{"id":1672,"date":"2016-09-28T14:39:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T18:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmajmh.org\/?p=1672"},"modified":"2023-09-15T12:48:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:48:22","slug":"rosh-hashanah-in-charleroi-belgium-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmajmh.org\/2016\/09\/rosh-hashanah-in-charleroi-belgium-1944\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosh Hashanah in Charleroi, Belgium, 1944"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"samulin-belgium\"For Jewish service members\u00a0at war, High Holiday services provided a respiter. The familiar ceremonies offered a refuge and the\u00a0connection with the Jewish community in the military a needed boost to morale. These were often powerful experiences. This was especially true\u00a0during World War II when these services included European Jewish civilians who had been living under Nazi terror.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph Samulin of Brooklyn served in Europe with the First Army. He later wrote this piece recalling a memorable Rosh Hashanah service in Charleroi, Belgium in 1944.<\/p>\n

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It started out as an ordinary service for about 200 Jewish\u00a0soldiers from the surrounding area. It ended so dramatically\u00a0that no one who was there will ever forget it.<\/p>\n

I was with the Advanced Section Headquarters First Army. We had\u00a0been following the advancing troops that had been breaking\u00a0through so rapidly that many German soldiers had been by passed\u00a0and were trying to find their way back to their lines. We were\u00a0in a state of readiness at all times.<\/p>\n

Rosh Hashonah Services were going to held in a theater in\u00a0Charleroi, Belgium. Soldiers were brought in from units in the\u00a0immediate area and all were ordered to carry rifles and\u00a0ammunition to the theater in the event we would be called out.\u00a0During services the side doors of the theater opened and we were\u00a0startled by about 100 men women and children streaming in\u00a0crying, wailing, sobbing. They rushed to us and started kissing\u00a0our hands, our faces and thanking us over and over again. We\u00a0also noticed about 150 people standing in the background, crying\u00a0softly.<\/p>\n

It took a few moments for those who could speak Yiddish to find\u00a0out that the 100 people had been hiding for some four years, and\u00a0most had not seen the light of day for many years. The people\u00a0behind them were Gentiles that had hidden them all this time.<\/p>\n

Our surprise turned to joy and happiness and you have to picture\u00a0200 soldiers with tears streaming down their faces, and we\u00a0returned the hugs and kisses, trying to calm these Jews down so\u00a0we could hear their stories. As it unfolded we realized what the\u00a0local Gentiles who had saved them had gone through. If they had\u00a0been discovered it was a sure death for them and their family.<\/p>\n

We started hugging and kissing these brave Belgians and thanking\u00a0them for their extraordinary bravery.<\/p>\n

The funny thing I cant remember if the services were ever\u00a0concluded. The only thing that I remember is a theater full of\u00a0people all hugging, kissing and crying. These were 100 out of\u00a0thousands of Charleroi Jews that had been\u00a0killed.<\/p>\n

While time has dulled the minute details the overall picture\u00a0never fades, and tears still come to my eyes when I think of the\u00a0miracle I experienced.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Jewish service members\u00a0at war, High Holiday services provided a respiter. The familiar ceremonies offered a refuge and the\u00a0connection with the Jewish community in the military a needed boost to morale. These were often powerful experiences. This was especially true\u00a0during World War II when these services included European Jewish civilians who had been living under… Read More »Rosh Hashanah in Charleroi, Belgium, 1944<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[78,24],"yoast_head":"\nRosh Hashanah in Charleroi, Belgium, 1944 - National Museum of American Jewish Military History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nmajmh.org\/2016\/09\/rosh-hashanah-in-charleroi-belgium-1944\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rosh Hashanah in Charleroi, Belgium, 1944 - National Museum of American Jewish Military History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Jewish service members\u00a0at war, High Holiday services provided a respiter. The familiar ceremonies offered a refuge and the\u00a0connection with the Jewish community in the military a needed boost to morale. These were often powerful experiences. 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