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T HERE ’ S A B ETTER W AY
T O T RAVEL .

of innocence mixed with terror
and written with an almost eerie
sense of calm from a 24-year-old
whose very life was on the line.
Samuel’s journey during WWI last-
ed approximately a year and half.
There’s nearly a year’s worth of
entries from 1918.
Among other WWI artifacts
from Samuel are a couple of post-
cards (undated) from France. To
his brothers and sisters, Samuel
wrote: “Feeling fine … Was on the
front the day the Armistice was
signed … Expect to parade in Paris
Christmas Day … With love to all,
Sam.”
It’s surreal really, to gaze upon

Samuel’s journal, handwritten over
a century ago during one of the
most brutal periods in history.
We do not often reflect on WWI
although it was supposed to be
the “war to end all wars.” Without
apologies, we are used to focusing
on our Greatest Generation and
their contribution during WWII.
I’ve had the privilege to write about
many of our beloved WWII Jewish
War Veterans (JWV). However,
I know that all my dear, humble
friends in the JWV would agree:
Before the Greatest Generation
there was another generation —
one that saved the world in their
own right 100 years ago. ■

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32

November 1 • 2018

jn

National
WWI Exhibit

More than 250,000 Jews served in
the American Expeditionary Forces in
World War I. Yet, their stories — and
the stories of those who remained
in the U.S. during the war — often
remain untold.
Hailed by Time magazine as
“a deep dive into a strange, histo-
ry-shaking year” and by the New
York Times as “remarkably pre-
scient,” the exhibit titled “For Liberty:
American Jewish Experience in
WWI” at the National WWI Museum
and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo.,
portrays what life was like as an
American Jew on the home front and
the battlefield through remarkable
stories and unique artifacts.
“Seeing these extraordinary
objects in person and gaining a
deeper understanding of American
Jewish lives during WWI is a truly
incredible experience,” says National
WWI Museum and Memorial Senior
Curator Doran Cart.
Featured objects from the exhibi-
tion include a letter from American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
(JDC) leader Louis Marshall appealing
to Jewish philanthropists like Julius
Rosenwald to support the Ten Million
Dollar Fund, American Jewish com-
poser Irving Berlin’s draft registration
card and two handwritten drafts
of the Balfour Declaration by Leon
Simon from July of 1917, the docu-

ment that outlined British support for
the establishment of the Jewish state
of Israel.
The trials and tribulations and
the lasting effects of WWI on the
American Jewish population are also
shown through documents, such as a
map that notes the amounts pledged
to the JDC for Jewish war sufferers
and a poster showing a shipment of
kosher meat being loaded onto the
SS Ashburn in New York City, bound
for Danzig, Poland.
The exhibit is open through Nov.
11. Learn more at theworldwar.org. ■

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