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    Jewish Officers in The German Army of WW1


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    Hallo Gents :cheers:

    might sound like a daft question, but can any member put a figure to how many Prussian /German Officers of Jewish origin served in WW1.

    Was there a campaign against them / were they viewed with mistrust?

    The reason I ask is hopefully the answers will blow away another myth with regards their service being small and menial.

    If you would care to post figures for the Allies as well please do.

    Kevin in Deva. :beer:

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    Hallo Gents :cheers:

    might sound like a daft question, but can any member put a figure to how many Prussian /German Officers of Jewish origin served in WW1.

    Was there a campaign against them / were they viewed with mistrust?

    The reason I ask is hopefully the answers will blow away another myth with regards their service being small and menial.

    If you would care to post figures for the Allies as well please do.

    Kevin in Deva. :beer:

    Kev if memory serves me right I believe one of the officers over Hitler during WW1 was a Jew. Need to source that in a book I have tonight for sure.

    Steiner

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    Kev if memory serves me right I believe one of the officers over Hitler during WW1 was a Jew. Need to source that in a book I have tonight for sure.

    Steiner

    I remember reading the same thing. He is the one who put Hitler in for his EK1.

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    Approximately 100,000 German Jews served in the Imperial German Army and Navy in the war, and about 85,000 were Frontsoldaten. About 12,000 were killed. The Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten was founded in February 1919 by Hauptmann Leo Löwenstein. Löwenstein was a reserve officer and physicist, so he doesn't show up in the Ehrenrangliste, but he was an Oberleutnant d.R. with IR 15 in 1914.
    The Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten eventually had over 40,000 members. It published a Gedenkbuch of the fallen German Jewish soldiers in the war. It was banned by the Nazis in the late 1930s. Löwenstein ended up in Theresienstadt, but survived the war.
    I'm not sure what percentage of those veterans were officers. Given their tendency to be more well-educated and urban, there might have been a fair number of Jewish reserve officers, but the active officer corps was heavily biased toward the German aristocracy. So if the two factors might have balanced out, the percentage of Jewish officers to Jewish soldiers might have been similar to that of the army as a whole.
    Among a sampling of German Jewish officers who fell during the war and are included in the Gedenkbuch are:
    Lt. Hans Abrahamsohn - 9./IR 426, d. 29.06.1918
    Lt. Ernst Adler - Flieg.Ers.Abt. 238; Res.DragR 4, d. 25.04.1918
    Lt. Max Aron - 10./IR 363, d. 27.08.1918
    Lt. Heinrich Auerbach - 4./RIR 440, d. 23.08.1917
    Lt. Dr. Fritz Berend, 10./IR 92, d. 29.09.1915
    Lt. Otto Bergmann - 4./IR 65, d. 10.08.1917
    Lt. Bruno Berneis - FFA 17, d. 08.08.1916
    Lt. Fritz Bernhardt - Nachr. Zug/2.bay.IR, d. 28.09.1918
