(JEWISH GROUP) Hidden in a famous WWII photo, two heroic Jewish stories
For the German town of Torgau, the 1945 meeting of American and Russian troops at the Elbe River at the end of World War II is a source of local pride. Every five years, they host a banquet for the veterans and their families and invite politicians to speak in celebration of Elbe Day. Pictures of the troops shaking hands hang in a nearby castle.
Jeff Thau, a retired Air Force colonel, has attended a number of the celebrations to honor his father, Chaim, a translator for the Russian Army who was in the Elbe photo. When Thau discovered another attendee was falsely claiming he was in the photo too, Thau quickly took it upon himself to set the historical records straight.
Through archival research, he discovered that the man the imposter was pretending to be was, in fact, Bernard Kirschenbaum — an American soldier, who like Jeff’s father, was Jewish. Both men also carried stories from the war that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
This year, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the handshake, Jeff contacted Bernard’s daughter, Sara Kirshchenbaum, a freelance writer, and made note of their shared Jewish heritage. Sara now calls Jeff her “Handshake Brother.”
“Isn’t this such a powerful sign that the Jews are being attempted to be wiped from the face of the earth and then here, at this triumphant moment where Germany was cut in two by the Allies, that there were Jews on either side,” Sara said.
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US troops of the 69th Infantry Division (left), shake hands with Russian troops on the wrecked bridge over the Elbe. Bernard Kirschenabum is second from left. Chaim Thau is in the center Photo by Allan Jackson/Getty Images
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943