In Our Own Hands

Today on Yom Hashoah, we resolve to never again leave our fate in the hands of others and to always stand up against baseless hatred.

Here in these photos, members of the Jewish Brigade, a regiment of volunteers from Eretz Yisrael in the British army, join refugee children and loved ones in 1944-1945.

In the immediate aftermath of the war, brigade members facilitated the escape of Holocaust survivors from Europe to the Land of Israel. Additional soldiers and officers remained in the continent to participate in retribution against former SS officials who had gone into hiding. Members of the brigade would go on to form the backbone of the IDF's initial officer corps upon its inception.

Brigade members with Jewish refugees. Yad Vashem

A member of the Jewish Brigade and survivor. Yad Vashem