    Lt. Rudolf Bernheimer - 4./bay. RIR 19, d. 19.02.1915
    Lt Dr. Heinrich Fritz Bettsak - FFA A209, d. 11.09.1917
    Lt. Ludwig Binswanger - Gr.Staffel Stab 5, d. 12.07.1918
    Lt. Friedrich Brummel - 9./IR 43, d. 15.03.1917
    Lt. Adolf Caro - 4./RIR 80, d. 22.06.1915
    Lt. Martin Citron - 3./RIR 228, d. 02.09.1915
    Lt. Friedrich Fritz Cohen - 11./RIR 212, d. 20.07.1918
    Lt. Otto Cohn - 1./Fußar.Btl. 78, d. 06.04.1918
    Lt. Carl Dresdner - 2.Ers.Btl./IR 163, d. 13.10.1918
    Lt. Dr. Carl Elsas - 7./FAR 281, d. 30.03.1918
    Lt. Hermann Engel - MG-Scharfsch.Abt. 28, d. 01.10.1918
    Lt. Dr. Alfred Geiger - 4./RFAR 6, d. 09.10.1918
    Lt. Alfred Gerstel - 3./FAR 403, d. 18.07.1918
    Lt. Fritz Gerstl - 8./3.bay.IR, d. 15.04.1918
    Lt. Alfons Glaser - 10./13.bay.IR, d. 25.08.1914
    Oberlt. Dr. Emil Goldschmidt - 4./18.bay.IR, d. 31.03.1918
    Lt. Kurt Gottlob - 2/2.Gd. RIR, d. 23.08.1917
    Lt. Otto Grosser - 9./GIR 6, d. 31.05.1918
    Lt. Dr. Fritz Walter Hantke - 2./1.bay.IR, d. 09.06.1916
    Lt. Georg Hartmann - 6./LIR 72, d. 19.05.1915
    Lt. Wilhelm Heimann - 11./RIR 99, d. 14.04.1917
    Lt. Felix Heymann - 5./RIR 52, d. 28.07.1916
    Lt. Aron Hirschmann - 8./22.bay.IR, d. 23.07.1918
    Lt. Erich Hofmann - 9./RIR 252, d. 25.10.1918
    Lt. Julius Wilhelm Holz - 3.MG./IR 99, d. 13.06.1918
    Lt. Alfons Jakob - Stab Art.Kdr. 197, d. 17.10.1918
    Lt. Edmund Joelsohn - 5./IR 446, d. 01.09.1918
    Lt. Friedrich Kamp - 12./IR 25, d. 05.01.1915
    Lt. Alfred Kahn - 1./RIR 203, d. 15.08.1918
    Lt. Walter König - d. 08. 1915
    Lt. Max Emanuel Koch - Stab/209.Inf.Brig.; DR 6, d. 09.03.1918
    Lt. Walter Kronfeld - d. 16.07.1916
    Lt. Oskar Kullmann - 7./bay. RFußarR 2, d. 07.06.1917
    Lt. Bruno Levi - 8./RIR 120, d. 02.04.1916
    Lt. Gustav Lewin - 1./IR 477, d. 10.10.1917
    Lt. Hans Lewin - 1.MG/bay.RIR 5, d. 23.08.1918
    Lt. Helmuth Lilienfeld - 2. MG/IR 70, d. 10.04.1918
    Lt. Hans Lindenberg - 12./12.bay.IR, d. 05.09.1914
    Lt. Hans Lobethal - 6./IR 82, d. 30.09.1918
    Lt. Ernst May - MG-Abt. 9, d. 26.09.1915
    Lt. Fritz Mecklenburg - Kampfgeschw. 1 der OHL Staffel 1, d. 21.09.1917
    Hptm. Georg Meyer - 4./bay. RFAR 10, d. 15.12.1916
    Lt. Walter Meyer - 10./LIR 15, d. 10.10.1918
    Lt. Otto Mond - 3./RIR 52, d. 05.04.1918
    Lt. Hans Ulrich Mosse - 10./13.bay.IR, d. 03.08.1916
    Lt. Herbert Wilhelm Müller - 6./RFAR 10, d. 05.10.1916
    Lt. Alfred Oppenheim - 3./RIR 29, d. 16.04.1917
    Lt. Hermann Pelzer - MG/RIR 94, d. 07.10.1917
    Lt. Leo Perl - 8./RIR 271, d. 29.07.1915
    Lt. Kurt Pfingst - 10./RIR 12, d. 04.01.1917
    Oberlt. Dr. Hans Philipp - MG/bay. RIR 7, d. 09.05.1915
    Lt. Simon Pinczower - Flieg.Ers.Abt. 11, d. 15.05.1918
    Lt. Oswald Röhl - Flieg.Ers.Abt. 1, d. 26.09.1918
    Lt. Erich Roth - 8./RIR 130, d. 27.05.1918
    Lt. Heinrich Samuelson - 9./IR 79, d. 02.07.1915
    Lt. Moritz Friedrich Schäffer - 2./IR 51, d. 08.06.1917
    Lt. Karl Scheuer - 7./FAR 92, d. 10.06.1918
    Lt. Erwin Schlesinger - 6./IR 457, d. 04.10.1918
    Lt. Adolf Max Schottlaender - 2./RIR 88, d. 15.08.1916
    Lt. Ernst Schrag - 3.MG/RIR 94, d. 05.10.1917
    Lt. Dr. Moritz Schüler - 9./bay. RIR 10, d. 04.11.1914
    Lt. Heinrich Schwarzwald - 1.MG/LIR 6, d. 26.03.1917
