Today is the day of victory of the Allies over Nazi Germany . Without this victory, the State of Israel would not have been established, and most of the world’s Jews could have been wiped out. But this victory is hardly noted in Israel and among the Jews of the world, except among the former Soviet Union. Jewish memory of World War II is almost entirely centered on commemorating the Holocaust. But World War II was not just a story of Jewish victimhood. It is also a story of victory and heroism.
An amazing and almost unknown historical fact is that about one and a half million Jews fought in the anti-Nazi coalition, and in many cases the proportion of Jews fighting was greater than the proportion of Jews among the population of that country. Among them were thousands of pilots, senior officers and even generals, war heroes, scientists and important spies. Over half a million Jews fought in the Red Army, the same number of Jews served in the American army, and another half million Jews fought in the armies of Great Britain, France, Poland, Australia, South Africa, Holland, Canada, Greece and more. Jews fought as partisans in the underground and even formed Jewish underground units, revolted in ghettos and camps under Jewish flags, and of course the Palestinian Authority also fought as part of the Hebrew regiments in the British Army.
The contrast is so striking and sharpens in view of the fact that only three weeks ago we dealt with the Holocaust, the terrible suffering that this war caused our people and those who survived. But they did not survive because the Nazis decided to release them, but because the armies of the anti-Nazi coalition defeated them. It is possible that many of our people feel that we did not have a big part in the victory over the Nazis. But in my opinion there is another explanation here: Jews in general were not used to celebrating victories and feeling pride in power during 2,000 years of exile. First, because the Jews had no power. And even when it was, it was forbidden to brag about it, so as not to annoy the neighbors who own the house. After all, many Jewish holidays are also celebrations of strength and victory, but these celebrations have been subdued. As a foreign and weak minority that was constantly afraid of anti-Semitism, divorce and pogroms, we were afraid to raise our heads and turned these holidays into celebrations of light, donuts, costumes, spring and renewal.
Things changed with the establishment of the state, both in terms of threats and the necessity of using force to repel threats and ensure security. Our enemies at this time are looking at us and analyzing us. They have reasons to think we are not determined enough to win, so they try us again and again. This should be kept in mind when deciding whether to celebrate the victory over the Nazis - the greatest and cruelest enemy of the Jewish people in recent centuries.
