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Private Moses Jakob Kasser

by Susan Gordon, Jewish Military Museum Volunteer

Today is World Refugee Day, a time to commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. We are remembering Private Moses Jakob Kasser, refugee and Jewish military chaplain. Volunteer Susan Gordon shares her research with us, telling Kasser’s story through objects from the Jewish Military Museum’s collection. 

Until 1942, the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps (AMPC),
providing labour for the British Armed Forces during WW2, was the only unit in
which ‘enemy aliens’ – German, Austrian and Italian nationals – could serve. Organised in separate ‘alien’ companies commanded by regular army officers and
NCOs, all recruits had been security vetted.

Private Moses Jakob Kasser, whose lively and poignant
correspondence in German, Hebrew, Yiddish and English is now in the Jewish Military Museum archives, was one such ‘alien Pioneer’. He had only reached England
in 1939, in his late 20s, leaving his widowed mother in Berlin anxiously awaiting letters from
her beloved son.

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Like many Jewish refugees who volunteered to fight Nazism in
the early months of the war, Kasser was directed to the No 3 Training Camp AMPC in
Kent for kitting out and basic training before being posted to France to
support the British Expeditionary Force.

Acutely aware that the relatively few Jewish military
chaplains were not attached to any one company, unlike their Christian counterparts,
MJK decided to become a voluntary chaplain to 87 Company. In this, he was
following the talmudic advice given to him by his rabbi on leaving Berlin, “Where
there is no man, be a man” (Brachot 63a).

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His background had given him a strong sense of dedication
and purpose; attending the Berlin Adass Jisroel Gymnasium, active in the religious
Zionist youth movement, then studying at the orthodox Rabbiner Seminar to
become a teacher and rabbi.

87 Company, like other Pioneer Companies moved around the
country as required after being evacuated from St Malo in June 1940 ahead of
the fall of France. Duties included clearing bombsites in London, fire watching
in Liverpool and improving beach defences in Wales. Kasser continued to ensure
that the Sabbath and all festivals were marked in some way.

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Remaining a private soldier was extremely important for Kasser and he refused promotion. He felt that his influence as a chaplain would be
greater by showing that orthodoxy was no barrier to working hard on labouring
tasks.

Prepared to compromise with those from Liberal Jewish
backgrounds over the form of services, he understood that many soldiers had no
time for religion. However, he had little patience with certain visiting Jewish
chaplains. He was outraged at one who told the men to work on the Day of
Atonement, the most important day in the Jewish calendar, as the Commanding
Officer of 87 Company was willing for the festival to be observed. What is
more, he wrote to leading Anglo-Jewish rabbis defending his position.

In April 1942, while stationed at Pembroke Dock in Wales, 19
soldiers were killed by an accidental explosion on a landmine training course
at the Defensible Barracks. Five of the dead, including three ‘alien Pioneers’ were
from 87 Company. 

News of the incident was heavily censored, leaving Kasser the
delicate task of tracking down and contacting the non-Jewish girlfriend of
Private Ludwig Rosenthal, a gesture that she greatly appreciated.

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In the memorial service he later led, Kasser referred to all five of the dead as being amongst “our ranks of those who fight for freedom, for the
community and for justice”. He made sure
that the anniversary of these deaths was marked by prayers throughout his rest
of his service in the Pioneer Corps.

Meanwhile, news to and from Kasser’s mother was reduced to
carefully composed Red Cross messages of only 25 words (below).

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 Of course, Kasser could
not mention his military service but even referring to a previous letter was
forbidden. His last message to her the month before his wedding in 1943 was
returned for that reason.

On learning of Kasser’s engagement in 1942 his mother had wished him and his fiancée happiness in marriage,
asking that they think of and pray for her. Her transcribed letter (below) took 18
months to reach him via neutral Switzerland. By that time, she had been
deported from Berlin to Auschwitz where she was murdered.

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By 1943, following a change in Government policy, many
‘alien’ Pioneers transferred to fighting units of the British Forces and their
companies were re-organised. 

Private Moses Jakob Kasser was posted to 137 (A) Company in Scotland
which was sent to Normandy in August 1944, later moving on to Antwerp. He
continued his dual role as an ordinary soldier and voluntary chaplain with
pride and determination until his release from the army in late 1945.

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