    Lt. Gottfried Sender - 9./RIR 24, d. 13.06.1915
    Lt. Walter Sieburth - Min.Werf./IR 43, d. 28.03.1918
    Lt. Otto Spanjer-Herford - 12./IR 58, d. 09.08.1918
    Lt. Ludwig Stern - 1. Ldst.Inf.Ers.Btl. Landau, d. 01.12.1914
    Lt. Georg Sternberg - 4./RFAR 36, d. 27.09.1917
    Lt. Alfred Story - 11./RIR 269, d. 02.05.1915
    Lt. Max Straus - Luftschiff-Abt. 37; Fesselballonzug 98, d. 13.12.1918
    Lt. Martin Strelitz - 11./bay. LIR 7, d. 23.09.1914
    Lt. Bernhard Trier - 1.Ers.Abt./FAR 61, d. 23.09.1915
    Lt. Rudolf Weill - 3./LdwFAR 8, d. 09.06.1918
    Lt. Walter Weiß - Div. Brückentrain 98, d. 24.09.1918
    Lt. Ernst Werner - Mag. Fuhrparkkol. 486, d. 08.08.1917
    Lt. Max Zeller - 10./bay. RIR 5, d. 24.06.1915
    Edited by Dave Danner
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    A few more:
    Major z.D. Max Hollerbaum - 2. Lst.Inf.Btl. Passau, d. 26.09.1915 (Maj. Hollerbaum was also a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War)
    Oberlt. Oskar Herz - 1./bay. RIR 23, d. 16.07.1918
    Oberlt. Heinrich Kohn - 4./bay. RIR 12, d. 26.09.1918
    Oberlt. Hermann Stettiner - d. 11.1918
    Lt. Dr. Bertram Ascher - 5./IR 146, d. 18.08.1915
    Lt. Leopold Auerbacher - 3.MG/RIR 121, d. 24.03.1918
    Lt. Fritz Baer - 1./MG-Scharfsch.-Abt. 11, d. 25.03.1918
    Lt. Arthur Baerlein - Stab I./bay. RFAR 1, d. 28.10.1917
    Lt. David Bauernfreund - 3./RIR 227, d. 11.08.1918
    Lt. Max Bendix - 12./RIR 53, d. 30.04.1917
    Lt. Walter Berent - 2.MG./RIR 82, d. 11.10.1918
    Lt. Julius Bloch - 1./IR 144, d. 22.07.1917
    Lt. Heinz Bogusch - 3./IR 43, d. 03.11.1917
    Lt. Fritz Bonheim - 12./RIR 76, d. 30.09.1915
    Lt. Julius David - 5./FAR 70, d. 22.10.1916
    Lt. Kurt Elias - 15./IR 92, d. 25.06.1915
    Lt. Alfred B. Elkan - 8./FAR 7, d. 08.10.1918
    Lt. Berthold Elsas - 12./LIR 120, d. 29.03.1916
    Lt. Max Engel - 4./IR 129, d. 23.10.1918
    Lt. Alfred Falk - FFA A292, d. 30.01.1917
    Lt. Friedrich Fuchs - 11./IR 362, d. 10.05.1917
    Lt. Julius Fuld - 7./RIR 30, d. 02.08.1917
    Lt. Julius Fürst - 2.MG/IR 189, d. 28.03.1918
    Lt. Paul Martin Gans - 7./IR 76, d. 08.05.1919
    Lt. Walter Erich Gans - 9./IR 67, d. 02.03.1915
    Lt. Ewald Glaser - 9./IR 157, d. 08.08.1918
    Lt. Julius Goldfinger - 9./LIR 29, d. 16.10.1915
    Lt. Martin Goldschmidt - 6./FAR 20, d. 19.04.1918
    Lt. Fritz Grabowski - 1./Gd.Gren.R 3, d. 14.09.1916
    Lt. Ernst Grunewald - 9./IR 60, d. 19.08.1917
    Lt. Fritz Guggenheimer - 3./bay. RIR 18, d. 25.07.1918
    Lt. Josef Gumperts - 1./IR 53, d. 08.01.1916
    Lt. Rudolf Gumprich - Minenwerf.Kp./JägR 11, d. 15.09.1918
    Lt. Artur Gutenberg - 5./LIR 116, d. 25.09.1915
    Lt Dr. Hans Gutmann - 1./RIR 242, d. 05.07.1916
    Lt. Dr. Joseph Gutmann - 7./bay. RIR 5, d. 05.09.1914
    Lt. Waldemar Heidegger - 6./RIR 67, d. 07.04.1915
    Lt. Emil Heilbronner - 1./bay. RIR 15, d. 15.07.1918
    Lt. Hellmut Hellwitz - 5./IR 112, d. 25.05.1915
    Lt. Siegfried Henle - 1./IR 76, d. 26.04.1915
    Lt. Otto Herz - 12./RIR 122, d. 29.12.1917
    Lt. Dr. Alfred Herz - 6./RIR 68, d. 23.02.1915
    Lt. Dr. jur. Paul Herzberg - 3./FAR 183, d. 23.10.1918
    Lt. Erich Hesselberger - Bal.Abw.Kan.Zug 117, d. 27.03.1916
    Lt. Friedrich Heymann - 11./RIR 78, d. 26.04.1918
