Exhibit honors Jewish soldiers

[Tina Greco - Melbourne]

Exhibit honors Jewish soldiers
World War II artifacts on display through July showcase the service of Marylanders


 By John-John Williams IV |  Sun reporter
    February 25, 2008
Marvin Leventon, a towering 83-year-old man, immediately picked out a somewhat familiar face from the top row of 200 photographs yesterday. Even though the picture was taken more than 60 years ago, the image of himself dressed in an Army Air Forces uniform during World War II stirs a strong sense of pride.

"It brings back a lot of memories," said Leventon's wife, Vivian, who was struggling to capture the scene with a digital camera. "You realize more and more it's amazing what they went through and still managed to survive."

The Leventons were among the 500 people who toured the Jewish Museum of Maryland yesterday for the opening of Ours to Fight For: American Jews in the Second World War.

The exhibit, which runs through July, made its debut in 2003 in New York City at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

Avi Y. Decter, executive director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, saw the exhibit 18 months ago in New York and was so struck by it that, just three minutes into the tour, he wanted to showcase it in Baltimore.

"I was ready to write a check for a deposit to bring it here to Maryland," said Decter, whose father served as a chaplain in World War II. "It's a great show; it's a perfect fit for us."

Decter also wanted to embark on the project immediately so that living veterans could be included.

"If we waited another 10 years, we'd lose them," he said.

The exhibit is a mix of photographs, interviews and artifacts primarily focused on Jews who were involved in the military during World War II. The exhibit was regionalized when it moved from New York City to Baltimore with the addition of personal artifacts from Marylanders. For example, the exhibit includes a Maryland soldier's prayer book that was pierced by shrapnel; a Maryland soldier's helmet that was pierced by a bullet; and the Medal of Honor earned by a Maryland Jew, one of three Jewish soldiers to earn the honor during the war.

The museum has been so overwhelmed with submissions of photographs, personal effects and other memorabilia from Marylanders that a week ago, employees stopped sorting through donations in order to prepare for the opening, according to Jobi Zink, the museum's senior collections manager.

In April, the museum plans to add 200 new photographs of Jewish servicemen from Maryland to the exhibit.

"Everyone has been amazed by the exhibit," Zink said. "There is some myth that Jews didn't fight in the war. This exhibit shows that myth is clearly wrong."

The personal artifacts, coupled with the slew of interviews that have been collected, make the exhibit unique, according to Bonnie Gurewitsch, an archivist and curator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

"It's an intimate look at World War II," Gurewitsch said. "It's not just a history of World War II, it's a history of men and women from a variety of backgrounds."

In addition to the various anecdotes of Jewish soldiers sprinkled throughout the museum, the exhibit also features a collection of interviews from Japanese-American soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen and other ethnic groups titled Other Voices.

"Jews didn't operate in a vacuum," Decter said. "It's not just Jews that were American heroes."

William Kahn, an 82-year-old Jew who served in the Army from 1943-1946, was struck by a strong sense of nostalgia when he toured the exhibit.

"It's very fantastic," the Pikesville resident said as he was midway through. "The pictures, the images ... this is the way it was."

The exhibit will be an opportunity for Jewish veterans to share their experiences during the war with their families. Many of the men interviewed yesterday said that they hadn't gone into detail about the war with family members.

"I never talked to the kids about this stuff," Leventon said. "I always assumed that they weren't interested."

He now plans to bring his family to the exhibit before it closes.

"I liked it," he said. "I was involved in it."

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.jews25feb25,0,4056625.story

[Ari]

Tough Jews!

[rob shepherd]

Would love to see this exhibit.  I am a Veteran of the US ARMY.  I don't see them as Jewish soldiers, I see them as AMERICAN soldiers first and foremost.  They're just Jewish by birth.  I consider them as heroes and great warriors.  I can just imagine the anguish they must have felt as they saw the death camps.  We should have hunted down the animals running them and executed them on the spot.  Every time I visit any memorial to Veterans, I get emotional.  Sometimes I have to sit down because I am not able to stand.  I am not ashamed to cry for my fellow Vets and our fallen heroes.  It is my way of showing my pride and love for them all regardless of race or religion.  Excluding the Muslims of course.  When the mini-Wall came through a few years ago, I went to see it.  I had to be held up by total strangers who also were Vets.  I will always hold a special place in my heart for Vets.  Afterall, some of us sacrificed a lot and some of us gave the ultimate sacrifice so animals like Osama/Obama could run for office.  It saddens me to see AMERICA slip into the sewers like it has.  But I guess that is our fate for turning away from God.  We must NEVER EVER forget the hardships and sacrifices of our WWII Vets.  Afterall, they saved the world from the likes of Hitler/Satan.  God bless AMERICA, our VETS, ISRAEL, and her VETS!!!!!  HOOOOOOAAAAH!