I thought I would share this moving piece from the NY Times.

By PAUL VITELLO
Published: September 17, 2009
Like many veterans, Max Fuchs did not talk much about what he did in the war. His children knew he landed at Omaha Beach. Sometimes, they were allowed to feel the shrapnel still lodged in his chest.

And once, he had told them, he sang as the cantor in a Jewish prayer service on the battlefield.

On Oct. 29, 1944, at the edge of a fierce fight for control of the city of Aachen, Germany, a correspondent for NBC radio introduced the modest Sabbath service like this:

“We bring you now a special broadcast of historic significance: The first Jewish religious service broadcast from Germany since the advent of Hitler.”

Mr. Fuchs, now 87 and living on the Upper West Side, was 22 that day at Aachen.

“I was just as much scared as anyone else,” he said in an interview in his Manhattan apartment. “But since I was the only one who could do it, I tried my best.”

Well-known in its time, the battlefield service became lost in obscurity, where it might have remained except for an archivist’s chance find and then, fast forward, unlikely fame on YouTube — where the 1944 service has drawn 310,000 hits — for Mr. Fuchs.

The full article may be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/nyregion/18cantor.html?_r=1&hp

And the Video at http://www.kintera.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/ajc_nbc_jewish_service.wmv

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave_M,

It's wonderful that these pieces of history - so profoundly moving - can be resurrected, restored and remembered.

Thanks for posting that, Dave.

quote:

Originally posted by Cider33_Alpha:
It's wonderful that these pieces of history - so profoundly moving - can be resurrected, restored and remembered.

Thanks for posting that, Dave.

+1

Well said.

Dave,

Great post!

BRAVO!...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

Thanks you folks, I thought that this was a moving story to share on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

Good post!

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all!

quote:

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all!

To you and your loved ones' and all of my Jewish friends around the world.

Outstanding article!
Thanks Dave

Outstanding post. I have many Jewish relatives ... yes they remember.