Battle stories a way of preserving the memory of those who served

JORDAN MOSHE

While South African Jewish soldiers certainly made their mark, Lt. Col. William Bergman is concerned that the rich history of Jewish servicemen may die out if the South African Jewish Ex-Servicemen’s League becomes obsolete.

“We must find a way to preserve these stories. It’s our history, and our heritage. We can’t let them disappear,” says Bergman, the Chairperson of the Johannesburg branch of the league.

At 82, this highly decorated and respected war veteran and recipient of the South African Military Merit Medal, admits that the league’s days are numbered because there are fewer surviving war veterans. But, he says he would rather the group faded completely than add members as the result of further conflicts. “If the league is gone because there is no more war, I’ll be happy,” he says, just as long as the memories survive.

Bergman, who regularly gives presentations on Jews in the South African forces, says that the presence of Jews in the armed forces dates back as far as the era of Jan van Riebeeck. From the Boer Wars to World Wars, South African Jews were very involved in war efforts and took up arms for their country.

Regarding World War I, Bergman says, “From a population of 50 000 Jews at that time, 3 000 volunteered for the Union Defence Force. This was 6% of the Jewish population.” These staggering statistics were replicated in the subsequent conflict, World War II. “Ten percent of the Jewish community volunteered, while the South African National average was 7%,” he says. “The Jewish community was very much a part of the war effort.”

The stories which emerge among those who served paint vivid portraits of wartime experience and the mark made by Jewish servicemen.

One such individual is Capetonian Solly Zuckerman, whose tale is recorded in the journals of the league. When World War II broke out in 1939, Zuckerman was lecturing anatomy in Oxford. The author of about 90 scientific papers, he was approached by the British government, and authorised to investigate the physiological and economic effects of bombing, helping the British forces to improve their strategy, and make their raids against the axis powers more effective.

Working closely with the air force, Zuckerman helped plan the bombing and capture of Sicily (the outcome of which was successful); devised a secret operation to hamper German advancement in France; and effectively brought the axis movement to a halt. His reputation became so great, his plans came to the attention of the highest levels possible, including Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, and Arthur Tedder, Eisenhower’s deputy, with whom Zuckerman worked closely. His plans were so effective, British Judge Lord Scarman wrote in 1993, “The Zuckerman/Tedder partnership was, in truth, a war winner.”

In another account, fragments of a Sefer Torah found in Tunisia brought together two air force pilots who shared not only history, but their names. Jack Friedman and Jack Friedman, both South Africans, discovered in 2000 that they had served alongside one another in the Western Desert during World War II, but had never met, and were brought together by a desecrated Tunisian shul.

Unbeknown to each other, both had discovered fragments of a torn Torah scroll in Nazi anti-aircraft gun pits, “mementos” carried there by soldiers after they had desecrated a nearby shul. These soldiers had subsequently been killed by a British air raid on the site, and both Friedmans individually came across the fragments, and kept them. Although one of the men lost his set of fragments during operational travel, the other brought his to Cape Town, where they remain housed in a glass case in Temple Israel.

Still others recount details of a subject seemingly not relevant to wartime – shopping. Willie Mann, who joined the forces at Touws River in 1940, gathered souvenirs as he and his company advanced across Africa. From a lion skin to silk stockings, Mann spent his army pay on mementos and gifts to send home to his family as the war progressed.

“We were on a buying spree,” he writes. “In Nairobi, I bought a magnificent lion skin. In Egypt, silk stockings for my sister. Deep in the desert, I had a magnificent sleeping bag bought in Cairo, made up of silk and genuine feathers.” However, every time the company had to move at a moment’s notice, all these surplus goods had to be left behind, and the buying would begin anew when they next set up camp. “Everything we own, have borrowed, or lifted, gets left behind,” writes Mann. “Lost property? There’s a stack of mine scattered about Africa and Europe.”

These are just some of the unique Jewish personalities whose names appear throughout the narratives of the conflicts South Africa engaged in. Even Bergman’s own father, Warrant Officer Jack Bergman, served in the Rand Light Infantry during World War II.

“He was very much a military man. He was one of the first South Africans to leave to go up north,” says Bergman. “He served in Africa, and Italy. He never spoke much about the war to me, but when all his pals congregated after the war, they would often reflect on what happened. I was only three years old when he left, and so didn’t quite know him when he came back.”

Says Bergman, “I was brought up in an almost military fashion. While he was fair and warm, he liked things in order. He very much believed in proper behaviour, and how to treat others. You stand when a woman walks into the room. No question.” With this strong army influence, Bergman would go on to join the South African National Defence Forces himself a few years later, bringing his expertise as an engineer to his service, and serving in the force during the South African border war with Angola.

“Being a soldier is about comradeship,” he says. “We do our duty, but serve alongside one another as people. The army is a group, but it is made up of individuals. Each one has a story.”