Rifle Squad, Italy 1944
(courtesy Marvin Hass)

The veterans featured in "About Face: The Story of the Jewish Refugee Soldiers of World War II" shared a similar journey. They escaped certain death at the hands of the Nazis through a variety of routes and found safe havens in the United States and Great Britain.

However their legacies do not end there. As the country of their births, Nazi Germany, enveloped all of Europe in an unrelenting and savage conquest, these refugees refused to remain idle. Forsaking the fruits of safety in their new, adopted countries, they seized the opportunity to return to their former home, alongside volunteers and draftees of the Allied Armed forces, to fight fascism in the European theater of operations.

Henry Kissinger and sister
(courtesy Henry Kissinger)

They served in many capacities: as infantryman, sailors, radio operators, and engineers; as members of the military intelligence and counter intelligence units; as interrogators and as commanders of units and campaigns. They were as numerous and diverse as the towns from which they were exiled just a few short years earlier, united by a common goal to defeat Hitler and win freedom for all those oppressed by him.

We have interviewed more than 200 veterans for this project, each with a unique set of experiences and perspective on World War II. Here are some excerpts from their stories.