\ncorrespondence in German, Hebrew, Yiddish and English is now in the Jewish Military Museum archives, was one such \u2018alien Pioneer\u2019. He had only reached England
\nin 1939, in his late 20s, leaving his widowed mother in Berlin anxiously awaiting letters from
\nher beloved son.<\/p>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhd4yvogp1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nLike many Jewish refugees who volunteered to fight Nazism in
\nthe early months of the war, Kasser was directed to the No 3 Training Camp AMPC in
\nKent for kitting out and basic training before being posted to France to
\nsupport the British Expeditionary Force.<\/p>\n
Acutely aware that the relatively few Jewish military His background had given him a strong sense of dedication 87 Company, like other Pioneer Companies moved around the Remaining a private soldier was extremely important for Kasser and he refused promotion. He felt that his influence as a chaplain would be Prepared to compromise with those from Liberal Jewish In April 1942, while stationed at Pembroke Dock in Wales, 19 News of the incident was heavily censored, leaving Kasser the In the memorial service he later led, Kasser referred to all five of the dead as being amongst \u201cour ranks of those who fight for freedom, for the Meanwhile, news to and from Kasser\u2019s mother was reduced to \u00a0Of course, Kasser could On learning of Kasser\u2019s engagement in 1942 his mother had wished him and his fianc\u00e9e happiness in marriage, By 1943, following a change in Government policy, many Private Moses Jakob Kasser was posted to 137 (A) Company in Scotland by Susan Gordon, Jewish Military Museum Volunteer Today is World Refugee Day,\u00a0a 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\u2019s story through objects from the Jewish Military Museum\u2019s collection.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[173,178,143,177],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nchaplains were not attached to any one company, unlike their Christian counterparts,
\nMJK decided to become a voluntary chaplain to 87 Company. In this, he was
\nfollowing the talmudic advice given to him by his rabbi on leaving Berlin, \u201cWhere
\nthere is no man, be a man\u201d (Brachot 63a).<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhflihejD1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\nand purpose; attending the Berlin Adass Jisroel Gymnasium, active in the religious
\nZionist youth movement, then studying at the orthodox Rabbiner Seminar to
\nbecome a teacher and rabbi.<\/p>\n
\ncountry as required after being evacuated from St Malo in June 1940 ahead of
\nthe fall of France. Duties included clearing bombsites in London, fire watching
\nin Liverpool and improving beach defences in Wales. Kasser continued to ensure
\nthat the Sabbath and all festivals were marked in some way.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhjqtHogb1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\ngreater by showing that orthodoxy was no barrier to working hard on labouring
\ntasks. <\/p>\n
\nbackgrounds over the form of services, he understood that many soldiers had no
\ntime for religion. However, he had little patience with certain visiting Jewish
\nchaplains. He was outraged at one who told the men to work on the Day of
\nAtonement, the most important day in the Jewish calendar, as the Commanding
\nOfficer of 87 Company was willing for the festival to be observed. What is
\nmore, he wrote to leading Anglo-Jewish rabbis defending his position.<\/p>\n
\nsoldiers were killed by an accidental explosion on a landmine training course
\nat the Defensible Barracks. Five of the dead, including three \u2018alien Pioneers\u2019 were
\nfrom 87 Company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\ndelicate task of tracking down and contacting the non-Jewish girlfriend of
\nPrivate Ludwig Rosenthal, a gesture that she greatly appreciated. <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhjxhCQYH1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\ncommunity and for justice\u201d. He made sure
\nthat the anniversary of these deaths was marked by prayers throughout his rest
\nof his service in the Pioneer Corps.<\/p>\n
\ncarefully composed Red Cross messages of only 25 words (below).<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhlurSslN1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\nnot mention his military service but even referring to a previous letter was
\nforbidden. His last message to her the month before his wedding in 1943 was
\nreturned for that reason.<\/p>\n
\nasking that they think of and pray for her. Her transcribed letter (below) took 18
\nmonths to reach him via neutral Switzerland. By that time, she had been
\ndeported from Berlin to Auschwitz where she was murdered. <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/jewishmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/tumblr_inline_orhm2o81fb1rivt1t_540.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\n\u2018alien\u2019 Pioneers transferred to fighting units of the British Forces and their
\ncompanies were re-organised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nwhich was sent to Normandy in August 1944, later moving on to Antwerp. He
\ncontinued his dual role as an ordinary soldier and voluntary chaplain with
\npride and determination until his release from the army in late 1945.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"