providing cover for the patients’ withdrawal. When an army team returned to the site days later, Salomon’s body was found hunched over his machine gun, with the bodies of 98 enemy troops surround him, and his body covered with 76 bullet wounds and more than 24. bayonet wounds.

As the world approaches the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi occupied Europe and the Pacific region, from the hands of its enemies, it is worth remembering the selfless sacrifice of so many courageous young soldiers. Each one these brave souls fought and often gave their lives for the protection of freedom, democracy and human rights across the world.

To this end, on the 2024 program, International March of the Living intends to honor the veterans who fought in WWII, with a particular focus on those who liberated the concentration camps and Europe from Nazi Germany.

These firsthand witnesses to the world’s greatest crimes against humanity, are few in number, but their voices and their testimony remain strong and compelling.

The world must never forget their courageous example.