Palestinians fighting against Nazis: The story of Palestinian volunteers in the Second World War

Palestinians fighting against Nazis: The story of Palestinian volunteers in the Second World War by Dr. Mustafa Abbasi, Telhai College, Israel

 

A few of them - Klein was taken POW I think at Tobruk or Piraeus

Just to add these are all Palestinian Jews, I cant think of seeing an AB64 to a Palestinian Arab volunteer

 

Just in case you come across a corroborating record, this is another soldier who was a PW in Stalag 383 sometime between 1943-45:





No further details known; an identification of 909 might be known to a reader and indicate some background. A quick search reflects that Tevet is the name of a month in the Jewish calendar. Yoel Street is still an address in Bnei Brak, Near Tel Aviv.

 

Interesting document

Yad Vashem - Request Rejected

Palestinian POWs In German Captivity

I also have some notes that some Palestinian POW's were repatriated via Odessa in 1945

TD

 

I have been looking for this for a while now after reading about it on Haaretz 12,000 Palestinians Fought for U.K. in WWII Alongside Jewish Volunteers, Historian Finds

I found it on Research Gate. The only time I have read about Palestinians during the war was Charles Messenger's Middle East Commandos.

 

I read an interesting memoir last year written by an officer who served with the Palestinian ASC units in the Western Desert and later through Italy titled 'Wheels In The Storm' by Major Wellesley Aron.

Oddly enough it was printed in Australia.

Short review here-

Book Review - Micro Book Reviews

Scott

 

Thank you for your interesting link. Noting: “.. he had tried to influence Wavell into setting up stores and utilising the skilled manpower within Palestine“, if not actioned at the time, it would have been evaluated and not forgotten.

I’m currently reading RJ Collins’s ‘Lord Wavell - A Military Biography’ and in its Foreword (penned by FM JC Smuts) it highlights “he visited me ..... had an army, though too small for his purpose, but he lacked the mechanical and engineering base for carrying on a modern campaign.”

Further on, in the section ‘Wavell’s Five Simultaneous Campaigns,’ Collins observes: ‘By June 1st (1941) the administrative difficulties in the Middle East had assumed the proportions of a nightmare. Over and above the complete loss of all equipment and transport in Greece, several thousand administrative personnel, mostly experts in supply, ordnance and mechanical transport, together with a number of invaluable Pioneer Corps units had been left behind. Such men were irreplaceable .......”

A few pages on Collins judges: ”Luckily too, Wavell’s Q staff had shown foresight in the lay-out of the expanded base in Egypt, 20% of which had been sited in Palestine. This was handy, as it turned out, for the operations in Syria which were soon to develop .... “

That percentage will doubtless underscore some of the figures etc quoted in the thread. I haven’t come across a mention of Aron though.

By way of a personal comment and noting CL1’s separate thread on AMPC being viewed as under-utilised in a different circumstance, I have invariably found Pioneer Corps more usable and also used than they are/were often given credit for.

 

Palestinian Klein POW's

UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945

Name: Eugen Klein
Rank: Spr
Army Number: PAL/23260
Regiment: 1039 Port Op. Coy., R.E.
POW Number: 6528
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 344
Camp Location: Lamsdorf, Poland
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

Name: Samuel Klein
Rank: Cpl
Army Number: PAL/11861
Regiment: 605 Pal. P.C.
POW Number: 4509
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 8A
Camp Location: Gorlitz, Poland
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

Name: Ladislav Klein
Rank: Pte
Army Number: PAL/13823
Regiment: 608 Pal. P.C.
POW Number: 4894
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 344
Camp Location: Lamsdorf, Poland
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

Name: Adolf Klein
Rank: Pte
Army Number: PAL/12993
Regiment: 603 Pal. P.C.
POW Number: 4944
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 344
Camp Location: Lamsdorf, Poland
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

Name: Wolf Zef Klein
Rank: Spr
Army Number: PAL/23089
Regiment: 1039 Port Op. Coy., R.E.
POW Number: 22798
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 8B
Camp Location: Teschen, Czech Republic
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

Name: Jakob Klein
Rank: Pte
Army Number: PAL/11943
Regiment: 605 Pal. P.C.
POW Number: 4561
Camp Type: Stalag
Camp Number: 344
Camp Location: Lamsdorf, Poland
Record Office: Jerusalem, Palestine
Section: Locally Enlisted Personnel : Colonies and Dependencies

TD

 

Another Palestinian soldier in Stalag 383 gets a mention in McKibbins ‘Barbed Wire.’ This was Irvine Poppa (page 97-98) “onetime native of Vienna.” He helped school BQMS Norman Drummond and Corporal Eddie Freestone in preparation for their extraordinary escape attempt as a professor and his wife travelling from Copenhagen University to Vienna University and ultimately Syria.

Their bid was attributed to have come to grief because Eddie’s attire - he was in drag - was deemed to have drawn too much undesired envious attention from the local Viennese ladies. There then followed a recapture scene almost like Allo, Allo, except these Herr Flicks were real Gestapo.

 

AB64, where can I find these army passes that you posted, as we search someone that was in Stalag VIII from the palestinian P.C.?

 

Hi, These are Service Books from my collection. If you post up the details of the person you are looking for its possible someone may be able to help with info.

 

AB64 hank you very much for your fast reply, I really appreciate!

The information I have: Leibish Temerson (name was written wrong by the Stalag his real name was Leibush Temerson)
Camp number: 344 and also before or after 8B P.O.W.number: 6539 Rank: pte Army number: 11946 Corps: 605 Palestinian P. Corps

 

Possibly your info comes from WO416 (National Archives) ?

Reference: WO 416/357/222
Description:
Name: Leibish Temerson.
Date of Birth: 28/03/1900.
Place of Birth: Poland.
Service: [Palestinian Army].
Rank: [Private].
Regiment/Unit/Squadron: [605 Palestinian Pioneer Corps].
Service Number: 11946.
Date of Capture: [unspecified].
Theatre of Capture: [unspecified].
Camp Name/Number: Stalag VIIIB Lamsdorf.
PoW number: 6539.
Date of Death: [unspecified].
Number of Photographs: 0.
Number of Fingerprints: 0.
Number of X-rays: 0.
Number of Cards: 3.


Kyle

 

Yes true, thank you very much for taking the time to check, I appreciate it very much! I was wondering if there might be an archive where I could find his army passport. <3

 

Ah ,Not that I`m aware I think these Paybook`s were personal that`s why so many are out there for sale. AB64 takes his user name from their designation .Service records or perhaps a liberation questionnaire ?

Kyle

 

Thank you Kyle! I have a membership of Ancestry I just startedI will search there everything I can find. If you need any info from there, just tell me. Have a great day

 

Jennifer here`s his PoW entry :-



Kyle

 

Thank you so much Kyle, you are amazing!