Two Jewish soldiers killed in the Second World War are to finally get a Star of David on their tombstones after 84 years.
Thanks to the work of AJEX archivist Martin Sugarman, Private Max Goodman and Sapper Isaiah Reuben Gerber, who both died in combat on the same day – October 24, 1942, will now be remembered as Jewish.
The pair, both from South Africa, perished in El-Alamein, Egypt, and were buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) cemetery in the city.
Their gravestones, however, were left without a religious emblem, as the Commission had no record of their families and so could not identify them as Jewish.
Sugarman, who has worked tirelessly for decades to correct Commonwealth gravestones, told the JC: “As AJEX archivist I campaign with the CWGC to have errors on Jewish war graves changed.
“This is to raise the visible profile of the level of our sacrifice in defence of the realm over many years as loyal Jewish citizens, and thus fight antisemitism, among other things.
“It includes making sure the thousands of Jewish volunteers from Israel are recognised as gallant participants.”
This is done by surveying the photographs of the war graves on various websites and then checking if any have crosses instead of Star of Davids, or have no symbols due to lack of evidence that a casualty was Jewish.
Sugarman continued: “The CWGC require serious multiple pieces of evidence that a casualty was Jewish, and this entails detailed research to be scanned and sent off with covering letters to explain why the headstone is wrong.
“Each case can take hours of work.
“I am helped by a small team including genealogist Cathie Hewitt of Remembering the Jews of [the Second World War], Stan Kaye, our photographer and sleuth, and others.”
The Commission's final verification records indicated that there was no next-of-kin contact after the war and, therefore, the family had no involvement in the content of the headstone.
Sugarman noted that many of the Jewish soldiers with Star of Davids missing on their gravestones happen to be from South Africa.
He believes this could be because the soldiers moved there before the war, leaving their families behind, making it hard for the Commission to track down their next-of-kins.
CWGC said: “Both cases have now been [accepted and] processed, and an amended headstone has been ordered.”
It could take up to nine months for the Star of Davids to be added.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.