True to My God and Country: How Jewish Americans Fought in World War II

by Fran oise S. Ouzan

Overview

True to My God and Country explores the role of the more than half a million Jewish American men and women who served in the military in the Second World War. Patriotic Americans determined to fight, they served in every branch of the military and every theater of the war.

Drawing on letters, diaries, interviews, and memoirs, True to My God and Country offers an intimate account of the soul-searching carried out by young Jewish men and women in uniform. Ouzan highlights, in particular, the selflessness of servicewomen who risked their lives in dangerous assignments. Many GIs encountered antisemitism in the American military even as they fought the evils of Nazi Germany and its allies.

True to My God and Country examines how they coped with anti-Jewish hostility and reveals how their interactions with Jewish communities overseas reinforced and bolstered connections to their own American Jewish identities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253068279
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Series:	Studies in Antisemitism
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.61(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Françoise S. Ouzan is Senior Research Associate at the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center of Tel Aviv University. She is the author of How Young Holocaust Survivors Rebuilt Their Lives: France, the United States, and Israel and editor (with Dalia Ofer and Judith Tydor Baumel-schwartz) of Holocaust Survivors: Resettlement, Memories, Identities and Postwar Jewish Displacement and Rebirth, 1945–1967.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Unexpected Encounters
1. "True to My God, True to My Country"
2. Invisibility of Jews in the Military?
3. Heroines Took to The Skies
4. Confronting Biased Attitudes
5. "Operation Torch" and Local Jews
6. Religiosity in the Pacific and India
7. Prisoners of War of the Japanese
8. Camaraderie Beyond Prejudice
Conclusions: Bridging Worlds Apart
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The stories of the more than 500,000 Jewish men and women who served in the American military during World War II have never been told with more honesty and heart than they are here. Françoise Ouzan has written a history that challenges, educates, and inspires. This book is a must-have for any World War II history shelf."—Michael S. Neiberg, author of When France Fell: Vichy and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance.

"Françoise Ouzan demonstrates the salience of emotions such as solidarity, empathy, and the yearning for honor for the experience of American Jewish men and women who served in the Second World War.  Ouzan's canvas is global, but her approach is personal, drawing on a rich array of life-writing to tell a deeply moving story."—Derek Penslar, author of Jews and the Military: A History

"True to My God and Country makes an important contribution to the scholarship of World War II, Jewish-American history, and women's history. It highlights the ways in which Jewish servicewomen crossed gender and social boundaries. It also illuminates how Jewish service women strove to be accepted in a military framework, and how they successfully confronted anti-Jewish attitudes."—Patricia Kollander, Florida Atlantic University

"Research on the Jewish experience during and vis-à-vis World War II and theHolocaust naturally focuses on the fate of Jews under the control of Nazi Germany and its allies and on the reactions to that fate in the free world. Antisemitism experienced by Jews outside this orbit has hitherto drawn only minimal attention. In this fascinating account of the experiences of the many Jewish GIs in the American military at all fronts of the global war, Françoise Ouzan provides an in-depth picture of their coping with the widespread antisemitism that they suffered among their fellow soldiers. Their unexpected encounter with anti-Jewish hostility in French North Africa also shaped their Jewish identity. This excellent study is a most valuable contribution to the history of antisemitism, to the broader picture of the Jewish war experience, and to American Jewish history."—Dan Michman, Head, The International Institute for Holocaust Research; and the John Najmann Chair of Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem

"Ouzan's excellent book is written clearly and is full of information and inspiration. Her volume convincingly demonstrates how Jewish servicewomen and servicemen in far-flung areas of French North Africa, the Pacific islands, the Philippines, and India strengthened their Jewish American identities through their encounters with Jews and Jewish communities."—Jerusalem Post

"Covering antisemitism, religious observances, camaraderie, gender issues, and interactions with local Jewish communities in North Africa and elsewhere, the first-hand information in Ouzan's book helps readers understand the accomplishments and struggles of these women and men during the war."—Rochelle G. Saidel, PhD, Remembering the Women Institute

"True to My God and Country sheds light on the bravery and resilience of these young men and women – especially the thousands of Jewish servicewomen who took on dangerous and groundbreaking roles. Dr. Francoise Ouzan's work highlights stories of identity, trauma, and survival from one of history's darkest periods, ensuring that these narratives resonate with contemporary audiences."—Conversations with B'nai B'rith podcast

From the Publisher