The Role Jews Play in the War in Facts and Figures
My Army is Bigger Than Yours: This graphic, which appeared in the Forverts in 1914, shows the size of each European country’s fighting force. Image by Forward Association
Jews play no small role in the current war. In the armies and navies fighting on land and sea a large number of Jews can be found.
The following list enumerates the number of Jewish soldiers in the various European regular armies:
Russia: 250,000
Germany: 6,150
Austria: 52,000
France: 10,000
Bulgaria: 4,500
Italy: 2,000
Holland: 7,000
Belgium: 1,000
Serbia: 700
In total there are 333,350 Jewish soldiers in all of these armies. If Turkey and Romania also mobilize their armed forces, there will be Jewish soldiers there as well. The total number of Jewish soldiers will equal around 400,000, which is four percent of the entire Jewish population of Europe.
The highest-ranking military title belongs to an Italian Jew, Ottolenghi. He is a general and for a time was Minister of War of Italy. In France there are ten Jewish generals.
After the last Balkan war the number of Jews in Serbia increased from 7,000 to 10,000. The additional 3,000 were Turkish nationals. In Serbia the Jews enjoy good relations with the Christian population.
If Greece now allies with Serbia, there will be 6,500 Jews in the Greek army (in Greece there are more than 85 thousand Jews).
In Austria, where Jews settled earlier than in other European countries, there are 1,313,687 Jews. In Hungary — 932,406; in Bosnia-Hertsegovina — 12,169. In total there are 2,558, 262 in the Austrian empire. The average percentage of Jews in the general population is 4 and a half overall. Only in Russia is it somewhat more.
In Austria Jews comprised 6 percent of the military and navy. Now, however, it is a great deal more, including many Jewish doctors.
Articles translated from the Yiddish by Chana Pollack, Ezra Glinter and Myra Mniewski.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
