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Latest news
Wartime Basketball with Doug Stark – September 18th
Douglas Stark is the author of Wartime Baskeball: The Emergence of a National Sport during World War II and The SPHAS: The Life and Times of Basketball’s Greatest Jewish Team. He’ll join us at 1:00 to discuss basketball in World War II including the role of Jews in the American military like Red Auerbach and[…]
Friendship stronger than bullets and bombs: the message of Cpl Roger Briskin
The Purple Heart medal awarded posthumously to Corporal Roger Briskin is on display in the core exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. Briskin died as a member of the 3rd Marine Division on March 31, 1967 in Quảng Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam. He was leading his squad on an operation near[…]
The Brooklyn Cowboy: American Jews on Horseback in WWII
The worn Model 1940 riding boots of Private Harold Ehrenpreis evoke an Army man who’s spent countless hours on a horse. Most people associate combat on horseback with an earlier time, but when Harold Ehrenpreis was issued these boots in 1941, the horse cavalry was still an active part of the U.S. Army. Mounted cavalrymen[…]
Honoring the Fallen on Memorial Day
The National Museum of American Jewish Military History presently lists 56 identified Jewish service people who have given their lives in defense of our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. On this Memorial Day weekend, and hopefully countless Memorial Day weekends thereafter, we are asking all of the synagogues Jewish organizations throughout our nation to read[…]
Honoring Liberators of the Concentration Camps Video
This video was produced for the Jewish War Veterans Foundation gala in February 2016 honoring WWII Concentration Camp Liberators.
Three Fascinating World War II Haggadot
Like other religious publications, Haggadot for American Jews in the Armed Forces were often produced by the Jewish Welfare Board. This began in World War I when approximately 225,00 American Jews served in the war. Haggadot were also produced for Jews in the German and British armies. The books in the museum’s collection aren’t as visually[…]
Jewish Aviators in World War II book now available
Jewish Aviators in World War II: Personal Narratives of American Men and Women is now available at Amazon or in the museum store. Author Bruce Wolk is supporting the museum with proceeds from sales. Based on interviews with more than 100 Jewish air veterans, this oral history features the recollections of pilots, crew members and support personnel[…]
Guard of Israel – Bencin Riseman and Family in the First World War
Russian-immigrant Bencin Riseman joined the Massachusetts National Guard and served on the Mexican Border in 1916. When that conflict ended, Riseman returned home to Boston, where he had worked for the city as a constable. The Great War was raging in Europe and Riseman anticipated the need for a growing military in the U.S. He began recruiting men[…]
Mimouna Celebration – May 1
In partnership with Sephardic Heritage in D.C. and the Jewish Study Center, we’ll be hosting a Mimouna celebration on the afternoon of May 1st. It’s a traditional North African custom when Passover has ended and it’s time to start eating chametz again. Registration is required at http://www.shindc.org/event-registration/. In addition to the traditional foods, music and customs, we’ll[…]
A Purim in Tunisia
A.J. Callner was a cook for the U.S. Navy aboard USS LCI(L)-44 during World War II. In his memoir, he recalled having three different Purim meals in a single evening in local homes by the port at La Goulette, Tunis, Tunisia in 1944: Early in March on one of our trips back to North Africa we were[…]