Kimberley Jews and the Second World
Kimberley Jews and the Second World War, 1939 – 1945 Compiled by Geraldine Auerbach MBE, London, with many thanks to the families who have sent stories and photos of the men and women who are featured in this article. 04 October 2020 – updated June 2021 The iconic picture above says it all. It shows Ivor Haas (centre) and other South African soldiers riding on camels before the Sphinx and Pyramids outside Cairo during the war. (Sent by his family) We know that men of our Kimberley Jewish community went ‘up North’. But what did that mean? We have probably heard the words Tobruk, Benghazi, Khartoum, Mogadishu, El Alamein, and Monte Cassino. But where are they exactly, and what was going on? We may have snippets of memory rooted in stories, pictures or films of camel riding in Cairo, a hockey game in Somalia or skiing in Lebanon. We did not ask many questions at the time. Now, in 2020, as we pass the milestones of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and of VE day, I felt it was worth trying to put together the stories that we can find, to understand what World War Two (WWII) meant to Jewish families in Kimberley. I believe that fifty young men of our Kimberley Jewish community volunteered to serve in the South African Army. We have received stories about forty-six of them so far. They saw tough action in Kenya, Abyssinia, Libya, Egypt and then in Italy. Some were wounded, some were captured and spent gruelling times in Prisoner of War camps in Italy or as escapees in foreign countries.
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