Jewish Bible inscribed by a US Chaplain during The Battle of Anzio Beach Italy, 1944

During WWII, roughly 500,000 American Jewish Men and Women served in the armed forces of the United States, which totaled 4.23 percent of all service members in the U.S. armed forces. Amazingly, this was higher than the Jewish percentage of the total U.S. population at that time, which was 3.3 percent. President Franklin D. Roosevelt praised the fighting abilities and service of Jewish men and women. General Douglas MacArthur in one of his speeches said, “I am proud to join in saluting the memory of fallen American heroes of Jewish faith.”

The United States Government published together with the Jewish Welfare Board several small pocket sized volumes specifically for the Jewish Soldiers. Some of their publications included an abridged Jewish Bible, an abridged Siddur and a book of Jewish Thoughts. The small format was intended to allow the young soldiers to carry these volumes with them to the battlefield, and serve as moral support and help uplift the soldiers during the heat of battle.

One copy of the Jewish Bible published for the soldiers that I just got in, had an inscription on the free-end from a chaplain to a soldier during a crucial battle against the Germans in 1944. The volume was inscribed by the Chaplain Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer and is dated May 1944, Anzio beach head Italy. Rabbi Kertzer left his Rabbinic post to join the army to serve as a Jewish Chaplain in World War II. During World War II Rabbi Kertzer was the only Jewish Chaplain at the Anzio beachhead, earning a bronze star for his services there. He entered Rome shortly after the liberation and spoke at the liberation ceremonies. He also served in Africa as well as Southern and Central France before returning home in 1945.

The Battle of Anzio took place in 1944, in May, when this book was inscribed, during which the Allies were finally able to break through the German opposition and take control of Rome, and eventually all of Italy.