    Lt. Heinrich Hirsch - 2.MG/IR 408, d. 02.10.1918
    Lt. Emil Höchster - 6./6.bay.IR, d. 12.10.1917
    Lt. Max Holzinger - bay. FFA 290b, d. 11.09.1917
    Lt. Hermann Horn - 2./Fußar.Btl 75, d. 03.09.1918
    Lt. Dr. Alfred Jacobsohn - 12./RIR 67, d. 24.10.1916
    Lt. Adolf, Dr. Jacobsohn - 5./RIR 226, d. 17.03.1918
    Lt. Ernst Joseph - Mun.Kol.B./Fußar.Btl. 157, d. 13.03.1918
    Lt. Robert Kahn - 3./Brig.Ers.Btl. 30, d. 19.06.1915
    Lt. Ernst Kassel - 10./IR 162, d. 11.04.1918
    Lt. Alfred Katzenstein - 7./bay. RIR 17, d. 28.11.1916
    Lt. Hermann Kern - 3./FüsR122, d. 30.06.1918
    Lt. Hans Kimmelstiel - 9./RIR 59, d. 13.01.1919
    Lt. Hans Koch - 6./bay. RIR 18, d. 15.07.1917
    Lt. Ernst Kohlberg - 10./IR 364, d. 30.10.1917
    Lt. Franz Koppel - 10./IR 150, d. 21.03.1918
    Lt. Ernst Krakenberger - 2.MG/14.bay.IR, d. 20.09.1917
    Lt. Hermann Kramer - 12./IR 336, d. 09.06.1918
    Lt. Alexander Landmann - 6./bay. RIR 5, d. 26.04.1918
    Lt. Erich Landsberger - 7./IR 50, d. 13.04.1918
    Lt. Julius Leeser - MG./RIR 21, d. 05.08.1915
    Lt. Marcel Lövy - 3./IR 99, d. 22.08.1917
    Lt. Dr. Isai Lewin - 5./IR 113, d. 25.09.1915
    Lt. Richard Lißberger - 6./bay. EIR 1, d. 22.10.1918
    Lt. Dr. Willy Loewenthal - HusR 7, d. 27.12.1918
    Lt. Walter Löwenstein - 7./IR 44, d. 24.09.1918
    Lt. Robert Marburg - Ballon Zug 1, d. 12.10.1918
    Lt. Gerhard Maschke - 2./Kav.Schütz.R. 87, d. 01.07.1918
    Lt. Fritz Mayer - 2./bay.RIR 17, d. 19.07.1916
    Lt. Franz Meyer - 4./bay. FußAR 4, d. 09.03.1917
    Lt. Hermann Meyer - 6./FAR 44, d. 13.11.1918
    Lt. Fritz Friedrich Meyer - Fußar.Bttr. 478, d. 05.05.1917
    Lt Viktor Moritz - 6./bay. RIR 5, d. 22.10.1915
    Lt. Fritz Müller - 8./RIR 202, d. 29.08.1918
    Lt. Ernst Adolf Müller - 6.bay. Kampfgeschwader, Kampfstaffel 36, d. 10.11.1916
    Lt. Erich Nathan - 2.MG/IR 53, d. 03.12.1918
    Lt. Fritz Oppenheim - 7./IR 181, d. 19.09.1918
    Lt. Hugo Reyersbach - 12./RIR 29, d. 29.07.1917
    Lt. Fritz Rosenheimer - 9./FAR 221, d. 17.10.1918
    Lt. Dr. Franz Rosin - FFA A253, d. 03.06.1917
    Lt. Julius Roßmann - 4./7.bay.IR, d. 24.03.1918
    Lt. Max Rotschild - 7./22.bay.IR, d. 26.09.1916
    Lt. Hugo Ruhstadt - 1./IR 458, d. 24.04.1917
    Lt. Hermann Samuel - 9./14.bay.IR, d. 27.11.1914
    Lt. Paul Scheyen - 2./Fußar.Btl. 23, d. 25.06.1916
    Lt. Ernst Schöneberg - 12./IR 461, d. 15.06.1918
    Lt. Arthur Simon - 5.Ers.M.G.-Kp. /XIII. A.K., d. 31.10.1918
    Lt. Hermann Simon - 5./FAR 266, d. 23.10.1917
    Lt. Friedrich Sommer - 3./IR 66, d. 13.09.1918
    Lt. Max Stein - d. 16.08.1917
    Lt. Heinrich Steiner - 8./FAR 238, d. 25.04.1918
    Lt. Dr. Max Theodor - 2./Fußar.Btl. 114, d. 22.10.1918
    Lt. Heinz Wachsmann - 3.MG/RIR 71, d. 14.06.1917
    Lt. Viktor Weil - 5./FüsR 40, d. 28.02.1916
    Lt. Andreas Wolf - 2.MG/RIR 237, d. 27.08.1918
    Lt. Fritz Wolff - 12./RIR 69, d. 06.05.1917
    Edited by Dave Danner
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    I find the name Lt. David Bauernfreund Lt. David Bauernfreund to be interesting... I have heard the name Bauernfeind, with origins in the 12th century as knights and their helpers who were hard on farmers / peasants... it is a family name you sometimes see in Bavaria... but bauernfreund is new to me.

