GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II

Filmmaker Lisa Ades’s PBS-aired documentary centers on the 550,000 Jewish-Americans who served in the nation’s military during World War II, men and women who faced two concurrent battles: one against the Axis powers seeking to destroy the global Jewish population, and the other against home-front anti-Semitism. The film’s focus on the latter struggle is especially powerful, as many Jews in service were subjected to such ugliness for the first time in their lives while in the service of their country. Incredibly, many anti-Semites of the era openly questioned the patriotism of the Jewish population and wondered if they had the physical capacity to serve in combat. GI Jews features interviews with several veterans who became prominent figures in the postwar years, including Henry Kissinger, Mel Brooks, and Carl Reiner—the latter is especially funny, recalling a Southern soldier who assumed that all Jews knew each other and asked the New York-born Reiner if he knew a Jewish grocer named Goldfarb from Shreveport, LA. The film also looks at the perils Jewish soldiers confronted when fighting in Europe, recounting the heroism of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds in his defiance of a German prisoner-of-war camp commander’s orders to identify the Jewish soldiers in his ranks. GI Jews is a compelling and timely documentary about fighting against prejudice while in the pursuit of liberty. Extras include extended interviews with Reiner and Brooks. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. Editor’s Choice. (P. Hall)