    I was once told that back in the Kaiser years it was possible to have Jewish names "Germanized" for a fee... does anyone know anything about the "How's and when's ". Apparently the names were not German as such, just germanized versions of the original name.

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    Hallo Gentlemen, :cheers:

    many thanks for your information, I find it very interesting, and a little sad that the service given by Jewish soldiers of all Nations is so little known or researched, I rember seeing a monument to Jewish Soldiers at Verdun many years ago.

    Kevin in Deva :cheers:

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    Thanks for starting this Kevin, and special thanks to Dave for the information he provided. So often, there is a tendancy to fall into Nazi interpretations or merely to parrot the old bit about The Leader's commanding officer being Jewish and let it go at that.

    There is an obscured history here that needs some exchavation.

    And you cannot but wonder how many of these brave German Jews died in the Holocaust?

    Edited by Ed_Haynes
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    Before 1848 only one Jew was a regular officer in the Prussian army: the exceptional Major Meno Burg of the artillery. A royal edict barred jews from officer rank. Several, especially medical officers, received commissions in the 'liberal' 1870s.

    From 1885-1914 the German Jewish League actively campaigned for jews to be given reserve officer commissions and despite several Reichstag commissions, notably in 1908 and 1913, no Jews were given reserve commissions.

    Between 20,000-30,000 served as Einjahriger volunteers between 1875-1914.

    The political issue came to a head in May, 1912, when the Reichstag debated the case of Arthur Leiber, an Einjahrer who had been recommended for a commission by his regimental colonel, but denied by the War Department. The War Ministers' abysmal response was accorded by many to Be "not his finest hour" (Kaiser Wilhelm). Many anti-Semetic Prussian Reichstag Delegates openly stated that the jews should not be allowed officer status because of their inferior race and many senior Prussian officers openly agreed.

    In 1914 the Reich had @650,000 Jewish citizens-not including illegal Polish Jewish immigrants.

    The Bavarian and Austrian armies both gave commissions to Jews.

    During the war however, especially after 1915, many Jews received Lt dR. commissions, on a war-time basis. Several may even have been in Guards Regiments. I'd be surprised if they were in the cavalry though-

    The Austrians had a number of Jewish Generals as well as a Field Marshall. In 1943 the Gestapo and Vienna SA and a few HJ helpers rounded up the inhabitants of the Vienna Jewish Disabled Servicemens' Home (@ 300 vets) and sent them to Auschwitz where they were all murdered.

    I once knew a man whose family were sent to Thereisenstadt because he had been a Lt. d R. in the Bavarian army. He was given a rare Visa to the USA in 1937 because he had won the EK1-and it was noted on his Visa application.

    His family, except his daughter Gerda, who I still know quite well, were all gassed in 1943. The SA man who took their house in Marburg still lived there in 1987. I expect his family still has the house.

    Ann Franks' father was also a Lt.d R. and won the EK2.

    Edited by Ulsterman
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    The Bavarian and Austrian armies both gave commissions to Jews.

    In the two lists above, about 20% of the named officers are Bavarian, definitely out of proportion to Bavaria's size in the Reich. All but one of the officers in a rank higher than Leutnant is also a Bavarian. That accords with what Ulsterman notes.

    Edited by Dave Danner
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    Another 75 fallen German Jewish officers below. Of these, 28 were Bavarian. Among the rest, among all the officers listed here and above, there does seem to be a fair cross section - Rhinelanders, Silesians, Württembergers, Badeners, Hessians, Thuringians, etc., even Guards officers (striking given the prejudices of the Prussian officer corps). One group that seems distinctly underrepresented are Saxons. The only two I see out of all 258 here are Lt. Dr. Hans Gutmann, a Dresdner in 1./RIR 242, and Lt. Fritz Oppenheim, a Chemnitzer in 7./IR 181.

    Oberlt. Karl Moßmann - I./bay. RIR 11, d. 09.08.1915
    Oberlt. Dr. Julius Schloß - Stab/11.bay.Inf.Div., d. 29.06.1918
    Lt. Dr. Arthur Aal - 11./bay. RIR 21, d. 01.10.1016
    Lt. Erich Adam - 2./RIR 256, d. 22.09.1915
    Lt. Josef Altmann - 5./RIR 273, d. 29.07.1917
    Lt. Fritz Arndt - 3./IR 401, d. 10.09.1918
    Lt. Alfred Baer - 8./württ. FußAR 13, d. 24.07.1918
    Lt. Julius Bauer - 2./IR 185, d. 21.03.1918
    Lt. Stephan Bauer - bay. Inf.Gesch.Bttr. 5, d. 01.04.1917
    Lt. Georg Bloch - Nachr.Zug/Res.Jäg.Btl. 3, d. 02.05.1918
    Lt. Max Bonheim - 4./Ldw.Brig.Ers.Btl. 55, d. 15.07.1916
    Lt. Martin Cohn - Minenwerfer-Kp. 10, d. 07.06.1918
    Lt. Alfons Dingfelder - 10./bay. RIR 23, d. 25.07.1915
    Lt. Bernhard Ellenstein - 7./bay. RIR 6, d. 01.07.1916
    Lt. Heinz Epstein - 3./bay. RIR 26, d. 23.12.1916
    Lt. Emil Jakob Ettlinger - 2./IR 360, d. 20.07.1918
    Lt. Dr. Leonhard Frank - 8./RIR 270, d. 08.07.1917
    Lt. Erwin Freudenthal - 8./RIR 247, d. 29.10.1917
    Lt. Richard Friedmann - 7./bay. RIR 21, d. 25.03.1918
    Lt. Siegfried Friedmann - 1./RIR 261, d. 16.08.1917
    Lt. Artur Gabbe - 1/IR 185, d. 18.11.1916
    Lt. Elija Goitein - 11./RIR 224, d. 26.05.1915
    Lt. Ludwig Goldschmidt - 7./bayRIR 19, d. 09.09.1916
    Lt. Jakob Guggenheimer - 7./bay. RIR 12, d. 27.09.1918
    Lt. Walter Gumprich - 5./IR 30, d. 30.09.1918
    Lt. Hugo Gutmann - 4./FAR 116, d. 28.10.1915
    Lt. Walter Hammerstein - 4./RIR 267, d. 16.02.1915
    Lt. Erich Heilbrunn - 8./bay. RIR 10, d. 21.03.1918
    Lt. Karl Heilbrunn - 12./IR 87, d. 02.04.1917
    Lt. Leopold Hirsch - 12./RIR 94, d. 30.04.1918
    Lt. Fritz Kahn - 9./2.bay.IR, d. 24.05.1917
    Lt. Nathan Kahn - 2.MG/bay. RIR 32, d. 30.09.1918
    Lt. Max Kahn - 3.MG./bay.RIR 22, d. 14.04.1918
    Lt. Otto Kahn - 1./22.bay.IR, d. 24.06.1918
    Lt. Walter Kaß - 11./IR 135, d. 26.09.1915
    Lt. Siegfried Kaufmann - 6./RIR 40, d. 08.01.1917
    Lt. Dr. Justin Kühn - 7./bay. RIR 10, d. 08.10.1914
    Lt. Richard Kürzinger - MG/bay. RIR 21, d. 24.11.1915
    Lt. Emil Landau - 3./IR 174, d. 10.04.1918
    Lt. Dr. Josef Lehmann - 7./bay. RIR 21, d. 24.03.1917
    Lt. Dr. Otto Levinger - 8./RIR 68, d. 16.04.1917
    Lt. Curt Löb - 11./RIR 203, d. 18.06.1918
    Lt. Hans Siegfried Loeb - 6./IR 365, d. 02.08.1916
    Lt. Alfred Löwenthal - 2./2.Ers.Btl./Jäg.Btl. 5, d. 07.03.1916
    Lt. Hugo Lyon - Stab/IR 25, d. 07.09.1917
    Lt. Hans Mann - Minenwerfer-Kp. 33, d. 10.05.1916
    Lt. Alfred Marum - 9./IR 145, d. 01.12.1917
    Lt. Stephan Mayer-Weismann - 6./bay. RIR 7, d. 16.04.1917
    Lt. Leo Mohnr - 3.MG/bay. RIR 16, d. 04.11.1918
    Lt. Theodor Moos - Gebirgs-Btl. 11, d. 27.05.1918
    Lt. Dr. August Moser - FFA 235, d. 18.09.1917
    Lt. Albert Neuburger - 12./RIR 247, d. 14.05.1915
    Lt. Robert Ottensooser - 2./bay. RIR 20, d. 12.11.1914
    Lt. Adolf Proskauer - 8./RIR 202, d. 03.05.1918
    Lt. Hans Proskauer - 5./RIR 66, d. 23.07.1918
    Lt. Fritz Reifenberg - 3./Fußar.Btl. 127, d. 21.04.1918
    Lt. Friedrich Reis - 12./bay. RIR 21, d. 08.05.1917
    Lt. Fritz Friedrich Rosenzweig - 3./bay. MG-Scharfsch.Abt. 2, d. 01.04.1918
    Lt. Siegfried Rothschild - 2./IR 124, d. 13.07.1917
    Lt. Walter Salomon - 6./IR 165, d. 27.09.1918
    Lt. Prof. Dr. Karl Schwarzschild - Ldw.Bez. Potsdam, d. 11.05.1916
    Lt. Eugen Selig - 1./FußAR 22, d. 22.08.1917
    Lt. Siegfried Silbermann - 10./bay. RIR 23, d. 15.04.1918
    Lt. Ludwig Stahl - Stab/bay. RIR 25, d. 08.08.1918
    Lt. Dr. Daniel Stein - d. 22.03.1922
    Lt. Felix Steinfeld - LIR 385, d. 22.07.1917
    Lt. Max Stern - 7./LIR 61, d. 16.08.1915
    Lt. Alfred Emil Stettiner - 9./LIR 111, d. 11.11.1918
    Lt. Ernst Straus - 4./EIR 29, d. 02.07.1917
    Lt. Paul Strauß - 2./bay. RIR 19, d. 01.09.1914
    Lt. Hugo Sundheimer - Stab II./bay. RIR 20, d. 01.06.1918
    Lt. Ernst Emil Weil - FFA A213, d. 26.07.1917
    Lt. Otto Weil - 12./IR 121, d. 18.06.1917
    Lt. Siegfried Wolff - 3./Ers.Btl./IR 64, d. 04.06.1918
    Lt. Josef Zörndorfer - Fliegertruppe; RIR 154, d. 19.09.1915

    Edited by Dave Danner
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    Hallo Gentlemen :beer:

    thank you for your comments, I have to confess this thread came about with something posted at another forum particularly these few words:

    "On the other side, my father, (apparently a German Ww1 veteran -Kev in Dev) in his oral history, said that he encountered few Jews in the German Army in WW I."

    http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...39887&st=60

    Now, that simple statement got me to thinking, firstly about the Jewish contibution in the German Forces of WW1 (and how could it be expected for one soldier at that time 1914-1918 to know just how many of his comrades were Jewish and in the Service of Germany (apart from some of the more obvious names). I have taken the liberty of posting this info over at the GWF, hopefully to see if anybody can add to the sparse information thats known. I hope nobody objects to me doing this ?

    In particular I would like to thank Dave and Jeff for their contributions so far, pure gold in quality :jumping:

    I would also like to expand it with any information regarding Jewish service men in the British, French, Italian, Belgian Armies, etc . . . etc. . .

    I would ask for each post to be headed with the Name of the country in Bold to which the information pertains, i.e.

    UNITED KINGDOM. FRANCE. ITALY, etc.

    Kevin in Deva :beer:

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    The only Iron Crosses that I have with 'somewhat' provenance is an ekII from WWI that was awarded to a German Jew named Gottlieb Krause (rank unknown and military history unknown). He and his family migrated here after the Great War, and years after he died, his granddaughter (my friend) gave me this cross. She said he kept it in his jewelry box until his death. She said she was playing with the box one day and found it, and he told her he earned it fighting in France in WWI, but he never bragged about it, as he was ashamed at what the Nazis had done to Germany after they left, and didn't really care for the medal anymore. He actually told her to sell it or give it away when he died. I have the medal today in my collection, and it is one of my favorites, one because I know the family and some of the history, and two, because the core is blued. Anyway. she (my friend) is going to write me a letter describing how it came into my possesion. Just thought it was a neat thing, and something I hadn't thought about in a while until reading this thread. Thanks. Also, if anybody ever comes across anything on Gottlieb Krause, please let me know.

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    I find the name Lt. David Bauernfreund Lt. David Bauernfreund to be interesting... I have heard he name Bauernfeind, with origins in the 12th century as knights and their helpers who were hard on farmers / peasants... it is a family name you sometimes see in Bavaria... but bauernfreund is new to me.

    I was once told that back in the Kaiser years it was possible to have Jewish names "Germanized" for a fee... does anyone know anything about the "How's and when's ". Apparently the names were not German as such, just germanized versions of the original name.

    Lt. David Bauernfreund was a resident of Heilbronn, and was born in Schluchtern, Baden, on 1 February 1886. I'm not sure how he ended up in a Silesian regiment, since Heilbronn was in the Kingdom of Württemberg. According to a document from the Heilbronn Stadtarchiv, he received the EK I and II and the Friedrichs-Orden Knight 2nd Class with Swords.

    By the way, Lt. Dr. Emil Goldschmidt of 18. bay. IR was from Aschaffenburg. There are some other enlisted men from Aschaffenburg in the Gedenkbuch as well, several from bay. Jäg.Btl. 2 and the rest from different units.

    Edited by Dave Danner
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    Some statistics for the Kingdom of Württemberg and the Prussian district of Hohenzollern, from Hans Franke, Geschichte und Schicksal der Juden in Heilbronn:

    Von den insgesamt 10 824 reichsdeutschen jüdischen Einwohnern von Württemberg und Hohenzollern waren 1674 Frontsoldaten. Davon sind 270 gefallen, 533 verwundet, 581 wurden befördert, 1071 erhielten Frontauszeichnungen (darunter wurden 581 mehrfach ausgezeichnet).

    For Heilbronn itself (as well as its suburb of Sontheim), Franke provides more detail:

    Von den 861 jüdischen Einwohnern von Heilbronn im Jahre 1914 haben den Weltkrieg 1914-1918 nach den Statistiken 128 als Frontsoldaten mitgemacht. Davon sind 27 gefallen, wurden 48 verwundet (davon 13 mehrmals) und 54 konnten befördert werden. 35 wurden einmal ausgezeichnet, 49 erhielten zwei und mehr Auszeichnungen. Neunzehn junge Juden waren kriegsfreiwillig ins Feld gezogen.

    Die Auszeichnungen an jüdische Kriegsteilnehmer verteilen sich wie folgt: 68 EK II. Klasse, 3 EK II. Klasse und EK I. Klasse, 51 Württembergische Silberne Verdienst-Medaillen, 1 Württemberg. Goldene Verdienst-Medaille, 4 Ritterkreuze II. Klasse des Württembergischen Friedrichs-Ordens mit Schwertern, 3 Bayerische Militär-Verdienst-Kreuze III. Klasse mit Schwertern, 1 Bayerischer Militär-Verdienst-Orden mit Schwertern, 1 Hamburger Hanseaten-Kreuz und 1 Türkischer Halbmond.

    In Sontheim machten bei damals 71 Einwohnern neun den Krieg an der Front mit, davon wurden fünf verwundet, einer befördert und fünf einmal, sowie vier mehrmals ausgezeichnet. Gefallen ist keiner der Sontheimer Kriegsteilnehmer. Die Auszeichnungen waren: 6 EK II. Klasse, 6 Württembergische Silberne Verdienst-Medaillen, 1 Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille.


    http://www.stadtarchiv-heilbronn.de/index....ronn.pdf&s=

    Edited by Dave Danner
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    Kev,

    Walter Transfeldt in his "Wort und Brauch in Heer und Flotte" gives the following figures: 96,000 Jewish soldiers participated in WW1 of which 2000 were commissioned plus a further 1200 medical officers.

    There was not an Austro-Hungarian Jewish Field-Marshal although Generaloberst Samuel Baron von Hazai was a Jewish convert to christianity.

    Regards

    Glenn

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    Kev,

    Walter Transfeldt in his "Wort und Brauch in Heer und Flotte" gives the following figures: 96,000 Jewish soldiers participated in WW1 of which 2000 were commissioned plus a further 1200 medical officers.

    There was not an Austro-Hungarian Jewish Field-Marshal although Generaloberst Samuel Baron von Hazai was a Jewish convert to christianity.

    Regards

    Glenn

    But what about Feldmarschalleutnant Johann Freidlander and general Josef Stochmal-both of whom ended up in Concentration camps? freidlander ended up there in part (or mostly) because he was accounted a Jew by the Nazis.

    It was he I was referring to-I was thinking in terms of "race" instead of "religion" as the former category was what counted for the Nazis. Hazai also had the good fortune to be in Budapest and left alone. He died in 1942-by which point even the Hungarian army had been purged.

    In Hungary , Decree 2870 in 1941 deprived all jewish reserve officers of their ranks. That summer, all Jewish men were recalled to have their Wehrpasses updated. They were issued new cards and books, allowing them only to do 'labour service". the card was stamped with a big "Z", for "Zsido" (Jew).

    Only jewish war veterans who were 75% disabled OR had a gold medal for bravery OR 2 silver bravery medals were exempted from the anti-jewish decrees (and allowed to serve). there are accounts of highly decorated openly jewish officers serving in Hungarian units on the eastern front alongside SS units. later, even the Arrow Cross left the highly decorated veterans alone.

    Edited by Ulsterman
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    Two other factoids:

    There was an interesting discussion at the U.S. Holocaust museum a few years ago that was broadcast on C-Span (the U.S. government channel) about Jews who had been saved because of military service. The presenters clearly had no idea about the medals to which they were referring and one man, who I have subsequently been in contact with (he's an archivist) kept referring to "the iron cross third class with swords" (obviously a BavMVK3x). Their point was that there was significant jewish WW1 service and indeed, Hindenburg had refused to allow Hitler to disenfranchise jewish ex-servicemen.

    In "Ordinary Men" one of the police reservists who spent his war shooting innocent people recounted how they led German Jewish families from Hamburg into the woods and one day they got talking to guy who recounted how he had won the EK2 in WW1. They shot him too alongside his kids. these men later went home and served as regular police in Hamburg through the 1970s.

    Edited by Ulsterman
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    lastly....

    despite rampant anti-Semitism in the Austro-Hunagrian empire jewish officers and men served the Emperor well indeed. Including Hazai, there were 25 jewish or converted Jewish Generals in the KuK army.

    76 Gold medals and 22 Orders of the Iron Crown were won by Jews: 300,000+ jews served and and another 25,000+ were officers. Not a few later went to Auschwitz.

    See "Juden in der kuk Armee: 1788-1918" (English translation available) by Eisenstadt, 1989.

    Edited by Ulsterman
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    Hi UM,

    yes, poor old Friedl?nder met his fate in a concentration camp. He finished WW1 as a Major (1.11.17) on the k.u.k. General Staff. A Major General since 28.8.31, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General (Feldmarschalleutnant) in the Austrian Bundesheer.

    Regards

    Glenn

    Edited by Glenn J
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